Do you think it will ever be realized? Perhaps if it was written into an OS. I can't see how else a P2P network could ever get enough uptake otherwise (https://joindiaspora.com/). However, I do see social tools becoming so integral to the computer experience that they are baked into the OS, somewhat like what happened to browsers. But even there... I see it now: anti-monopolization lawsuits because Google bakes Google+ into Chrome. They are building a enterprise version of Google+ (http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/235842/what_go...), in fact: . Adding that to their Chrome package for business (http://www.google.com/chrome/intl/en/business/) would kick MS's ass into orbit. Oh, be afraid LinkedIn and MS, be very afraid...
For a subset of us, why not? It is no different than the real life. Your main-life thread is your fairly unique and the most important narrative in your life. The actors and relationships of that space are what is important to your social life. Real life also affords a non-smooth space of interaction, ranging from brief and anonymous to long running and intimately familiar. & You act differently in the library than you do in the night club, and your social expectations are varied, etc. Backing in the OS (imo) is to repeat the categorical mistake/conflation of user identity and user agent identity. You will carry something on your person. (This also addresses the hostile host environment issue for the software if in a internet cafe, etc.) It will have a public # you can hand out. Your social identity will be a distributed computation. Unentangling identity from service provision is key. A central non-profit organization is possibly required for the issuance of the canonical public root-identity (for use in 0+ trust environments) -- and this can bridge with the non-civilized social systems we are forced to adopt so you can interact with the 'socially unrefined' if you must just like in real life ;). Your social identity must be subject to cyclical regeneration and your social network re-evaluated at these cycle end-points. The above system, just like real life, also has the feature that it provides a solid economic basis for the participation of service providers. The current model relies on advertisement and it is basically broken at foundation (if these matters are even remotely of concern to you.) - Kids are alright? TBD: It is their future. They will make the decision and live in it. It will be a unconscious collective choice. The "big money" is on the collective unconsciously opting for a surveillance society. (The choice of their parents/us, today.). [edit: haven't ever read Die Wahlverwandtschaften but the title says it all.]