It’s been a little over a year since I’ve joined App.Net and the site has gone from Twitter clone (due in part to their Alpha demo) to a variety of services all based upon the App.Net API (which is geek for Application Programming Interface).
Want Instagram minus the pending ads? Try checking out Favd.
Seeking a mini Dropbox? Seek out Orbit.
Need a blog? Epistles and 10 Centuries will hook you up!
Need a messenger client? Whisper and Amy (the latter for Mac) will suit your needs.
What about a basic forum? Patter is the name of the game!
So far I’m surprised an Evernote clone hasn’t emerged, although I suspect it’s only a matter of time.
Although critics will easily point out that most (if not all) of these services are replicas of current businesses, most do not realize that most mega companies online are (at best) superior copies of rival services (what Facebook is to the old MySpace).
Will App.Net attract hundred plus million users and make billions? Probably not.
But then again unlike most social platforms App.Net is profitable (without trying to reinvent themselves as a media/ad company) and despite the fierce competition should carve out a nice niche for themselves.
