Diaspora’s Early Adopters Launch The Diaspora Noise Project

Diaspora, the long-anticipated alternative to social networks that invade your privacy and monetize information about your interests and habits, has started opening up to newcomers. I recently joined and, in addition to a simple, clean interface, found an emerging community of interesting folks some of whom are involved in a musical experiment known as The Diaspora Noise Project.

The Diaspora social network has been in the news for quite some time since at least the launch of its successful Kickstarter campaign that closed in June 2010 having received over $200,000 in pledges far exceeding its $10,000 goal. More recently, Diaspora received renewed attention after PayPal froze its accounts.

Luckily that situation was resolved, Diaspora sprung back into action and, if you like to get in early, the time is now to begin seeking a pod open to new members and digging in. However, if you're seeking to join what seems to be the main pod, I can try to provide Hypebot readers with an invite via Facebook or by sending your email to me at: clyde(at)fluxresearch(dot)com.

Diaspora Member's Homepage Screenshot

If you're only interested in Diaspora as another outlet to distribute music pr, waiting and seeing how things develop is probably your best bet. But if you want to start sinking roots in a unique and earnest web community, joining now will allow you to build a solid presence and benefit from network effects as Diaspora grows.

The above screenshot gives you a pretty good idea of Diaspora's overall design, low on noise with a focus on facilitating communication. To decide if Diaspora's community is a good fit for you as a musician, I'd suggest finding out more about The Diaspora Noise Project that's identified by the hashtag #DiasporaNoise2011.

Initiated by Jóhannes Gunnar Þorsteinsson, The Diaspora Noise Project features uploaded tracks that are altered in any way participants desire and then made available to the group:

"The rules are completely freeform. You can add a layer of sound to the original recording, or you can completely remix it, cut it up or even destroy it. When you are done you upload the bounced track to your upload service of choice with the same naming scheme as the link below."

Here's an atmospheric example by sundrdisko.

Peter Kirn at Create Digital Music gives his impressions of the project and those involved.

So if you're looking for a low-noise social network that's attracting members interested in such collaborative endeavors and open to new ideas, find your pod now, find me on Facebook or email me.

Hypebot contributor Clyde Smith maintains his freelance writing hub at Flux Research and blogs at All World Dance and This Business of Blogging. To suggest topics for Hypebot, contact: clyde(at)fluxresearch(dot)com.