[wplug] Social media project

[Justin Smith]

By now, I think everyone on this list is aware that I’m a staunch supporter 
of online privacy. Some of you also know that I’m switching careers to work 
as a Linux sysadmin. Well, I’ve found myself in a situation that may allow me 
to combine those two :)

I’ve been talking on Reddit about how frustrating it is not being able to 
convince people to leave proprietary social networks like Facebook, even 
when presented with evidence of how they abuse people's trust.

Apparently, I’m not alone. At least one other person is out there and 
wants to do something about it.

We haven’t made any plans just yet, but I’m interested in exploring the 
possibility of running a “pod” in a decentralized, open source social 
network like Diaspora. If you want people to leave Facebook, you’ve got to 
give them an alternative, right? Diaspora has name recognition - compared 
to other projects, anyway - and it allows users to cross-post to existing 
social media networks, which helps ease the transition.

I don’t expect to change the world with this. It may not even go anywhere if 
I’m mistaken about the time or costs involved. Even so, I think it’s an idea 
worth exploring. If this is something you’d be interested in, send me an 
email and I’ll include you in our discussions.

--
*Justin S. Smith*
Vice chair/secretary, WPLUG Board of Directors
http://www.wplug.org[1] 

/"Isn't it ironic that the proprietary software developers call us 
communists? We are the ones who have provided for a free market, where 
they allow only monopoly."/
-Richard Stallman

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[1] http://www.wplug.org