[dasil003]

> Taking a step back, what problems are they solving anyway? Shorten time to market for app makers? Because social app plumbing is getting pretty cheap and easy to pull off at scale with IaaS.

Huh? IaaS does not provide users which is the basis of social, anyone can write code which implements a social network, getting users is the hard problem. The problem App.net is trying to solve is to provide a social network that app makers can trust. Currently you can get awesome functionality from Facebook or Twitter, but as Twitter have shown so publicly, they will only tolerate you as long as they perceive you as providing a net benefit to them. If they see you as siphoning off any potential revenue for them you are dead in the water. Obviously Facebook is not quite as outwardly belligerent to it's developers, but the same rule applies. App.net addresses this by aligning it's business goals with the apps on its platform making money.

Now obviously App.net doesn't have enough users yet for it to provide the value that developers get out of major social networks. However App.net has a lot more traction—especially with developers—than the majority of attempted stand-alone social networks. What they need are a few wedge apps to create a virtuous cycle that attracts the attention of more and more serious commercially-oriented developers. It's a tough row to hoe to be sure, but they've been putting one foot in front of the other and I don't see them as being anywhere near failure yet.