I do not think Diaspora is a wise use of cash.
There are far better free software projects to donate to. Diaspora raised more than 200k last year to write a simple web application, it's still not finished... and they need more?
Both
http://opensource.appleseedproject.org/ and
https://n-1.cc/ (elgg) are projects made on much small budgets and teams (appleseed is one guy AFAIK), and they're far better. Your money won't be efficiently used if donated to Diaspora.
I would pick some piece of free software you use often or you think Linux needs, and donate to that Smiley TBH the diaspora guys come off clueless when you watch their initial fund-raising video. The software itself is pretty bad and requires all these esoteric dependencies rather than using tried and tested libraries.
Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqxQgfQD24MGenjix, I am sorry but your proposed software projects will be the in same place they are today years from now: in an obscure void. The developer's time invested in Diaspora might be overpriced but the fact is it has the marketability and the edge to be a mainstream piece of software in the future. Dumping Bitcoins towards your proposed nobodies would be a waste and probably only result in a bag of cheeto's on these neckbeard's desks.
It's great to see people derive profit from making great software alone but it will not make the majority of the software people use today. I continue to support donations toward Diaspora as it is because it is competitive. Maybe it isn't as efficient and "free" as you like but it remains to be the market leader in decentralized social networks. People will actually use it.
Anyways, this has to be said. I'm tired of hipsters dogging on practical work. It's about what people use and want. Licenses, time-tested libraries and neckbeard-wisdom can go fuck all. If it's usuable software and if people want it -- that is all that matters.
The fact that Diaspora has raised cash and continues to raise it means it has more value than your proposed projects will ever have. You have no basis to refute Diaspora except your hipster rhetoric.