Yes, everyone is on facebook, and of course I’m on twitter. So when Diaspora* was announced as this amazing project where you own all your data and can share only what you want to share with whomever you want to share, etc – full control over your data – I was also very happy! But then we all had to wait… 3 months… 6 months… 1 year… In the meantime google+ came out and they are continually developing their product, bringing many new features to the table, such as the google circles, the hangouts, the huddle, sharing with the circles you want or persons you want, public sharing, etc. Pretty cool – and it’s here, now!
One of my friends sent me an invitation to Diaspora* so eventually I got an account with them, but the excitement is gone by now… and today, just like many others, I got this email entitled, “Your invitation is coming soon, and we’re making a difference.”
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Dear Friend of Diaspora* -Thanks for your interest in being part of the Diaspora* community. You may not have heard from us in a while, but we’ve been working hard, head-down. We’ve built the first stage of a new social web, one better than what’s out there today: a place where each of us owns our own information, where each person controls his or her own privacy, where no-one is a product, and where we all control our own destinies.We’re sending out alpha invitations now, as quickly as we can. If you haven’t gotten yours yet, you will receive it by the end of October.There’s been big news in the social networking world recently, and we can’t help but be pleased with the impact our work has had on two of the biggest developments. We’re proud that Google+ imitated one of our core features, aspects, with their circles. And now Facebook is at last moving in the right direction with user control over privacy, a move spurred not just by Google+, but more fundamentally by you and thousands of other donors, as well as hundreds of thousands of people who’ve lined up to try Diaspora* — that is, by all of us who’ve stood up to say “there has to be a better way.” We’re making a difference already.And aspects is just one of the many ways we’re pioneering the future of the social web.Here’s a quick preview of some of the other ways:
We’ll tell you a little more about each of these points in the weeks ahead. And we’ll keep working to get your alpha invitation to you just as quickly as we can. Until then, thanks again for your interest in Diaspora*. Sincerely, The Diaspora* team |
C’mon, guys, you need to be more quick in releasing the new products! The web is moving at the lighting speed… if you want to make a difference, don’t try to do this TOO LATE! Facebook is updating really quick(remember the funny groups and pages on facebook? – where are they now?) and so does twitter, google+, and facebook!
Sep 09, 2011 @ 13:29:26
I think when it comes to social websites, or anything on the internet, you can’t put all your eggs in one basket. I don’t think Diaspora is trying to supplant Facebook or Twitter (since it’s integrating their systems). Google Plus is a great service but I think people are afraid of data security being compromised which is why it hasn’t exactly caught on as quickly as Facebook (although, quantitatively, it automatically had more users than Facebook or Twitter at startup due to the critical mass it had with Gmail).
I’m not sure it’s totally realistic for Diaspora to come to fruition as quickly as Google or Facebook. All these three companies started small and with a fistful of computer students, but I know with Facebook it took a long time to become popular. For a few years it was restricted only to universities within the US, so I think that gave it plenty of time to reconfigure itself if it needed to. Google also took years of trial and error. Diaspora has only been in the works for a year, and I think the fact that it entered public consciousness so early (even before it even had some sort of pilot release) causes our expectations, like you said, to wear off. It may have been necessary for Diaspora to generate public interest so early since they didn’t have many networks to begin with, as it is – so they had to send out a random casting call for developers.
So far, Diaspora has evolved (and still is) very slowly, but I think that’s what makes it work. The ones who are interested in creating this service, making it better and, at the same time, accumulating opinions from willing test users, are all doing what they can. I think it’s a noble cause they’re working towards and I’m interested to see what it comes down to. And you know, if it all turns out to be the Emperor’s New Clothes, then so be it.