

Ask HN: What is App.net? I really didn't get it - arunoda


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csense
I didn't get it either. It seems sorta like RSS.

Here's the API spec:

<https://github.com/appdotnet/api-spec>

If you're using it to talk directly to users, it'll be tough to beat free
social networks, because that's where the traction is.

If you're using it as the back-end of an app, it'll be tough to beat something
like Celery (<https://github.com/celery/celery>), or a hand-rolled MySQL
solution. Seriously, if you look at the API tree, anyone who knows anything
about databases can probably hack something with similar functionality
together in a day (minus UI).

The one point that app.net might have in its favor is scalability -- if it
"just works" when you have a gazillion users.

app.net would be a lot more comprehensible if the author listed a few sample
application ideas and told what pain points app.net was supposed to solve.

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tree_of_item
It isn't anything, besides a guy asking for half a million dollars because he
thinks he can get away with it by throwing some buzz words about Twitter
around.

~~~
csense
A thousand times, this.

There's no way I'm donating, when he can't even clearly express the problem
he's trying to solve, let alone how his solution is supposed to be better than
Twitter.

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hobonumber1
From what I know, App.Net is some sort of a real-time social network that is
not ad-supported. Instead, it is a paid service that you subscribe to.

Pros: Developers work to please the user (you), not the advertisers. No ads.

Cons: Not free. Harder to get traction (because it's not free)

Why? Because their view is that current projects don't focus to please users.

~~~
arunoda
Ok got. Its a paid twitter. Then who's gonna pay for that, users or devs? if
devs who bring the users?

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andrewfelix
The website explains it perfectly well <https://join.app.net/>

Watch the video.

~~~
arunoda
No way. I watched the video. Its lengthy and he didn't tell me exactly what it
is?

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voxx
If you don't get it, then why do you need to know? Obviously it wasn't clear
enough to attract your attention, so why waste your time with a product that
can't even explain itself clearly?

That's my thinking anyways.

~~~
iamdave
This thing called _curiosity_.

It's not a bad trait to have, actually.

