The official company blog of App.net reveals that it sighs higher than messaging; it provides ad-free alternative to Twitter, it runs out App.net plans to become social app platform through its new File API and Cloud Storage services. The API gives devs the tools needed to build any and all social applications they can dream up — from photo sharing apps to collaboration tools.
App.net is giving annual and dev accounts a 10GB cloud locker. That storage can, in turn, be leveraged for simple file sharing by users and as a repository for social data that can be accessed by apps built with the API. So, photos, messages and other info from an App.net account can be fully controlled by users and can be accessed by any social app they choose. This is a stark contrast to Facebook or Google+, where access to such data is controlled by those companies. Of course, the new platform’s only as good as its apps, so interested devs should head on down to the source, grab the API, and get started building the next-gen social network.
Highlights
- Imagine Dropbox with a social layer; imagine Facebook unbundled.
- Twitter crippled DMs because there was no money in it for them.
- You don’t have to control the pixels the users see. You’re not selling the data that’s going through the pipe; you’re selling the pipe.
- Nothing new under the sun when it comes to ad-supported media or hardware lock-in .
- Social media as a paid data service, like hosting or broadband.
- Even jaded web users care about privacy.
- It’s going to be a little rough at first, and you’ll still have to pay.
- We don’t need to take over the world to exist and be useful.
- The long run: free tiers and unexpected competition.
- Freemium is back.
