My point -- and I apologize if it was not clearly made -- was not that Facebook can't be beaten, but that Diaspora isn't the product to do so. My position isn't that there isn't dissatisfaction with Facebook, simply that for all the hue and cry about privacy, I don't think intuitive privacy controls are going to be what makes a mass number of average users switch.

Facebook beat MySpace ultimately by being easier to use, with a cleaner interface. It also struck at a time when social networking technology (and broadband access) had matured to the point necessary for mass public acceptance. The normal lifecycle for every major social network before Facebook was about 18 months -- that's about the span of time MySpace was king of the hill.

I in fact predict that Facebook will eventually fade to AOL-esque irrelevance. I just don't think Diaspora has the right value proposition to slay the Facebook dragon.