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Jimmy Wales has quietly launched a Facebook rival

zdnet.com

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Re: Jimmy Wales has quietly launched a Facebook rival

#41

Post by GetOutOfBed »

danans wrote: post #31

Just my guess, but I bet that from this point on, few people (in the developed world) will race to sign up for a new social network. Why? Given the societal and personal costs (and benefits) that we've seen with previous social networks, a lot of lay people are re-evaluating the utility that such services provide them. In many cases, the answer is to keep your current social network, but increasingly disengage from i…

I agree that people aren't looking for new social networks, but I do wonder about your view of disengaging from Facebook. I keep reading about it on HN but I'm not seeing it myself. I wonder if it's a US-centric view.

Re: Jimmy Wales has quietly launched a Facebook rival

#42

Post by magduf »

halflings wrote: post #34
michaelmrose wrote: post #22

I would prefer a decentralized social network based on boxes you plug into your router with content shared in a way that fellow users bear the weight of shared content like torrents. You could rent the box or buy outright with money to develop paid for by a premium on the box or by the rent wherein even a modest rent would outstrip the cost of buying like a cable box.

Sounds good in theory, but that is so far removed from what 99% of social media users do. Nobody wants to rent/buy boxes, handle routers, etc. ; most users are on mobile, on the go.

Well the idea is they plug the box in at home, and the box is the server that contains all their shared data (photos, etc.) and lets them control how it's shared with others. Sure, they can access it from their phone, but the phone wouldn't be the server. The whole idea is that each user has control over their own data, instead of just handing it over to some big tech company.

Re: Jimmy Wales has quietly launched a Facebook rival

#45

Post by nicoburns »

GetOutOfBed wrote: post #41
danans wrote: post #31

Just my guess, but I bet that from this point on, few people (in the developed world) will race to sign up for a new social network. Why? Given the societal and personal costs (and benefits) that we've seen with previous social networks, a lot of lay people are re-evaluating the utility that such services provide them. In many cases, the answer is to keep your current social network, but increasingly disengage from i…

I agree that people aren't looking for new social networks, but I do wonder about your view of disengaging from Facebook. I keep reading about it on HN but I'm not seeing it myself. I wonder if it's a US-centric view.

It's certainly becoming a more and more popular perspective with my demographic (20-something's in the UK). Most people haven't quite checked out just yet, but mainly use facebook for messenger and events, and are generally becoming:

1. Disengaged with the platform 2. Concerned about how much it knows about our lives

In the last few months, I've seen this go from something that only techies cared about to an increasingly mainstream point of view.

Re: Jimmy Wales has quietly launched a Facebook rival

#46

Post by TallGuyShort »

ishanjain28 wrote: post #25

This just makes me think why do I need a social network. I never did anything remotely useful on Facebook/Instagram(Although, Twitter is useful). Why would I want to use this?

I enjoy some of the content I find on Instagram from interesting individuals and companies. But for me the value of Facebook is its ubiquity - nothing comes close to it for being able to contact old friends from other countries, from schools, from various social circles, etc.

And for that reason the "quietly launched" thing here kinds of defeats the point of any Facebook rival for me.

Re: Jimmy Wales has quietly launched a Facebook rival

#47

Post by Someone1234 »

pwinnski wrote: post #27
mholt wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

HN is a social network

To call HN a social network is to redefine the term to apply to any website that allows comments. It's really not.

That's how the US Government defines it.

If you want a US Visa you need to tell them your HK account.

Re: Jimmy Wales has quietly launched a Facebook rival

#48

Post by simlevesque »

pwinnski wrote: post #27
mholt wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

HN is a social network

To call HN a social network is to redefine the term to apply to any website that allows comments. It's really not.

comments, users, status points determined by a community... it's not just comments.

Re: Jimmy Wales has quietly launched a Facebook rival

#50

Post by cumwolf »

lucideer wrote: post #38
danans wrote: post #31

Just my guess, but I bet that from this point on, few people (in the developed world) will race to sign up for a new social network. Why? Given the societal and personal costs (and benefits) that we've seen with previous social networks, a lot of lay people are re-evaluating the utility that such services provide them. In many cases, the answer is to keep your current social network, but increasingly disengage from i…

The likes of TikTok would disprove this guess, but given the age profile, your theory may still hold true if age-range-bound.

TikTok is a great example of people being willing to join new social media but it's a niche social media app compared to fb/twitter... and in a lot of ways fills a void that Vine left, so i agree but think it's kind of an exception right now
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