Diaspora, Privacy-Aware Facebook Rival Goes Beta

Chances are you don't need another social network to join. You're already doing enough tweeting and status updating and not doing nearly enough working and creating the way it is. However, if you remember the great threat of a mass exodus from Facebook several months back. Then, you likely recall talk of an open-source, decentralized network called Diaspora. Fueled by the rage of privacy concerns and general dislike of Facebook, it campaigned and raised $200,641 through Kickstarter.

The tagline on the site reads, "Share what you want, with whom you want." In Diaspora, users can segment their contacts into groups and share items solely with those of their choosing. They take ownership of their pictures and have full control over how they're distributed. Most of all, the team behind Diaspora strives to make every interaction on the site clean and easy. This includes privacy controls. Right now, the network is live, in invite-only beta form. While this isn't the perfect place for artists to recruit fans, it's important to know that it's there. Just in case an undercurrent pulls them in. Visit the site and request an invite.