Something is going to topple Facebook, but I very much doubt it will be Diaspora.
Diaspora doesn’t have what it takes to topple Facebook
31–38 of 38 posts
Re: Diaspora doesn’t have what it takes to topple Facebook
#32Earlier quoted context omitted.
For encryption to be worth something, it needs to be unencrypted by the end user. However, I don't see how they'd do that. Browsers don't integrate this functionality and one could write a plugin, but that's a big barrier to adoption. I'm not sure why a plugin is necessary. Javascript can do encryption. Actually, I'm not even sure why airtight end-to-end encryption is necessary. Most people will use a "standard" inst…
The reason Javascript won't do the trick is that in order to send the correct Javascript, the server needs to have all the information necessary to decrypt all the content anyway. So there's no point in the encryption at all, because the information will pass through the server unencrypted at some stage and can be captured. If this were implemented as a browser feature or plugin, machines with the user's key informat…
My point is also that there's (almost) no point in the encryption at all. If Diaspora is going to be P2P, then any compromised node can hijack the data. The only point of encryption would be to protect information enroute. Once information gets to a node, you either need trust, white box encryption, or hardware based DRM.
Re: Diaspora doesn’t have what it takes to topple Facebook
#33No shit, Sherlock.
Re: Diaspora doesn’t have what it takes to topple Facebook
#34Does anyone remember what happened to Myspace? Of course it was complicated, but I think the primary driver in the exodus from Myspace to Facebook were the perceived privacy benefits of Facebook. People do care about privacy, but will only act on it if there is a reasonably convenient alternative - if Diaspora can make itself convenient, I think it has a chance. Also, add in a slow news week with some sensationalized…
I think the primary driver in the exodus from MySpace to Facebook was the Feed. The experience of Facebook is just so much more "social" because of it. Other things like design/perceived professionalism/etc didn't hurt either, of course.
Yeah, I agree that those were important, maybe more important factors too. But I know alot of my non-tech friends made the move largely because they were sick of myspace spammers constantly contacting them.
Re: Diaspora doesn’t have what it takes to topple Facebook
#35Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think the primary driver in the exodus from MySpace to Facebook was the Feed. The experience of Facebook is just so much more "social" because of it. Other things like design/perceived professionalism/etc didn't hurt either, of course.
Yeah, I agree that those were important, maybe more important factors too. But I know alot of my non-tech friends made the move largely because they were sick of myspace spammers constantly contacting them.
Oh, interesting. I was thinking of "privacy" in terms of not letting their personal information get out; but there's certainly that issue, too!
Re: Diaspora doesn’t have what it takes to topple Facebook
#36Earlier quoted context omitted.
> You can have a good-faith "please delete this" but that doesn't stop another party from keeping it. You can revoke your signature for that message, where it effectively ceases to be yours.
I don't think you can revoke a signature in a way that allows repudiation. You can only say, "I no longer stand by what I said," not "I never signed this." I could be wrong, though. If you have links demonstrating this, please post them.
If the key is revoked, the digital signature done with this key is effectively revoked, since it no longer establishes identity. Look how CRLs work in PKI.
Re: Diaspora doesn’t have what it takes to topple Facebook
#37The problem that I have with Diaspora is that they haven't said how they're going to solve the two problems I find interesting. Specifically, Diaspora says that you'll be in charge of your data and that it will be "encrypted at every leg". The problem is that I can't see how Diaspora will address those issues (and I'll explain why). First, they say that they're going to put you in charge of your data. If you post som…
Then I delete it from Ultrabook - it was embarrassing. Goodbook still has it stored. You can have a good-faith "please delete this" but that doesn't stop another party from keeping it.
How's this different from Facebook and someone saving an embarrassing photo that you deleted?
Re: Diaspora doesn’t have what it takes to topple Facebook
#38Earlier quoted context omitted.
I agree. Sure, if we define "failure" as something as embarrassing as "bankruptcy", maybe Facebook won't "fail". But if we define failure as "starting to decline instead of inflate, after years of unchecked growth", well, maybe that's what Diaspora is actually after. I think the article's other points are equally invalid... How can Facebook's "500 million user" base be the impediment to people adopting Diaspora? Sure…
How can Facebook's "500 million user" base be the impediment to people adopting Diaspora? Because you're going to stay where your friends are, unless it's really easy to switch. It's not going to be easy to switch to Diaspora when you have to host your own node. Then when you do switch, you won't be able to find any of your friends. Diaspora has no solution to the discovery problem. There's no way to search for peopl…
@what, I understand the basis of the argument, I just don't think it's logical. Of course popular social services fail, regardless of their user base at time X.