Ilya-Zhitomirskiy-Obituary

Ilya Zhitomirskiy

Obituary

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Ilya Zhitomirskiy, one of the founders of the social networking site Diaspora, has died. He was 22.

Nina Fiore, executive secretary in the San Francisco medical examiner's office, confirmed to The Associated Press on Monday that Zhitomirskiy died in San Francisco. She would not say how or when he died.

Diaspora, an alternative to Facebook, was founded by four New York University students in 2010.

The site lets users keep control over their photos, videos and status updates while sharing them with friends.

Zhitomirskiy co-founded the website with Raphael Sofaer, Dan Grippi, and Max Salzber. The group raised more than $200,000 for the project by collecting contributions through the website Kickstarter.

According to Zhitomirskiy's profile on Diaspora, he's "super passionate about building a world of hacker spaces, maker culture, sharing, cycling, and life satisfaction."

In a September 2010 interview with N ew York Magazine, Zhitomirskiy said he wanted social network users to migrate to websites that were more transparent about privacy policies.

Zhitomirskiy said he and his co-founders didn't set out to make money when they created Diaspora but to instead provide an "open platform" for users.

"There's something deeper than making money off stuff," Zhitomirskiy said. "Being a part of creating stuff for the universe is awesome."


Copyright © 2011 The Associated Press

Guest Book

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My condolences are for the family and love ones of Ilya Zhitomirskiy at this sad time. May the God of all comfort be with all who loved him at this sad time.

so young, but such a great contribution to the world. so sorry to the family and friends who have lost a shining star.

At the end of each life is a legacy of love.. My deepest condolences to the family and friends. As the days and weeks pass and as you return to life routine, may you continue to feel comforted by the love and support of God, family and friend James 4:8 Draw close to God and he will draw close to you

To the family, may God bring you comfort and support during this time of need… Ps 55:22

I am so sad to hear about this. he was a smart guy.

WITH DEEPEST SYMPATHY TO THE FAMILY.

"My deepest sorrow and condolences on the loss of your dear loved one. The Bible assures us that our Heavenly Father "is near to those that are broken at heart and those who are crushed in spirit he saves." Neighbor (Al.)

Such a sad loss of someone so young and talented. To quote a reality of life "whereas you do not know what your life will be tomorrow. For you are a mist appearing for a little while and then disappearing." My deepest condolences to the Zhitomirskiy family.

My heartfelt sympathy to the family and friends in your loss.