Overcoming the Network Effects?

paul_harrison asks: "I am trying to introduce a new P2P protocol. It's technically superior in several respects to existing protocols, but there's one big problem: too few people using it. Now this is not a new problem, there's even a name for it, "Network Effect". It crops up all over the place: which websites become popular, which formats and protocols people use, which operating systems people use, even which side of the road people drive on... So my question is this: how do things like these overcome network effects and become popular?"

Comments

You contradict yourself

[whoda]

You say: "Which means no censorship, no entry taxes, no one booting you off the network, and no weak point which can break the whole system."

Then at the end you state: "In particular, if you try to share snuff or child pornography, I will be able to work out you IP and from that your location and identity. And I will report you to the police."

So, which is it? P2P with no censorship, no booting, or P2P With censorship and booting?

What problem are you solving?

[anthony_dipierro]

It seems like you're merely making minor improvements to something that's already out there. That rarely works, and I highly doubt it will work in this case. Your network is not anonymous, and you threaten to report IP addresses to the police. So basically your network is only for legal files. That's a fine niche, but what advantage do you offer over http and ftp? Probably not very much.

No contradiction at all...

[damiangerous]

No one has the ability to remove you from the network, or control ("censor") what you share. However, you are not completely anonymous on the network, and if you share something illict you can be found if someone really wants to (which this fellow apparently does).