

We are just getting started - dalton
http://blog.app.net/2013/08/14/we-are-just-getting-started/

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snide
I'll be honest in saying that while I kind of understand what app.net does, I
really think they need to work on their messaging. It's a social graph
distributed storage service, kinda, but provided in some way more private than
ad based social networks like facebook or google plus?

I'm pretty Internet savvy, have spent most of my life building large web
sites, and outside of reading articles about app.net every once in awhile
(which I forget and then end up with the half-informed summarized memory
above) I really can't figure out WHY I should be using it as a user. I'm sure
part of it is them just not having a AAA app yet that just does something
awesome, but I do wish they'd work a bit on their homepage so that all of it
was more clear at first look.

Just some non-specific advice from an Internet traveler. If it's tough for me
to figure out, it's likely tough for someone with much less experience. Right
now, all I understand are your core values (which of course I agree with) and
have trouble seeing how I actually use the service.

Thanks ahead to the people I'm sure that will comment on this and explain it a
bit better, my general point is that I should be able to figure it all out
quickly on one page.

Good luck duders! It's a product I'm generally curious about but never have
enough time to do serious investigating on.

~~~
nlh
100% agreed. I'm a very savvy Internet user (I thought?) and I still don't
really understand what they do/offer. At one point I thought it was just an
"open" version of Twitter, but that seems to have changed now (or has it?)

It feels very much like "insiders solving very specific problems for other
insiders" ... maybe insider isn't the right word, but my sense is they were
born from frustrations with changes in the way Twitter handled the ecosystem
... i.e. 3rd party clients. So they said ok, we're going to build our own
system that isn't trying going to restrict 3rd party clients.

So I (think) I get what they are on the periphery, but I still don't get the
core product.

I'm sure it's good though - or at least good in spirit. Would love to hear
more.

Can someone do an 'explain app.net to me like i'm 5 and have never used the
internet'...?

~~~
xoail
This is what I get. Could be totally wrong and if so, please correct me.

App.net allows app developers to use app.net platform for a fee. App
developers can integrate their user's app.net logins/profiles/network/photos
etc. just like they do on facebook platform. App developers can also create
users in the app.net platform. Users never see any ad. They also have good
privacy settings. It's like win-win for both end-users and app developers. The
only catch being app developers pay a nominal fee.

~~~
rhc2104
Users also pay a fee (there are free accounts, but they're very restrictive).

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zallarak
I wish you guys the best, but to quote a silly TV show: "Any man who must say
he is king is no king".

~~~
manojlds
How dare you call Game of Thrones silly? And it's a book adaptation btw.

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junto
Is it just me, but I truly don't understand why App.net is still being touted
as 'alpha'? I think for many people this is a put off. I paid up on
kickstarter because I liked the initial idea. I've been waiting to actually
use it because 'meh, it isn't even in 'beta' yet.

It might be just semantics, but the 'alpha' label suggests that it is
generally an MVP that is probably really buggy and annoying to use.

You can imagine my surprise when I read this post and find out about all of
the cool things that the app.net team have achieved in the last year.

Somewhere along the line I appear to have missed any marketing messages. That
might be my fault with some stringent Gmail filters?

Anyway, well done on the hard works guys, but are you really still truly in
alpha? Just change it already.

Edit: I've just realised that 'alpha' isn't the project status:
[http://support.app.net/customer/portal/articles/761034-what-...](http://support.app.net/customer/portal/articles/761034-what-
is-alpha-)

That might be a common user mistake. I don;t think I'm the only one that might
make this (wrong) conclusion.

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yalogin
One odd thing I found in one of their job postings. They actually say the
candidate must be located in San Francisco. I hope they mean Bay Area and that
they will not provide relocation and not that they only will talk to someone
if they live in the city. I cannot be sure after reading the other silly
generic requirements listed before this.

[http://jobs.app.net/apply/iX7lc8/Software-
Engineer.html](http://jobs.app.net/apply/iX7lc8/Software-Engineer.html)

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renegatorade
How about accepting bitcoins for subscription? A social network full of
bitcoin users would be very cool!

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kirillzubovsky
I love it. App.net is going to be messaging system for the internet. Go
Dalton!

~~~
angersock
Uh, you mean like electronic mail? Some kind of e-mail, if you will?

