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Did Diaspora Just Ask for More Money?

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Written on:October 13, 2011
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A friend sent me an invite to Diaspora just a little over a couple of weeks ago so it was no surprise when I received a newsletter from them.

 


Oh, wait, you don’t know what Diaspora is? Bet my high school friends don’t too. (They still don’t even know what Google + is, so it’s no surprise).

 

It is a social networking “project” or the new distributed social platform that is now in alpha development. It still is.

The concept is that since large networking sites like Facebook and Twiter have full control of all the data we supply them and all the logs of our activities, the project aims to give its users clear and open control over their social networking activities. They want to give users their own nodes and have full control and ownership of their data.

Sounds like something we all wanted. Alright, cool.

If you wish to know more about the project, you may want to watch the video of the group behind the project.

So yeah, it was no surprise to receive a newsletter from a social network that I just signed up and barely played around with. But it was a surprise to see them ask for more money. They just got funded over 20 times than they originally asked. 6,479 backers through Kickstarter and $200,641 in funds to be exact, along with its many other supporters. Even Mark Zuckerberg donated.  You’ve read it right, Zuck donated to what aims be “an alternative to Facebook”.

So, seriously, Diaspora how could you date ask more funding? A disappointed backer, Jennifer, commented on their project:

You don’t deliver what you promise, miss most of your deadlines, and got funded 20 times more than you asked for and then you have the gall to send an email asking for MORE money????

Why should I throw good money after bad?

At least this email promises something you might deliver – nothing. I’d rather buy shares in a company that is going under. Thanks all the same.

Seriously, Diaspora, I thought:

Diaspora is:

-For benefit rather than profit
-A community rather than corporation

 

Yet after missing several deadlines and not clearly showing your backers as to which direction the project is heading, how could you ask for more money?

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Yosem Companys
Yosem Companys

Here's an update we've posted on our blog.  Thanks for your feedback: http://blog.diasporafoundation.org/2011/10/15/diaspora-not-vaporware-not-a-nigerian-prince.html Best, [email protected]

Jonha Revesencio
Jonha Revesencio

Hi @google-1735b635f6cd3bd5ae29a3bb400a6ea8:disqus - I really appreciate Diaspora* for being transparent and I think that this post really needs a follow-up post! 

Cantsay
Cantsay

yes i received that money request too, guess my reaction, unsubscribed immediately, and flagged as spam, goodbye diaspora

Jonha Revesencio
Jonha Revesencio

Hi Cantsay, have you gotten an invite from them and got the chance to play around their interface? What do you think?

Gian Faye
Gian Faye

I wonder why I didn't get that newsletter while I'm subscribe to receive their newsletters. The last newsletter I got from them was on September. Could it be possible that someone hacked into their system?

Jonha Revesencio
Jonha Revesencio

It's all over TechCrunch and ReadWriteWeb so I'm pretty sure they're not hacked. Joe Brockmeier of RRW actually published an article as to where did the original funding go: http://www.readwriteweb.com/cloud/2011/10/the-state-of-diaspora-and-fund.php

Gian Faye
Gian Faye

Yes, I saw that article from TechCrunch. If they really intent to replace Facebook, they will need a lot of funding. But asking from their subscribers is definitely a wrong move.

Gian Faye
Gian Faye

Thanks for the invite. I just saw the interface of Diaspora and was shocked. It indeed looks similar to Google+! I wish Google had let us know about this so the Diaspora team has been properly credited somehow. Will look forward to your follow up post about this.

Gian Faye
Gian Faye

Wow. Thanks, will message you in a moment... I think it's no problem with Diaspora if that's the case since it is open source. If Google did get the idea from Diaspora, then it had already contributed to the social media industry. 

Jonha Revesencio
Jonha Revesencio

DM me your email address on Twitter so I could send you one :) Oh gosh, I think Google + got the Circles and a tad bit of its interface from Diaspora* :(

Gian Faye
Gian Faye

I signed up but haven't got any invitation yet.

Gian Faye
Gian Faye

Ah, so it definitely wasn't hacked. :/ Too bad for them, I hope they wouldn't lose much of their supporters as I really want to see what's the next for Diaspora.

Jonha Revesencio
Jonha Revesencio

It's funny that people complain about the "Facebook's possibility of charging for membership" - of which I'm certain they won't, just look at their Homepage - yet Diaspora expect people to give at least $25 or so for the development. You may view their latest blog post which is an exact replica of the email (minus the photo) in their latest blog post here: http://blog.diasporafoundation.org/2011/10/12/we-love-you.html Reading from previous articles written about them, I think they want it to be community-funded so the core of the project would remain non-commercialized. Either way, I think a lot of people are less enthusiastic in donating now.

Tristan
Tristan

I've heard about them from a few of my friends but I don't know about them. After reading your post, I asked myself too... Why are they asking money? Let's see how will they react to this. 

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