I feel like these come and go every few years; look at StatusNet or Diaspora for example.
Hell, I still remember when MSN tried to integrate with AIM and Y! messenger by reverse-engineering the protocols and putting them into the MSN client.
And before that we had social networks like email and usenet, and instant-messaging systems like IRC.
Certainly these things are cyclic, but that doesn't mean they're completely beyond the influence of ordinary people, let alone the kinds of people who tend to hang out on HN.
Yes, I can. The networks work fine. If people need more than "this works fine, it's free, and you can use it instead of the other way around" as a reason, the people are broken.
20 years ago we hardly had cell phones and that was just fine, if you actually loved your Grandmother you'd always find a way to send her some baby photos... and now we start to cry because Diaspora is kinda basic? Even though that would change real quick if only 5% of the FB users would switch to it. I think that's silly, so I for one am reachable by phone and email, and my friends are always welcome to join me "on the actual web". Until then, I'm not supporting them in their self-harm: for whatever reasons people use Facebook, I try to avoid being one of them (edit: one of the reasons, that is).
How many friends can you really connect to on them though? Would be very few people that could say everyone they cared about actively used an open/ distributed social network.
I do care about these people as persons, but not as interwebs citizens, not at all... that is, those of them who have something to say which they actually care about have a website, and with the inane nonsense many post on facebook, I am not "connected" either way.. if anything, that made me think less of people, that's one big reason I stopped paying attention to it.
Hmm, I guess that means diaspora wouldn't change anything there, for me. I'm not going to be another human TV for them, no matter the protocol.
But the fact that alternatives* exist and people don't use them just because they don't want to do the first step and actively pull their friends with them, is just sad? That's basically admitting Facebook can do whatever the it wants, since people are (or rather feel) trapped.
(and more than that; many of these networks allow you to sign up for updates of people on other pods of other networks.. Facebook isn't even thinking of playing in the same league, it's just that the UI is similar and has words and photos in it)
Hell, I still remember when MSN tried to integrate with AIM and Y! messenger by reverse-engineering the protocols and putting them into the MSN client.