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iSpace or wiSpace: let's make social networking decentralized
Written By JustinKistner on Nov. 6, 2006.
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What if social networking didn't happen on a website? What if social networking were part of the rest of the web? A lot of people ask what is going to be the next MySpace, but I don't think there will be another. I agree with what David Winer said in an interview with Amanda Congdon on Rocketboom, which was that MySpace is just training wheels for the rest of the Internet.
I want to be part of the group that ushers in that prophecy. I started a design for a WordPress theme that is based on the MySpace. The design is just the beginning, for it to really be more like social networking we need a system for managing friends that is tied into permissions like whether or not someone can leave a comment or view a private blog post. While I'm developing a WordPress theme to bring social networkers on the rest of the web, the project will need to be a mash up of other technologies. I'm thinking about using Gravatar for displaying avatars. I explored using an openID plugin for WordPress for managing friends, but the plugin requires installing a PHP library that in turn requires recompiling PHP, which is hardly user-friendly enough to gain mass adoption. I'm going to use other plugins for a photo gallery and such, but I haven't finialized my tech selections yet, and that's where y'all come in.
What are your thoughts about a decentralized social network? It seems like building it off of blog software like WordPress is the way to go as they already have a large installed user base and plugin architecture. Plus, bloggers already understand the social side of networking. I do think it would be best if the network was compatible with other CMSs. I think open standards like openID and XFN seem like smart inclusions.
I'd like to see a decentralized social network. I'd like to see people do more with their profiles than MySpace allows. I'd like to see the profile owner make the money off of the ads on their profile. I'd like to see the network not go down because it's horded on one domain name.
What do you all think about how to do it, the viability of the concept, and whether or not you'll participate?
Fanbloodytastic
Written Nov. 6, 2006 / Report /
I love it! Your idea has a lot of merit. It has been something I have been thinking about recently as well since getting addicted to MySpace. I saw yesterday that MyBlogLog has a Reader Community feature that bloggers can add to their blog. Sure it doesn't do everything you describe and is obviously not decentralised but it does replicate MySpace's ease of use in adding friends while bringing the focus back to the standalone blog. Anyway, I think your idea is viabile if you can make it easy enough to implement and that the 9rules community of bloggers and readers would be a great launch vehicle to get the mass of users required for it to be beneficial.
Anthony - Unbaked Ideas Guy
Scrivs
Written Nov. 6, 2006 / Report /
Couldn't it be argued that your blogroll in your sidebar is your Social Network for blogs. The system is already decentralized and our blogs have already become our decentralized profile pages which we make money from with ads if we decide to place ads on them.
In any case I think that is as decentralized as you will get since many of the other pushes that you are looking for will require a centralized source to manage everything. Using Gravatar for example doesn't make you decentralized just because you can have your image appear anywhere on the web since you still need Gravatar.com to be up and running to view the image.
Kingmidas
Written Nov. 6, 2006 / Report /
I like the idea but I agree with Scrivs its going to be tough to decentralize it
JPhill
Written Nov. 6, 2006 / Report /
Aside from the points mentioned above, what about people that don't blog? Would you want them to be forced to use a CMS like Wordpress? The thing that I think people like about MySpace is that someone can come up with a quick profile in minutes. But it would take time for non-bloggers and people unfamiliar with CMS's to learn that, which could be a big turn off.
Not trying to bash the idea at all, because I think your thinking on it, but you have to consider all angles.
JustinKistner
Written Nov. 6, 2006 / Report /
I think the blogosphere is a type of social network already, which is why I think they make a logical choice for where to focus. I also think it *could* be argued that one's blogroll is their friend list, although it doesn't control permissions such as the ability to leave comments. I just think it needs a little tweaking to be more of a social network than just the blogosphere, which is only one part of a social network. For example, a typical blog home page contains full or partial text for one or more blog posts. Whereas a social network profile will only show headlines for 5 or so recent posts, but focuses more on the comments people leave. Social network profiles also feature a more prominent friend list with avatars compared to the blogroll which is most a list of text links tucked low on a sidebar. I don't think blogs need to change, but I think people participating in a social network space would be more inclined to take their activities onto the larger web if a blog was less focused on a blogger's words and more about being a place for socializing with that person.
As far as Gravatar, I'd rather see people host their own image vs. using Gravatar. Perhaps it could be stored in the root folder as a specific name similar to a favicon.ico file.
JustinKistner
Written Nov. 6, 2006 / Report /
Great point, JPhill.
aidanhenry
Written Dec. 13, 2006 / Report /
To be honest, I think that MyBlogLog has done a heck of a job of igniting this spark.
They took a simple concept and turned it into something useful and powerful. Not only can I see who has recently viewed my blog, but I can also control my blog contacts and communities.
I'm not trying to pump this company. I just think they've done an excellent job of working toward something similar to what you have proposed.
Cheers,
Aidan