Pondering an escape from Facebook

It’s quite scary if a single company is not only in control of all delivery but also all storage of communications between people. Facebook, Inc. is turning into such a company. Yet they don’t have to abide by the same privacy laws that bind e.g. telecommunications companies like ISPs.

The Diaspora project is working on an alternative, decentralized social platform that gives control over your personal data back to you. I think that’s the right way to go. Even though you could argue social platforms like Facebook bring nothing new to the table (chat, instant messaging, photo sharing and blogging have existed long before Facebook came along), combining everything in one platform does have some advantages.

Diaspora sites can be hosted by yourself but then syndicated securely with other diaspora sites (seeds), so that each person not only controls where and how their data is stored, but also who can and who cannot see or receive it. If humanity needs such a social platform, this seems to be the right approach in my opinion.

So I’m pondering Facebook suicide, and erecting a Diaspora site as soon as it becomes usable, to see if it has the potential it seems to have.