Newbie's guide to app.net

An introduction to app.net for new users.

Useful links to get started can be found at app.net resources for new users

Why subscribe to App.net ?
You’re not sure why you should subscribe to yet another social network, or... why you joined App.net ?

That’s ok, because, you know... App.net is not just a social network. :)

App.net is your passport for awesome applications.

With an App.net account, you have access to many applications, websites, chatrooms, services, etc, each one offering a unique experience, thanks to their respective developers and input from other members.

What are these apps ?
Some of them are microblogging clients à la Twitter, whilst others are about private messaging, or audio and video podcasting, photo or video sharing, check-ins, journaling, news posting/reading, etc.

As a potential newcomer, you shouldn’t ask yourself "What is ADN?", but rather "What app will help me do what I want to do?" and then find an app (or website etc.) based upon ADN, that fulfills that will.

There's already a lot apps for all the major platforms, and surely a lot more to come.

Please feel free to learn more about this awesome platform. You will find more to discover everyday.

Just Enjoy
You don’t have to “believe in App.net” to be part of it and enjoy it ! ADN has a strong, growing community of people who like to chat with one another. We often are enthusiastic about ADN and that may be occasionally intimidating for a newcomer. That’s ok, jump in anywhere! Start and join conversations. Just enjoy this awesome platform and be happy using awesome apps. You don’t have to do anything. ADN is a free country. ;)

Believe
You read tech blogs, you know who Shawn Blanc, MacSparky or Brett Terpstra are? If you believe in the ADN’s CEO, Dalton Caldwell, and his vision, then you’ve made a great choice. The ADN crowd is engaging, smart and enthousiastic. It’s all about their platform, what can they do with it as users and as developers. And soon it will be yours too, because ADN will be what all of us together do with it and nothing else.

Alpha is not App.net
Alpha, the website you’re redirected to when you join App.net, is not App.net.

The Alpha Web App is historically the first technical demonstration, built by the ADN team, of what the infrastructure could offer. It’s a show-off of what developers could achieve with ADN. The ADN team still develop Alpha, and include their latest APIs, such as the search API which was recently introduced. Although you can use Alpha exclusively, you will probably find one of the other apps is more powerful.

App.net is the engine and API that powers Alpha and all the other apps built upon the App.net engine, using the App.net API.

App.net is not an application
ADN is not an app.

If you use an ADN client like Felix, Riposte, Robin or Kiwi, you enjoy using an app connected to what App.net offers.

Microblogging, photo sharing, check-ins, etc. are all features of App.net, the invisible system behind the apps.

It’s up to the developer of the application you’re using to implement features or not, or even to specialize in some tasks: file management with Filez (iOS), Orbit (iOS/OSX) or Filebase (OSX), photo sharing with Sprinter (iOS) and many other clients, private messaging with Whisper (iOS) and chatrooms with Patter (web/iOS), etc.

So there is one App.net, powering things in the background, and there are many apps for App.net; some of them very visible. :)

Find new people to follow

 * If you’re looking for new people to follow or just talk to, a good tip is to go through the list of the people you follow and read their followers/followings’ bio or glance at their timeline. If you like what someone posts, maybe you’ll like the people they follow too. Or not. But that’s up to you. ;) You’re in control!


 * The Global Stream is often cluttered with news feeds and bots. That’s normal with every social network. If you wish to read it anyway from time to time (and that’s a good idea because it allows to discover new people) you may enjoy some special filtered versions of the stream, like the Conversations, Unique Posts, Photos, Trendings, etc. It is up to the application developers to implement each feature or not.


 * There’s an option in most ADN apps to include “directed posts” in your timeline. If you enable it, you’ll see the posts directed by users you don’t follow to users you follow. This is a great way to discover conversations and new people to follow.

Your data is yours

 * Remember that you own your data. You can use your ADN storage the way you want. Most ADN clients can have access to your camera/library and post a picture to ADN.
 * Some applications even allow you to manage and share many type of files, often with awesome features. Examples include: Filez (iOS), Orbit (iOS/OSX) or Filebase (OSX), etc.

Conversations on ADN

 * You may generally feel free to jump into any conversation on ADN. People aren’t likely to ignore you. Instead, they will enjoy your presence if you engage in the conversation with them.


 * Don’t hesitate to unfollow someone if you don’t like what they post anymore. There’s no reason to feel guilty; you own your own experience on ADN. Usually people understand being unfollowed very well, as we all do it from time to time. ;)


 * You should use the mute option, as well, if needed. You may want to mute certain hashtags, or users, or bots, or whatever you feel should be muted. You are free to do what you want! Your stream is yours.


 * And if you’re unlucky enough to stumble upon someone who can’t stop bugging you, there’s always the block feature. It’s extreme, but given what has already happened on other platforms, it could be a useful tool.


 * You will encounter many Apple users on ADN. These guys are often passionate developers and early adopters. Don’t feel excluded: there’s also awesome ADN apps for Windows, Android, Windows Phone, Linux, Blackberry, etc. It’s only the beginning. Everyone should feel welcome on App.net.

Search/Hashtags

 * App.net has an excellent Search API so you can find any word in any post. But #hashtags are still relevant: they give focus on a theme or an idea, you can click on it and discover people specifically talking about it, and almost more important, they allow your followers to easily mute this hashtag if they don’t like to see it.

What’s unique to ADN?

 * Each public post may contain up to 256 characters.


 * Posts may include other elements such as: pictures with their thumbnails, videos, other file types, geotags, language used by the poster, text annotations written by the apps for internal use, etc.


 * Each private message may contain the same elements as their public counterparts, but the API allows up to 2048 characters per message.

The two faces of ADN
We have seen that there are a lot of awesome applications performing their magic thanks to the App.net API engine and developers.

But you may ask, behind the scenes, what ADN actually is?

It's a platform, a group of tools, and a network, that developers can use to build awesome apps and services.

You don't have to worry about that: just consider that an app asking you to login using ADN may be an app to consider seriously… :)

On the other hand, if you’re a developer or you’re looking to become one, then the App.net crowd will be delighted to welcome you and your fresh projects.

Subscribe to a Developer Account and get to know the mechanics of this new playground!

In a nutshell

 * Find an app you love
 * Discover the awesome people chatting on the network
 * Enjoy new ways to use the ecosystem

Useful Resources To Help New Users
app.net resources for new users