The project is small and mainly full of geeks now, but so was Wikipedia when I started promoting it. Everybody told me it would never succeed then, but they all use it now.
More relevant to this discussion, it provides a Free (as in freedom) alternative to Facebook. As long as no free alternative exists, Facebook has something going for it. Once you have an alternative, you can kick Facebook. (Also relevant, Eben Moglen, who co-wrote the GPL with Stallman, inspired Diaspora).
Yes Diaspora is small. Wikipedia also once had only 10,000 articles.
I recommend joining. The community is smaller than 800 million, but you can connect with me so you'll have at least one awesome person in your network there.
I created a Diaspora account a while ago because I thought it would be a usable alternative and maybe I could get some friends to follow. Well, it isn't.
It started with my profile picture being public, there is no way to disable that.
Then I did not understand the aspect of "aspects" because at least in my language no-one ever uses that word in any way remotely related to a social network. I still have not fully understand the idea. I think it is way too intellectual and not natural.
You do not get recommendations for "friends of your friends you might know". Of course it would be a privacy issue, I know that. But this is a crucial feature, if not THE crucial feature of a social network.
And one thing I was looking forward to and what I thought would let me find likeminded people in this network, the ability to follow tags, seems to be restricted to my pod. Or maybe there is just no-one using it and thus there is almost zero content.
The name is standing in its way too. Reminds me of the "pirate party".
And I am a technology lover, hacker in mind, etc. Diaspora is not remotely close to being something I would recommend my friends.
The project is small and mainly full of geeks now, but so was Wikipedia when I started promoting it. Everybody told me it would never succeed then, but they all use it now.
More relevant to this discussion, it provides a Free (as in freedom) alternative to Facebook. As long as no free alternative exists, Facebook has something going for it. Once you have an alternative, you can kick Facebook. (Also relevant, Eben Moglen, who co-wrote the GPL with Stallman, inspired Diaspora).
Yes Diaspora is small. Wikipedia also once had only 10,000 articles.
I recommend joining. The community is smaller than 800 million, but you can connect with me so you'll have at least one awesome person in your network there.
And you own your data.