Whenever people suggest that Facebook users are morons for actively using the service, they're empowering Zuckerberg to continue his mission. The problem isn't stupidity or even ignorance, but rather Facebook's data mining crusade that's fueled by a veritable carte blanche: contracts of adhesion.
Contracts of adhesion prevent us from negotiating which services we receive at what price. We can either accept Facebook's terms or not use the service. Period. Usually, this isn't a problem, but Facebook started off small. It grew into a service with network effects strong enough to actually raise a viable argument that we agree to the terms of service under duress and therefore never manifest assent.
It's a unique legal situation: generally, people offended by a company's practices can boycott. However, Facebook has turned us into the product, and while we can leave, our friends might not. The underlying purpose served by Facebook requires its community, a community that grew before establishing the invidious privacy practices.
The technological difficulty of building a Facebook replacement is compounded by challenge of convincing not just one user to switch, but enough of them to guarantee a tipping point. Not discounting the technological difficulty, I think more of the focus should be on an "exit" plan from Facebook. Google+ nailed the technology, but completely blew their Facebook evacuation plan.
Contracts of adhesion prevent us from negotiating which services we receive at what price. We can either accept Facebook's terms or not use the service. Period. Usually, this isn't a problem, but Facebook started off small. It grew into a service with network effects strong enough to actually raise a viable argument that we agree to the terms of service under duress and therefore never manifest assent.
It's a unique legal situation: generally, people offended by a company's practices can boycott. However, Facebook has turned us into the product, and while we can leave, our friends might not. The underlying purpose served by Facebook requires its community, a community that grew before establishing the invidious privacy practices.
The technological difficulty of building a Facebook replacement is compounded by challenge of convincing not just one user to switch, but enough of them to guarantee a tipping point. Not discounting the technological difficulty, I think more of the focus should be on an "exit" plan from Facebook. Google+ nailed the technology, but completely blew their Facebook evacuation plan.