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Lets say I can convince all of my friends to download and continually sync their FB data. Then, I build a desktop app or web service on top of an open, distributed network with a UI that encompasses most of the features that people use on FB.

It seems like I could interact with my friends, still use facebook as I please, and gradually evolve my social media interactions towards a more open, distributed network.

Any reason why we would not see a handful of such projects emerge?



They can emerge, but they're going to have a hell of a time getting traction, as they've got the mother of all chicken-and-egg problems.


My feeling: we are already so close to hitting the lock in point with Facebook, that although many projects will emerge, they will ultimately go nowhere, despite data portability and genuine interest in alternatives.




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