2 ms·

We really missed the boat on having something like “Craigslist for talking to friends and neighbors” launch decades ago. Just something unsexy that works and c

We really missed the boat on having something like “Craigslist for talking to friends and neighbors” launch decades ago. Just something unsexy that works and can stick around in the same form because the owner is a curmudgeon with out any dreams of grandeur. Perhaps the could never have happened to social media though because it was too hot a space. Everything else seems doomed to get caught up in this race to capture a billion eyeballs and wallets.

acdha 4y ago
I think the problem was that listserves soaked that up early on and when people moved it was either go Facebook or even worse places like Nextdoor. There are other services - groups.io is popular around here - but the trick is bootstrapping a community when the ad company is right there with so much free stuff.
midoridensha 4y ago
>We really missed the boat on having something like “Craigslist for talking to friends and neighbors” launch decades ago. This sounds a lot like Nextdoor. The results haven't been pretty.
mrweasel 4y ago
All the bits and pieces have been around for decades. Usenet could easily have functioned as a marketplace, local gossip and information board, with proper segmentation. It's decentralized, there where numerous clients available, there just weren't enough users. It worked reasonably well for my university when I started 25 years ago, but it deteriorated quickly during the yearly 2000s. We also had forums, blogs and RSS. All technologies when combined provide a decentralized social media like experience. I think it was a healthier approach, but more segmented. Modern social media attempts to fit everything into a framework. From a financial perspective, it seems to work, but socially I'm not convinced. One of the thing that have impressed me is how willing people are to express repulsive behaviour, under their real name. You'd think that Facebooks real name policy would make help regulate behaviour, but it truly doesn't.

acdha 4y ago

I think the problem was that listserves soaked that up early on and when people moved it was either go Facebook or even worse places like Nextdoor. There are other services - groups.io is popular around here - but the trick is bootstrapping a community when the ad company is right there with so much free stuff.

midoridensha 4y ago

>We really missed the boat on having something like “Craigslist for talking to friends and neighbors” launch decades ago. This sounds a lot like Nextdoor. The results haven't been pretty.

mrweasel 4y ago

All the bits and pieces have been around for decades. Usenet could easily have functioned as a marketplace, local gossip and information board, with proper segmentation. It's decentralized, there where numerous clients available, there just weren't enough users. It worked reasonably well for my university when I started 25 years ago, but it deteriorated quickly during the yearly 2000s. We also had forums, blogs and RSS. All technologies when combined provide a decentralized social media like experience. I think it was a healthier approach, but more segmented. Modern social media attempts to fit everything into a framework. From a financial perspective, it seems to work, but socially I'm not convinced. One of the thing that have impressed me is how willing people are to express repulsive behaviour, under their real name. You'd think that Facebooks real name policy would make help regulate behaviour, but it truly doesn't.