Open Source 'Twitter' Could Fend Off the Next Twitpocalypse

One reason why I continue to resist putting much effort into Facebook and Twitter is that, when I do so, my work disappears into someone else’s database. If someone else decides to start charging me to view my own archives, or the links other people create to my content, then the visibility of my work suffers.

An open source alternative to Twitter sounds like a great solution.

Twitter — or, rather, the idea of a pervasive, public short
messaging network — could be too important to be left under one
entity’s control. The people behind the OpenMicroBlogging
(OMB) movement say it’s time for the 140-character,
publicly-subscribable format pioneered by Twitter to become an open
standard, in part because, as last week’s attack showed, Twitter is as
vulnerable as it is vital.

“The total failure of Twitter during the DDoS attacks highlights the
fact that, with Twitter, we’re relying on a single service for mass
communication of this type,” said open microblogging supporter and
Ektron CTO Bill Cava. “Most everyone understands it’s ridiculous to
expect one service to provide email support to the world. The same is
true for micro messaging. The reality is, it can’t and won’t continue
this way for too much longer.” — Wired