[libraryatnight]

I haven't had a facebook account in many years and I don't miss it, but holy shit does this list just show how badly facebook needs an actual competitor.

Isn't there a happy medium somewhere? Where someone could use a facebook like model with ads to let users in for "free," but also accept payment for absolute privacy and content control.

Part of me thinks even if you made the best, most amazing platform it'd still be a gamble if you'd get the user adoption momentum necessary to be a serious competitor. Google couldn't do it.

[a13n]

I also wonder, if you got any traction whatsoever building a Facebook competitor, would they sue you for some kind of patent infringement? They'd definitely try to acquire you, and likely make it difficult to be successful if you didn't sell.

I guess Snap is an interesting case study here, but we can all read the writing on the wall.

[solarkraft]

Mastodon is doing very well in getting adoption - mostly from tech folks, but maybe/probably they'll pull people with them.

Facebook users in general seem a lot less tech oriented, so the initial push could be less.

Diaspora seems like a very well built-out alternative to Facebook in terms of features and speed (speed&cleanliness are much better). However the network effect is of course a thing. Maybe when Diaspora gets connected to the Fediverse via ActivityPub the Fediverse enthusiasts will tell their parents and grandparents to move over.

[chillacy]

Mainland China gets along fine without Facebook and has a strong offering in WeChat, but then again maybe Facebook is the lesser of two evils here...

[libraryatnight]

I think Facebook would love to be the WeChat for the rest of the world.