MG Siegler:
We’ve seen this story before. Indenti.ca was going to be the “open Twitter” before App.net was going to be the “open Twitter”. Diaspora was going to replace Facebook by giving it back to the users. OpenID. OpenSocial. Open. Open. Open. Free. Joy. Wonder. Peace. Perfection.
As much as I love the idea of technology being open, the reality is it takes a big boss at the top to call the shots and direct the innovation. It takes a Steve Jobs, a Bill Gates, or a Mark Zuckerberg to say, "fuck you, this is how we're gonna do it," for any technology to reach the top.
You just can't do that with "open" because you simply just can't please everyone.
Marco Arment also commented:
But the bigger problem is that I just don’t see a social platform growing quickly enough to overcome the network-effect barrier when it’s not free to join, especially when the goal is effectively to replace an existing, free, extremely successful network.
I totally agree.
I'm an early-adopter-type. I'm always down to sign up for any new service or app that comes my way. But to put a $50 cover charge on a small party that doesn't have any of my friends in it? Sorry, that's not gonna happen.
The reality is this:
- people will always choose the path of least resistance.
- people will stick with wherever their friends are.
And App.net is on the losing end of both of these.