It is now clear that App.net (ADN) is not just a for fee twitter clone but a full on platform for developers to build a whole new set of services on top of.
With the announcement and launch of a free tier, ADN is following in the footsteps of Evernote, Dropbox, and Github in providing a well-worn business model. And the media, including Fast Company, Forbes, Quartz, TechCrunch, the Verge, VentureBeat, plus many more – are taking notice.
According to Forbes, “Caldwell is part of a larger trend that is trying to apply the way developers think about the digital world to products that can be easily used by non-technical consumers. These attempts buck the more general trend in the app-o-verse of insulating users from any direct contact with their own data or any sense of how much control they could actually exert upon it, given the slightest effort.”
Exactly right. ADN gives developers the ability to build innovative products and solutions that users love and gives users the ability to choose which social experience is best for themselves.
One of my favorite quotes from the coverage is from the Quartz piece: “While Twitter is trying to provide the social-media equivalent of a fully fitted bathroom, App.net’s could best be described as just the plumbing.”
We couldn’t agree more. Some people like marble bathrooms with jeweled faucets and others like a bare bones outdoor shower, but both need running water. Just like plumbing, your social graph is an incredible tool and we support ADN’s vision to let developers design countless “bathrooms” and let users choose what works best for them.
TechCrunch points to the importance of timing in making a critical move like this. Dalton has been very thoughtful about the impact of freemium on the ADN community. And wanted to build out the broader developer ecosystem before attracting a broader audience. The invitation system is a prudent way to open the doors slowly.
I want to congratulate the ADN team for the work and preparation behind this freemium launch – the coverage has been uniformly positive and the users are responding!
We are excited about the possibilities of this new platform and can’t wait to see what the developer community builds using the power of this new model. Sign up here for instant access or get a hold of an invite to check out freemium!
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