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I hate to say it...but like Diaspora, I expect this to come out with a bang and slowly peter out and die. It's not because Twitter's technology is any more sup

I hate to say it...but like Diaspora, I expect this to come out with a bang and slowly peter out and die. It's not because Twitter's technology is any more superior. It's the simple thing called 'network effects'. Unfortunately, as others have pointed out, I think Twitter is too far along for their momentum to be stopped. Valiant attempt, and kudos to the developer(s) for actually getting it launched - but this is definitely like spitting in the wind....imho of course.

cabalamat 16y ago
> It's not because Twitter's technology is any more superior. It's the simple thing called 'network effects'. I agree, and the solution must be to provide a service that is useful even when not many people are using it. For example, could an rstat.us account be set up so that everything published on it is automatically republished on the user's Twitter and facebook accounts, and any replies from those places published back to rstat.us?
- Hawramani 16y ago
  This is a great idea! (So long as Twitter doesn't block it)
- recoiledsnake 16y ago
  That will make the incentive for Twitter users to get rstat.us accounts a round zero. Exactly what Buzz tried, remember how badly that failed?
- _frog 16y ago
  It already posts updates to your twitter feed if you sign in with that account and I've heard they'll be adding that feature to standard accounts soon.
InclinedPlane 16y ago
Yup, at this point you can't get people to move away from twitter just by providing a nearly identical service. Because the network effect makes them no longer identical. You need to add a way for people to either proxy through the competition (e.g. parallels on a Macbook, skype integrating with the existing phone system, etc.) or you need a featureset that is so superior enough people will switch anyway to catalyze a larger migration.
wilkie 16y ago
Perhaps. But the code will be there, and somebody can start up their own site on their own server at any point of time. And the beauty of it: the way the technology works (OStatus), every time somebody does this, the overall network gets larger. In my opinion, it's really only a matter of time.
- marcamillion 16y ago
  I have to disagree with you on this one. It's not about the technology. I think this is what we techies get mixed up. I would wager to say that by now 95% of all Twitter users don't give a crap about the technology. They just want Twitter to work. Twitter solves a problem that people didn't realize they had before. The ability to easily see what people are currently doing - the 140 character limitation is a godsend for brevity. Because Twitter invented that space, it is going to be VERY difficult to unseat them. At this point, only Twitter can unseat Twitter - quite frankly.
lparry 16y ago
diaspora came out with a bang? heck? is it even out? if it is, it's "coming out" was more like a wimper
evgen 16y ago
"Network effects" cut both ways. I am interested in participating in the network that most of my peers are on, but I don't give a shit which network Ashton Kutcher, some C-list blogger or a random hashtag spammer is on. A non-twitter microblogging network could actually gain a lot of early momentum just by giving some thought to what it would take to make twitter suck less and then letting people know that this is not the service that Oprah or their mom will be on.
nikcub 16y ago
These guys have that going for them: they aren't in the NYTimes If they get to the point of providing users a viable alternative, then it has worked. It doesn't have to be 10M users.
erehweb 16y ago
From my May 2010 post on Diaspora* and Facebook - "Billion dollar companies that are paying any kind of attention don’t sit quietly and let themselves be dismantled." http://erehweb.wordpress.com/2010/05/17/why-diaspora-is-great-news-for-facebook/ http://erehweb.wordpress.com/2010/05/17/why-diaspora-is-grea...

cabalamat 16y ago

> It's not because Twitter's technology is any more superior. It's the simple thing called 'network effects'. I agree, and the solution must be to provide a service that is useful even when not many people are using it. For example, could an rstat.us account be set up so that everything published on it is automatically republished on the user's Twitter and facebook accounts, and any replies from those places published back to rstat.us?

Hawramani 16y ago
This is a great idea! (So long as Twitter doesn't block it)
recoiledsnake 16y ago
That will make the incentive for Twitter users to get rstat.us accounts a round zero. Exactly what Buzz tried, remember how badly that failed?
_frog 16y ago
It already posts updates to your twitter feed if you sign in with that account and I've heard they'll be adding that feature to standard accounts soon.

InclinedPlane 16y ago

Yup, at this point you can't get people to move away from twitter just by providing a nearly identical service. Because the network effect makes them no longer identical. You need to add a way for people to either proxy through the competition (e.g. parallels on a Macbook, skype integrating with the existing phone system, etc.) or you need a featureset that is so superior enough people will switch anyway to catalyze a larger migration.

wilkie 16y ago

Perhaps. But the code will be there, and somebody can start up their own site on their own server at any point of time. And the beauty of it: the way the technology works (OStatus), every time somebody does this, the overall network gets larger. In my opinion, it's really only a matter of time.

marcamillion 16y ago
I have to disagree with you on this one. It's not about the technology. I think this is what we techies get mixed up. I would wager to say that by now 95% of all Twitter users don't give a crap about the technology. They just want Twitter to work. Twitter solves a problem that people didn't realize they had before. The ability to easily see what people are currently doing - the 140 character limitation is a godsend for brevity. Because Twitter invented that space, it is going to be VERY difficult to unseat them. At this point, only Twitter can unseat Twitter - quite frankly.

lparry 16y ago

diaspora came out with a bang? heck? is it even out? if it is, it's "coming out" was more like a wimper

evgen 16y ago

"Network effects" cut both ways. I am interested in participating in the network that most of my peers are on, but I don't give a shit which network Ashton Kutcher, some C-list blogger or a random hashtag spammer is on. A non-twitter microblogging network could actually gain a lot of early momentum just by giving some thought to what it would take to make twitter suck less and then letting people know that this is not the service that Oprah or their mom will be on.

nikcub 16y ago

These guys have that going for them: they aren't in the NYTimes If they get to the point of providing users a viable alternative, then it has worked. It doesn't have to be 10M users.

erehweb 16y ago

From my May 2010 post on Diaspora* and Facebook - "Billion dollar companies that are paying any kind of attention don’t sit quietly and let themselves be dismantled." http://erehweb.wordpress.com/2010/05/17/why-diaspora-is-great-news-for-facebook/ http://erehweb.wordpress.com/2010/05/17/why-diaspora-is-grea...