Early days with app.net

So I backed app.net a couple of weeks back on a whim, and I’ve been keeping an eye on it. Currently there’s a lot more meta-discussion about the future of the API/network itself than there is actual content. For me, at least, it’s a curiosity for the time being. I’m @henry, by the way, if you’re also in on the alpha.

If you’re interested in the project and just getting started it’s pretty chaotic. Here are a few simple pointers which may be of use:

• You can cross-check your Twitter followers against app.net with friendfind.co, which also has a top-ranked accounts page which is handy (and is as good a way as any of gauging the network without signing up). Update: there’s now also app.phuu.net which has a handy “follow all” button and lets you search anyone else’s follow network (assuming it’s public).

• If you like IFTTT/automation you can get up and running via Buffer, here’s a useful thread discussing how.

• appnetstats.com is fun to check in the mornings to see how things are progressing.

• The official FAQ is the canonical source for most questions, and the directory of 3rd party apps is the place to find apps. So far I like Succynct for Chrome, and AppApp seems to be in the lead for iOS.

• Finding someone interesting or well-known and then mining their “following” list is still an effective way of exploring - to wit my list (contains as many China folk as I can find).

Updated to add: a good interview with Dalton Caldwell (one of the ADN founders) done by an ADN user via skype. It’s 36 minutes and you’ll hear all the important details about the service from the horse’s mouth.

Personally I’m going to hold off on developing against the API until things have settled down a bit. High on my wishlist though are a bitlbee plugin, Octopress aside support (as a drop-in replacement for Twitter) and better IFTTT integration.