4 ms·

So, has anyone been working (or pondering working) on alternatives? Ideally (and perhaps naively), I can see a diaspora-like abstract semi-decentralized / fede

by wfn 12y ago

So, has anyone been working (or pondering working) on alternatives? Ideally (and perhaps naively), I can see a diaspora-like abstract semi-decentralized / federated social network infrastructure which could then be used to build all sorts of social networks (e.g. friends/diaspora-like "non-evil version of facebook," "professional like-linkedin-but-not-evil network," what have you.) The kind of vibe that federated open source systems like tent.io might have. Of course it's all about network effects and "actually getting a critical mass of people to use $thing," but ideally, there should be a generic federated-social-network-protocol which may support many clients / web portals, and many particular social networks. "I've built a non-evil-linkedin-clone, join this network by clicking one button."

Udo 12y ago
I worked on a decentralized social network for a while, but eventually gave up on it because it was impossible to get traction (especially since other open source alternatives "exist").
- wfn 12y ago
  Did you end up open sourcing the parts of the thing that you ended up implementing/writing? Seems like a waste to just throw it into a trash bin. (But of course there may be nuances / it may be hard to do that, etc.) Non-working code on github and a blog post explaining what has been done is imho >> nothing!
  - Udo 12y ago
    No, it was open source from the beginning - one of my hobby projects. I believe open source is the only way something like this can work at all. I had some early adopters who used the prototype, which motivated me initially. As I spent some time developing the actual version, people drifted away (mostly back to Facebook). In hindsight, I should not have thrown the prototype away - big mistake. When I tried to get other people interested the answer was basically either "you'll pry Facebook out of my cold dead hands" or (sometimes literally) "why are you wasting your time on this stupid shit when Diaspora exists?". At the time Diaspora had just gotten funding and people were actually really hostile or condescending towards the idea that someone was working on anything else. After that I basically suspended my efforts. I might eventually get back to it when/if fancy strikes.
tim333 12y ago
I've pondered making an alternative. I doubt I will but every time I get annoyed by them I can't help but think it should be possible to do a 'without all the evil' version. (As in http://blog.codinghorror.com/whos-your-arch-enemy/ http://blog.codinghorror.com/whos-your-arch-enemy/)
- Netminder_EE 12y ago
  It's a lot easier when Matt Cutts is listening to you tell him what to do about the competitor you're trying to overcome.

by wfn 12y ago

Udo 12y ago

I worked on a decentralized social network for a while, but eventually gave up on it because it was impossible to get traction (especially since other open source alternatives "exist").

wfn 12y ago
Did you end up open sourcing the parts of the thing that you ended up implementing/writing? Seems like a waste to just throw it into a trash bin. (But of course there may be nuances / it may be hard to do that, etc.) Non-working code on github and a blog post explaining what has been done is imho >> nothing!
- Udo 12y ago
  No, it was open source from the beginning - one of my hobby projects. I believe open source is the only way something like this can work at all. I had some early adopters who used the prototype, which motivated me initially. As I spent some time developing the actual version, people drifted away (mostly back to Facebook). In hindsight, I should not have thrown the prototype away - big mistake. When I tried to get other people interested the answer was basically either "you'll pry Facebook out of my cold dead hands" or (sometimes literally) "why are you wasting your time on this stupid shit when Diaspora exists?". At the time Diaspora had just gotten funding and people were actually really hostile or condescending towards the idea that someone was working on anything else. After that I basically suspended my efforts. I might eventually get back to it when/if fancy strikes.

tim333 12y ago

I've pondered making an alternative. I doubt I will but every time I get annoyed by them I can't help but think it should be possible to do a 'without all the evil' version. (As in http://blog.codinghorror.com/whos-your-arch-enemy/ http://blog.codinghorror.com/whos-your-arch-enemy/)

Netminder_EE 12y ago
It's a lot easier when Matt Cutts is listening to you tell him what to do about the competitor you're trying to overcome.