[governance] Facebook profiles blocked and content removed in Brazil

[Daniel Kalchev]

On 01.06.12 01:25, Norbert Bollow wrote:
>
> If the people with whom I wish to communicate use Facebook, the
> existence of any number of other social network sites is irrelevant.

This is so very true.
With the clarification, that you can participate in as many other social 
networks as you wish, if you have sufficient (mental) resources. About 
the same as participating in many different clubs.

> Even if I had the ability to create a social network site of my own
> with the same features as Facebook, that would change nothing, since
> there will always be only one "social network" site where "everyone"
> is.
>
> By contrast, if I don't like the dress code rules of a club that I
> would otherwise wish to join, I can, with a reasonable hope of
> success, start a new club with different dress code rules.

By the way, I don't see the contrast here.

Both your example club and Facebook are clubs. Facebook is just an club.
The "trouble" you have with Facebook is that many, lots of them go to 
that club and you go too, like their dress code or not. As it happens 
with any club that gets popular enough.

About the only power Facebook has comes from the fact that they have 
managed to attract sufficiently many members to their club. It is like 
football clubs attracting fans. Do we consider them illegal? Do we 
consider them monopoly. Or, the most important - do we consider them 
having too much power with their huge number of fans?

There is also nothing to prevent you from starting another social 
network site. This is in fact, how Facebook was born. You will need of 
course to go trough the pains of attracting enough members and 
maintaining the thing. Chances you will be successful. You will have 
your own club, with the rules as you see fit.

Since life is short, most people don't bother. They make compromises. Go 
to clubs that have so-so acceptable rules and dress codes for their 
taste. Sometimes they go to a club because of certain members, or 
because of certain benefits it offers (bait, for the members).

Internet is such a wonderful place. It let's people easily implement 
ideas and concepts they were convinced to think are impossible "in real 
life". It's the same. Just the cost to implement these things in 
Internet is lower and thus many more things made reality.

Daniel

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