Some folks are adamant that you should own your own words when you publish online. For example, to explain why he doesn't use services like Quora, Branch, and Google-Plus, Dave Winer says: "I'm not going to put my writing in spaces that I have no control over. I'm tired of playing the hamster."

As someone who went through puberty with social media, it is hard to relate to this sentiment. I have only ever "leased," from the likes of LiveJournal (middle school), Myspace (middle school), Facebook (high school), and Twitter (college). Dave Winer's Internet is not the Internet I grew up with, and it as been an amazing place thus far.

That being said, I recognize my relative ignorance and naivety and want to understand, what am I missing? Why should I care about ownership of the space where I share my thoughts online, if I ultimately still "own" those words?

Thanks!

P.S. Branch threads are now embeddable so if you share you words here you can take them with you wherever you'd like.