Service set for Ilya Zhitomirskiy, 22, Lower Merion grad

A memorial service for a rising star in the world of social media has been scheduled for Sunday in Center City Philadelphia.

Ilya Zhitomirskiy, 22, died Nov. 12 at his home in San Francisco.

A 2007 graduate of Lower Merion High School, Zhitomirskiy was cofounder of Diaspora*, a social media network that billed itself as the "anti-Facebook."

Rich Kressly, a teacher at Lower Merion, remembered Zhitomirskiy as a passionate young man dedicated to changing the world through technology.

"What stands out most in my mind is his ability to bring people together," said Kressly, who teaches English and technology. "Even at that young age, you could see that the pieces were in place for his future success."

Zhitomirskiy's cause of death has not yet been released. San Francisco Police said it initially was reported as a "possible suicide."

Zhitomirskiy founded Diaspora* with three of his classmates in 2010 while they were students at New York University.

According to Diaspora* blog, the four men launched the project in response to Facebook's privacy policy, which they believed was too lax. Diaspora*'s users are told they can "own your own personal data, control with whom you share, and discover cool stuff throughout the Web."

The project gained national recognition after it was announced, eventually raising $200,000 on Kickstarter, an online funding platform. One of the donors was Mark Zuckerberg, the founder and CEO of Facebook, who told Wired magazine that he liked the policies touted by his new competitor.

Kressly was moderator of the Lower Merion robotics club when he got to know Zhitomirskiy. He said Zhitomirskiy was a dedicated club member throughout his high school years. After Zhitomirskiy was graduated, the two regularly exchanged e-mail.

"That last message was indicative of the bright, ambitious guy I knew," Kressly said. "He was still at NYU and volunteering with a local robotics club for high schoolers, giving them free time he barely had.

"As much as he loved technology, he loved people more."

The memorial service for Zhitomirskiy will take place at 3 p.m. Sunday, November 20, at the First Unitarian Church, 2125 Chestnut Street.

Kressly hopes that his former student is remembered for his vision and spirit.

"We need people who think in a positive direction and want to use the powerful tools at their disposal to bring about change," he said. "If Ilya could see that as a teenager, then there's no reason why the rest of us can't."