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Time for Open Social Networking?

I believe it’s time to build an open social networking service, similar to Facebook, MySpace, etc., except not controlled by a single company. By creating an open internet standard, developers can create interoperable applications without product lock-in. I’m proposing such a project, and looking for help getting it going.

I admit it, I’m addicted to Facebook. I spend way too much time on it. The biggest problem, of course, is that I don’t actually like Facebook. It has privacy concerns, yes, but more importantly it just doesn’t run the way I want it to run. Furthermore, if it did run the way I wanted it to, other people wouldn’t like it. As a closed product, Facebook is a compromise designed to appeal to as many people as possible. As a result, it’s a perfect product for nobody.

My goal is to develop a set of standards that would allow anyone to develop interoperable social networking servers and clients. This would provide choice to users, both in terms of interface and usability, but also in terms of privacy and security models on the server. By not storing all the personal information on a single server but rather having each user store their own information on their own servers, each user is able to use the privacy model of their own choice. And by making a single protocol that all clients and servers can speak, you don’t need to know (or care) what service your friends use; you’ll still see their updates.

I recognize that it’s a difficult path to develop a standard, create applications, then reach a large enough userbase to go mainstream. While it seems impossible now, it’s been done many times before. Facebook supplanted MySpace, which largely replaced LiveJournal. The history of social networking sites shows that a superior product can replace the market leader, no matter how large the market share may be.

Right now I need a lot of help developing concepts, and I’ll need a lot of help in many areas going forward. The best way to help out right now, however, is to visit my RSSN website (Really Simple Social Networking) at http://rssn.hedgie.com and create an account. Whether you want to develop the protocols, program an application, or just help me beautify the website, all support is appreciated!