In terms of privacy Dolphin timeline is much better than Facebook's. Most concerns are caused by automatic inclusion of actions that are performed elsewhere. Our timeline is rather simple and predictable - there's no tracking of one's actions outside of the site.

As for original ideas - there are many of those in Dolphin, but not do much in latest iterations, because compatibility is such a big concern for D7. Still, you'll find some very unusual, yet cool bits in 7.1 - in photos, in mobile see more app, etc.

If, however, you want really "innovative" try D8 - it's different from anything you'd find online, be it software or website. I mean both on user and admin side. It's practically developed without reference to existing systems - just a whole new vision.

Hope this sounds optimistic enough. :-).