- Diaspora (software)
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Developer(s) The Diaspora Development Team Preview release Developer Release[1] / September 15, 2010 Development status Active Written in Ruby[2] Platform Ruby on Rails Type Social network service License AGPL[3], some parts dual-licensed under MIT License[4] as well Website diasporafoundation.org Diaspora (stylized DIASPORA*) is a free personal web server[3] that implements a distributed social networking service. Installations of the software form nodes (termed "pods") which make up the distributed Diaspora social network.
The project was founded by Dan Grippi, Maxwell Salzberg, Raphael Sofaer and Ilya Zhitomirskiy, students at New York University's Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences. The group received donations in excess of $200,000 via Kickstarter. A consumer alpha version was released on November 23, 2010.
Contents
Concept
Diaspora is intended to address privacy concerns related to centralized social networks by allowing users set up their own server (or "pod") to host content; pods can then interact to share status updates, photographs, and other social data.[5] It allows its users to host their data with a traditional web host, a cloud-based host, an ISP, or a friend. The framework, which is being built on Ruby on Rails, is free software and can be experimented with by external developers.
Development
Zhitomirskiy, Grippi (2011)
After the project raised over $200,000 in funding via the Kickstarter website the group began working on the software.[3][6] A developer preview with a number of security holes was released on September 15, 2010.[7] On November 23, a redesigned website was released in preparation for the alpha, with the old site still available as a blog section. The early security holes were fixed with the alpha release.[8]
After its foundation is completed, Diaspora's developers intend to concentrate on creating a "battery of add-on modules" in order to "facilitate any type of communication," and plan to offer a paid hosting service for Diaspora seeds.[3][9]
Reception
The program was recommended by the Chronicle of Higher Education in July 2011 as an alternative to corporately produced software.[10]
See also
- List of social networking websites
- Social media
- Freedom Box
References
- ^ Developer Release, September 15, 2010, Blog – Diaspora*
- ^ Vernon, Amy (2010-05-12). "Striking back at Facebook, the open-source way". Network World (International Data Group). http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/61195. Retrieved May 12, 2010.
- ^ a b c d Salzberg, Maxwell; Daniel Grippi, Raphael Sofaer, and Ilya Zhitomirskiy. "Decentralize the web with Diaspora — Kickstarter". Kickstarter. http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/196017994/diaspora-the-personally-controlled-do-it-all-distr. Retrieved May 13, 2010.
- ^ "Diaspora Contributor Agreement". https://spreadsheets.google.com/a/joindiaspora.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dFdRTnY0TGtfaklKQXZNUndsMlJ2eGc6MQ&ndplr=1.
- ^ "Diaspora: A first peek at Facebook's challenger". Computerworld. http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9186498/Diaspora_A_first_peek_at_Facebook_s_challenger. Retrieved September 17, 2010.
- ^ Dwyer, Jim (2010-05-11). "Four Nerds and a Cry to Arms Against Facebook". New York Times (The New York Times Company). http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/12/nyregion/12about.html. Retrieved May 12, 2010.
- ^ Goodin, Dan. "Code for open-source Facebook littered with landmines". The Register. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/09/16/diaspora_pre_alpha_landmines/. Retrieved September 17, 2010.
- ^ "Private Alpha Invites Going Out Today". joindiaspora. December 10, 2010. http://blog.joindiaspora.com/2010/11/23/private-alpha-released.html. Retrieved December 17, 2010.
- ^ "join diaspora — the project". http://blog.joindiaspora.com/project.html. Retrieved 2010-05-12.
- ^ Lawson, Konrad. "Remembering Diaspora: The Open Source Social Network". Chronicle of Higher Education. http://chronicle.com/blogs/profhacker/remembering-diaspora-the-open-source-social-network/34627?sid=wc&utm_source=wc&utm_medium=en. Retrieved 15 July 2011. "Even if they never dominate the field, their decentralized approach and rallying cry to “take back your network” may help maintain a sustained pressure on the Googles and Facebooks of the world."
External links
Microblogging Websites
(Comparison)Platforms Features Reblogging · Activity stream · LifestreamingCategories:- Internet properties established in 2010
- Social information processing
- Social media
- Social networking services
- Web 2.0
- Kickstarter projects
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
