I feel that social networks are best done in an descentralized way: Like IRC, and Usenet on its own time. There should be no "winner" or local entity that tries

I feel that social networks are best done in an descentralized way: Like IRC, and Usenet on its own time. There should be no "winner" or local entity that tries to milk profits out of it. Because exactly as you said: Facebook "won" the social network game several years ago: Everybody was in there. From there the only thing it could do to try to milk more profits was to bring it down. Instead, we've got IRC or Usenet that, years and years after their "peak", they are still going well and good. Gone are the "ethernal septembers" and most of spam. And the protocol and networks (that matter for the people using it) are still in there.