I'm quite in agreement with the thought of people weaning themselves away from the more harmful social networking sites, but when I think about my own experience, their reluctance to do so seems more understandable. When I started using Livejournal, I had no idea that it would become important to me, so my dependence on it increased gradually; similarly, Linux geeks and other open source enthusiasts appreciated right away the importance of operating systems and other core applications, but did not anticipate the importance of social online sites.
That being said, the open source movement created Wikipedia -- it wasn't blind-sighted in that endeavor, like it was for social sites. I don't know what accounts for the difference.
Sure, there's value in knowing your service providers, but to make that a systematic criterion is unrealistic in modern infrastructure. You know your bike mechanic, but do you know the people who built your house, who check your electric meter, who deliver your mail, who maintain your streets, who filter your water, who...? It is a fortunate person who knows even a few such vital people. Right now IT is new enough to have all sorts of enthusiasts, and to reasonable expect to be able to draw on them in need, but I think in a few generations it'll be like car work is now -- sure, there will still be plenty of enthusiasts, but most routine IT work will have been institutionalized.
I know what you mean about the emotional attachment to a service... thankfully, I also have a strong countervaling perversity, which tells me that if there's anything that most or all of most friends not only do, but find almost unthinkable to change, then there must be something wrong with it. Accurate or not, it made ceasing to post to Livejournal easier.
It seems like idealistic types like Paul and me are those most inclined to pull up roots and move when a site becomes objectionable. I say this not to insult those who don't move (the "remarkable apathy" I mentioned in my exiting post, which keeps people from changing the circumstances of their lives, has its reasons), but because it just occurred to me that idealism might be a type of intellectual and emotional nomadism.
Some day I'll be able to leave Gmail, its mildly annoying ads, and its disturbing hegemony behind forever. I'm likely to end up in academia, so I can rely on a university for many of my IT needs. The problem is, I need both a work and a personal account (not so much for privacy as for organization), and it makes more sense to use my graduate student account for work.
Event invitations, mailing lists? Heh, I don't envy you -- the dominant reason why I go to large social gatherings is because that's the type my friends prefer to set up, and thus the only way I get to see many people. With the ability to follow my inclinations, my social life would be a string of small, intimate conversations. I am impressed with how many different things you've tried when it comes to pertinent technology, though.
no subject