If Facebook Was A Government, Diaspora* Is An Anarchist

Do you remember the first time you used the Internet? I used to fight with my sisters to “get online” after school so I could check my AOL mail, Neopets, and the occasion teen chat room.  I went by FelicityRC.  Many thought it was referring to the WB show, but it was actually the name of my American Girl doll.

Fast forward to 2011 where you are Googled by your boss, mom and ex-boyfriend.  What used to be a friendly way of meeting future college peers is now a platform where brands can find you (I am one of people who gets those brands on Facebook, sorry).  Facebook debuted Timeline last week, proving to me that yes, they can figure out the birth order of my sisters (though we don’t post the year for our birthday), how many friends I have made each year since I joined (less each year it seems) and that I will never escape certain pictures.

So appears Diaspora*, a community whose mission is “to build a new and better social web, one 100% owned and controlled by you.”