Good Luck Occupiers, But Here’s Why “Facebook For Protesters” Won’t Work

Members of the Occupy movement are building a “Facebook for protesters” called The Global Square, Wired reported yesterday. Less than a traditional social network, it’s an international collaboration network. While a valiant effort, I see 3 big problems with the project’s concept that will limit its success and impact.

The Global Square is designed to allow local Occupy movements and other protesters to coordinate and share knowledge across different content management systems. Some of the reasons for starting the project that its developers told Wired include:

1. Connecting and mobilizing protest movements
2. Creating an open-source alternative to Facebook and other corporate social networks
3. Protesters don’t trust Facebook to keep their data and messages private from authorities Read more...