Diaspora/Website

Find a pod that suits you. You might prefer a smaller pod, one which allows cross-posting to external services (such as Twitter), one based near you, or one based in a country that you know has good data security policies... The choice is yours! You can even %{host_yourself_link} if you have some sysadmin skills.

2. Sign up

Once you’ve decided which pod is right for you, based on the ratings and information at %{poduptime} and maybe recommendations from people you trust, sign up there and create a profile with as much or as little personal information as you like. You are in control about how much you share.

Start following some #tags related to your interests: it could be <span class="click">#music</span>, <span class="click">#photography</span>, <span class="click">#privacy</span> or <span class="click">#linux</span> - whatever you’re into. Share a public message with the <span class="click">#newhere</span> tag to introduce yourself, and away you go. You’re now part of the vibrant diaspora* community.

diaspora* pioneered the concept of aspects, which means you can organise your contacts according to their role in your life. This means you can share something just with family members or work colleagues, knowing that no one you don’t want to will be able to see what you post.

Hashtags give you the freedom to label and follow your interests with ease. You can catch people’s attention by @mentioning them. Reshare posts you love so others can enjoy and comment on them too. And show your love for other people’s work by ♥ing it.

diaspora* needs people to write and test code, welcome and help new members, set up and maintain community pods, and spread the word about the benefits of diaspora* to others who might want to take part. Think you’d like to contribute to the project?

Use diaspora* as your home base to post to your profiles on other major social services. This way your friends will still be able to keep in touch with what you’re up to, even if they’re not yet on diaspora*. diaspora* currently supports cross-posting to your Twitter, Tumblr, and WordPress accounts, with more to come.

Earthd*