So, slightly off-topic, but serious question: I don't use FB on principle (tracking, walled garden, evil in various ways), but I also don't know how to convince my "normal" friends to communicate in other ways... Does anyone have suggestions to avoid falling out of contact with faraway people? I emigrate every now and then, and I have yet to maintain connections after having left another city. It's rather frustrating, but is something as evil as FB or Skype or Google+ really the only way to approach this problem?
EDIT: I've re-activated my Diaspora account, but obviously no "normals" are to be found there ;) Perhaps I should start campaigning.
Honestly, if you don't have any better reasons not to use Facebook I think you should just stick to it and keep a minimal profile. I'm pretty sure that as soon as something becomes mainstream enough to be used by "normals" you will classify it as evil and not use it out of principle.
I hear what you're saying, but my gripe is not at all it's "mainstreamness" -- it's that FB plays notoriously fast and loose with privacy as well as copyright: I'm not quite prepared to sign off copyright to everything I post (notably photography, for example). Plus, it's also got to do with a US-based company knowing precisely what my social graph looks like that makes me uneasy (although as I said Google mostly knows already, so ok).
> if you don't have any better reasons
Finally, I am curious: don't you think freedom is a reasonable reason? If Diaspora were magically to become mainstream, I'm unlikely to classify it as evil in the same way I would with FB. (i.e. you can transfer away your data, spin up your own server, etc.)
EDIT: also, be the change you would like to see -- if I'm still on Facebook, my friends would have even less incentive to move away than currently, where at least I can convince most people to email me.
I'm with you on the copyright stuff. That's why I don't post anything on Facebook - my photo albums and feed are completely empty.
What I'm saying is that you want a tool to keep in touch with your friends and Facebook is that tool. If you don't use it for anything else I wouldn't say freedom is an issue, no.
Anyway, you have some valid and fair points so I won't argue about the rest (privacy, incentive to move away/email etc).
Fair enough. I also use email (mostly in fact), full well knowing that even if I don't directly use Google mail, they still have everything... All in all a very unsatisfactory situation.
EDIT: I've re-activated my Diaspora account, but obviously no "normals" are to be found there ;) Perhaps I should start campaigning.