Facebook rolled out new profile pages, in what seems to be a never-ending update to its user interface.  The changes bring light to Facebook’s sharing and privacy mechanisms, which are continuously being enhanced on the site in order to generate interest, activity, and ultimately revenue for the social network.

Any concerns related to Facebook’s privacy seem to fall on deaf ears, as the network’s hoards of users are unaware or simply don’t care about negative affects of these changes.  And even as Facebook continues to be a mighty and foreboding force in the social networking realm, mutterings of a Facebook killer have managed to keep traction, pouncing on Facebook’s privacy shortcomings as fodder for their own success.

The most notable is Diaspora, an open platform aimed at delivering private social networking features.  If it sounds like a familiar front, it’s because it’s quite similar in ideology to the way Facebook first began–then the compromises came along, and the utopia fell prey to mainstream means of distribution and monetization.  The costs are very real when it comes to maintaining a massive social network, and in light of previous generations’ failures, Facebook seems destined to one day fall as well.

Is that day today?  Of course not.  But it’s clear that people want a Facebook killer, even if they don’t realize it.  No social network has managed to stay on top for very long, and fads have this innate tendency to, well, fade into the sunset.  But like a celebrity being chased by paparazzi waiting for a crack in the facade, so too will people search for a Facebook killer until they find one.

Facebook was once small in comparison to the mighty MySpace, and many insist on comparing Diaspora to the early days of Facebook.  Another iteration of David and Goliath, where the giant’s biggest vulnerability is exploited.  But can Diaspora actually take down Facebook?

Diaspora is going after a personal web, but “I don’t think most people care,” says Michael Hussey, Founder and CEO of PeekYou.  “I like in theory what they’re trying to do, no question about it. But there are two problems with the Diaspora/Facebook qualm–for the average person, how easy is it for them to understand the reasons for leaving Facebook in order to sign up or install open source software just to have more control?”

People want “exposure, an easy place where their friends already are, and to share pictures and thoughts,” Hussey goes on.  “With all the issues in respect to privacy that you and I think of, the average user just doesn’t thik about those things, or see them as affecting them in a directly negative way.”

The parallels between Diaspora and Facebook don’t stop there, as the new alternative is also seeking to become a central portal for one’s identity.  We’ve seen this before, from OpenID, a slew of other participating networks, and of course, from Facebook.

Facebook has been quite successful with its single sign-on options, and its platform at large has created a rather dependent ecosystem that moves beyond individual users to include brands.  It’s bringing in more and more data, but Facebook is also making it easier to interact on various websites, through “Like” buttons and other points of integration.  Facebook’s walled garden has opened up, enhancing the interactivity of other websites, as well as its own.

Hussey continues to note Diaspora’s particular pain points in achieving a unified network, pointing out that it’s even more difficult to create standards around open source systems.  This is really where Facebook reigns and will continue to do so, as it has that centralized force making it easier for consumers to tap in.

And Hussey knows all about this; privacy was his primary concern when launching PeekYou, developing a service that preserved user safety.  It’s enabled PeekYou to focus on its main goals around indexing the public web, remaining cautious about who they work with on a B2B aspect from day one.  “We weren’t too sure three years ago how that would serve us, but we’ve done well,” Hussey concludes.  “We’re focused on building our database and algorithms, and finding the right partners to work with.”