Re:Ask HN: What would a Facebook that isn't evil look like?
by mcv on Sunday July 25, 2021 @05:40AM
(#27947938)
What's the problem with the distributed social networks? If you don't want a single entity to be in control of all people's data, then distributed is the only way to go.
Of course the problem with the existing distributed social networks, like Diaspora, Friendica and all those others, is that there's not a lot of money behind them, so they're mostly amateur projects. And there's certainly a lot that can still be improved about them in terms of features.
What I personally don't like, is how you currently need different centralised sites and apps to follow various things an people. Just Facebook isn't enough; you also need Twitter. And Instagram. And Reddit. And then there's every possible blog.
I'd like a system that acts as my own portal to all those systems, and allows me to follow people on the Fediverse, Facebook, Instagram, RSS feeds, you name it; and is easy to expand to support new things, but also gives me more control over my feed; all of those social networks have a tendency to include all sorts of nonsense in my feed that I'm not interested in. More powerful filters would be nice.
And I wouldn't mind paying for that either, as long as it really has the capability to support nearly everything. The internet has grown to only support free, and therefore ad-monetised, possibly selling your data. But I somehow still pay EUR 22 per month for TV that I rarely watch. Something that helps me manage my feed well and puts me in control, should be worth something, shouldn't it?
Of course the problem with the existing distributed social networks, like Diaspora, Friendica and all those others, is that there's not a lot of money behind them, so they're mostly amateur projects. And there's certainly a lot that can still be improved about them in terms of features.
What I personally don't like, is how you currently need different centralised sites and apps to follow various things an people. Just Facebook isn't enough; you also need Twitter. And Instagram. And Reddit. And then there's every possible blog.
I'd like a system that acts as my own portal to all those systems, and allows me to follow people on the Fediverse, Facebook, Instagram, RSS feeds, you name it; and is easy to expand to support new things, but also gives me more control over my feed; all of those social networks have a tendency to include all sorts of nonsense in my feed that I'm not interested in. More powerful filters would be nice.
And I wouldn't mind paying for that either, as long as it really has the capability to support nearly everything. The internet has grown to only support free, and therefore ad-monetised, possibly selling your data. But I somehow still pay EUR 22 per month for TV that I rarely watch. Something that helps me manage my feed well and puts me in control, should be worth something, shouldn't it?