It’s been two weeks now and I have been exploring and using App.net casually. So, what are my first impressions of App.net?
Like so many I bought a membership and by now a lot of people are posting and reposting.
Some got an account but are not very active yet.
Some have jumped on the new network like a tick on a passing wildebeast in the dry season.
The ‘@’ and the ‘#’
My feeling about App.net is that is resembles Twitter the most. Sure, we have more characters (140 vs. 256), but the basic premise looks the same.
The ‘@’ and the ‘#’ are being used profusely and the ‘My Stream’ and ‘Global Stream’ would look quite similar too, to a quick passer by.
I do feel, in light of the recent Twitter APIcalypse, where they grab everything the developers created, that the use of these symbols is a bit revolutionary.
Twitter closes ranks on the API and 3rd party apps (although we’d still be able to use most of them), so we move to a new network and we use the ‘@’ and the ‘#’, because they do not belong to Twitter. They belong to we the people.
By the way, if you have something to tell which takes more than 256 characters, just reply to your own post.
