A Call For an Open, Distributed Alternative To Facebook 363
qwerty8ytrewq writes "Ryan Singel, writing for Wired, claims that Facebook has gone rogue: 'Facebook used to be a place to share photos and thoughts with friends and family and maybe play a few stupid games that let you pretend you were a mafia don or a homesteader. It became a very useful way to connect with your friends, long-lost friends and family members. ... And Facebook realized it owned the network. Then Facebook decided to turn "your" profile page into your identity online — figuring, rightly, that there’s money and power in being the place where people define themselves. But to do that, the folks at Facebook had to make sure that the information you give it was public.' Singel goes on to call for an open, distributed alternative. 'Facebook’s basic functions can be turned into protocols, and a whole set of interoperating software and services can flourish. Think of being able to buy your own domain name and use simple software such as Posterous to build a profile page in the style of your liking.' Can Slashdotters predict where social networking is going? And how?"
Relatedly, jamie points out a graphical representation of how Facebook's privacy settings have changed over the last five years.
The cycle is complete (Score:5, Funny)
Personal websites are dead, long live Geocities!
...
Geocities is dead, long live MySpace!
...
MySpace is dead, long live Facebook!
...
Facebook is dead, long live personal websites!
Re:We have it. It's called the World Wide Web. (Score:1, Funny)
Sorry that is no longer available we have a new version that is not backwards compatible I believe it is called web 2.0 or possibly sucker net
Re:The cycle is complete (Score:4, Funny)
Shit, I just realized we're about to enter a new era of Geocities 2.0
Re:The cycle is complete (Score:0, Funny)
No you clod, it's called Cloudcities!
Re:Diaspora (Score:3, Funny)
the four students and graduates with accounts at the end of its first year will be proof that it won't work.
Re:Relax (Score:3, Funny)
Wow. It is funny, but it also explains some behavior from certain of my friends that have so far confused me, namely "Why on earth do you try to give the impression that you are a perpetually drunk skiing instructor, when I know you're in fact down to earth and quietly likeable?"