Social networking services available on the web are based upon proprietary software which have the ultimate purpose of advertisement-driven profit which implicitly demands tracking user activities. On the other hand, in order to allow people’s collective intelligence to fully develop by means of their self-organized social networks, communication in social networking software must be independent of intrinsic intermediaries, free of external influence.
Robin Good has republished Rafael Pezzi’s important While Paper in a very readable format. Read it here.
Introduction:
“Rafael Pezzi introduces in this white paper a new concept for designing social networking services, not provided by centralized servers, but by nodes of the network forming a cloud of computers owned by individuals who are all joining the network.
Just like in cloud computing, where computer services are provided by an interconnected network of servers, the Social Cloud concept envisions services provided and maintained by a human-powered social network.
The basic idea is very similar to P2P file sharing, but in addition to files, people will also exchange ideas, products, and services in the physical world.
In this two-part paper you will also find information on the technical aspects for implementing a social cloud network based on existing technologies, a description of the software layer required to provide advanced functionality to the basic social networking layer, and some examples of how peers and communities can interact to generate a complex web of relationships.
In Part 2 you will also find more in-depth information on the hardware required to run the social network client and its possible implementation for communities with limited economic resources.”