Yes, I thought this also. It's a protocol like email or IRC, except it's privately owned. And it's actually suited to being monopolised by a single company.
I also wondered if you could characterise something like Facebook the same way. If you strip away all the extra functions, you have a protocol for setting up a private network of friends, identified by their real names, who can then broadcast to each other. Other social networks didn't have quite the same setup - not private by default, not real names.
I also wondered if you could characterise something like Facebook the same way. If you strip away all the extra functions, you have a protocol for setting up a private network of friends, identified by their real names, who can then broadcast to each other. Other social networks didn't have quite the same setup - not private by default, not real names.