It’s Like _____, But Better

In light of upcoming changes in the Twitter app climate, developers the world over are up in arms. As a result, internet pundits have begun to rally forces behind Dalton Caldwell and his remade app.net service.

It’s hard to dislike the concept of a network with complete favor toward developers, but I’m having trouble looking to app.net as a Twitter replacement.

The first reason is that despite what it means for my favorite twitter apps, or how bad the current line-up of official Twitter apps is, I think Twitter is trying to do what is best for Twitter as a platform. They have always valued context in Tweets, so it doesn’t surprise me to see them tighten the reins, even at the cost of unhappy developers.

The second reason is more rudimentary. You can’t beat someone at a game when they are making up the rules as they go. Twitter is Twitter. They are the best at it, and they already have the people that want a product like theirs. “It’s just like _____, but better” is not a valid business model. Just ask Google+.

MG Siegler might have said it best:

App.net is meant to die as the hero. It’s meant to be remembered as the thing that was going to change everything, but the cruel world shot it down. Maybe it rallies others or maybe it doesn’t. It doesn’t really matter. All that matters is that the thought of it makes us feel better for a few seconds. Then life moves on. Reality moves on.