Facebook’s New Changes Have Some Users Looking for a New Place to Call Home

With the recent outrage because of Facebook’s new layout and people worried about their privacy policy, it seems that many users are looking for a new place to call home. I decided to try out a few of the alternatives and give you my opinion.

When I decided to look into a Facebook alternative I knew there were a few things I was looking for. To me the most important thing was privacy. I really do not like the idea of companies owning and selling everything I decide to share with my friends and family. Second, the site had to be user friendly. Knowing that with any new site there will be a learning curve, I still didn’t want to have to invest a lot of time into learning a new site. Lastly, I wanted to find a site that had the features that I use most.

Over the last month I have tried over 100 sites. Rather than bore you with a huge list of less than perfect sites I chose my top 3.

My first choice is Enukee. Enukee is a privacy based website. They claim in their privacy policy that privacy was their top priority when designing the site. I found the site to be very user friendly and loaded with features that I was looking for. Enukee offers blogs, forums, games, and a Facebook type wall for sharing. The user has easy access to their privacy settings and can share it with whom they would like. If Facebook is a busy city where users pass you by, then Enukee is a small town community where everyone is friendly and wants you to stop in and say hello!

My second choice is Diaspora. Diaspora is also a privacy based site. They let you sort your connections into small groups that they call aspects. This allows you to control who sees your photos and wall posts. Like Enukee, you maintain ownership of everything you share and this is a huge plus for me. One of the things I really enjoyed about Diaspora, was that you don’t have to go on a wild goose chase to find the privacy settings. Currently, the site is only in ALPHA testing, because of this it lacks the amount of quality users I was looking for in my quest. Overall, it’s a great site and worthy of a trial.

My third choice is Jack The Donkey. Jack The Donkey offers a unique approach to social networking. While using the site, your online time benefits the charity of your choice. They state in their “About Us” section that Jack The Donkey will donate 1.1 cents to your charity every time your photos, comments, or music are viewed. I found this to be a clever spin on social networking. Although, Jack The Donkey is an interesting site, I did have some concerns. I felt that their privacy policy didn’t give me a clear outline of who they might share my information with. My overall experience with the Jack The Donkey website was a good one. Again, I think that this site is worth checking out.

In conclusion, if you are looking for a Facebook alternative, you will soon find that there are many choices available. Decide what is important to you and do your research. I believe with all the great choices out there you will find one that meets your needs. Social networking isn’t necessarily a one size fits all market. Try a few and let me know the ones that you like best!


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