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I want to get your input as to where distributed social networks like your appleseed (and the now completely off the radar diaspora) stand now. Google has been

I want to get your input as to where distributed social networks like your appleseed (and the now completely off the radar diaspora) stand now. Google has been really wonderful about letting us use our data any way we like, such as to the point that I would not describe them as a silo or walled garden. Do you think Google's entry into social networking helps or hurts the case for and adoption of decentralized systems? What's your take on all of this, and where do you go from here?

michaelchisari 15y ago
Although I believe that Google+ is still a walled garden (there is no comprehensive protocol I can implement in Appleseed to let Appleseed users connect with Google+ users), I do agree that it isn't a silo (since you can move your data in and out). I'm very optimistic for three reasons: 1. Google has a much better track record in the open web than Facebook. I don't think Google, due to it's market position, is nearly as threatened by the idea of being the one of the biggest fishes in a distributed pond than Facebook, whose bread and butter is social networking dominance. I don't see Google fighting an established social networking protocol, whereas I think Facebook would til the bitter end. 2. The world still needs a solid open source social networking package, and decentralization is icing on the cake. The current options are pretty awful, and software that can be used to start a niche social networking site is going to be a big deal, no matter how popular Google+ gets. 3. If Google+ pulls a plurality of users away from Facebook, it proves an important point that I've been fighting against for years: That nobody is ever #1 forever. Ever since Facebook got big, nobody could fathom that anyone could knock them down, even Google. And that's something that, as a free software developer, I have to push against. No hegemony is eternal, every empire falls. Personally, I think this also releases some pressure on open source projects. Now, instead of an adversary in the form of Facebook, we have a potential ally. We may need to clang some pots and pans in the street for a while to get their attention, but that's a much better situation to be in than dealing with an entity like Facebook, whose relationship with the open web has been cynical and superficial at best. In that regard, I'm more optimistic now than I was 6 months ago.

michaelchisari 15y ago

Although I believe that Google+ is still a walled garden (there is no comprehensive protocol I can implement in Appleseed to let Appleseed users connect with Google+ users), I do agree that it isn't a silo (since you can move your data in and out). I'm very optimistic for three reasons: 1. Google has a much better track record in the open web than Facebook. I don't think Google, due to it's market position, is nearly as threatened by the idea of being the one of the biggest fishes in a distributed pond than Facebook, whose bread and butter is social networking dominance. I don't see Google fighting an established social networking protocol, whereas I think Facebook would til the bitter end. 2. The world still needs a solid open source social networking package, and decentralization is icing on the cake. The current options are pretty awful, and software that can be used to start a niche social networking site is going to be a big deal, no matter how popular Google+ gets. 3. If Google+ pulls a plurality of users away from Facebook, it proves an important point that I've been fighting against for years: That nobody is ever #1 forever. Ever since Facebook got big, nobody could fathom that anyone could knock them down, even Google. And that's something that, as a free software developer, I have to push against. No hegemony is eternal, every empire falls. Personally, I think this also releases some pressure on open source projects. Now, instead of an adversary in the form of Facebook, we have a potential ally. We may need to clang some pots and pans in the street for a while to get their attention, but that's a much better situation to be in than dealing with an entity like Facebook, whose relationship with the open web has been cynical and superficial at best. In that regard, I'm more optimistic now than I was 6 months ago.