Identi.ca Is More About What Comes Next

July 3, 2008 · Comments

I’m checking out a new platform that’s essentially Twitter-like, called Identi.ca. It has the basics: profile, friending, short messages, etc. There are a few things missing ( it’s not very easy to follow back, for instance). But overall, it’s interesting. I also like that you can build credentials around your OpenID account. I can’t wait for services like OAuth to catch up in popularity, but that’s a digression.

What’s really cool about Identi.ca has nothing to do with the site itself (no offense meant to the team building it. It’s neat, and thanks for doing it). What’s neat is that it’s built on an open source platform called Laconi.ca, which is basically Twitter-in-a-box. That’s the nugget, tough guys. It’s a head start on building your own Twitter inside your business, behind the firewall, and that’s something noteworthy.

I haven’t read the other reviews of the platform from other notables. I’m sure there’s a buzz.

I’m blogging this mostly to raise awareness that it’s out there: an alternative to Twitter that you can pick up and run with. The parts that aren’t there are fairly important: short codes and SMS integration, some of the central nervous system stuff. But is it a neat starting point? I say yes.

I probably won’t use the platform much, so I’ve stopped doing friend connections over there (sorry). I just wanted to dive in and check it out.

But are you using it? Have you tried it out? What’s your take?

I’m still sticking it out with Twitter as my presence/status/micromessaging site of choice. What about you?

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  • I've signed up but haven't really had a chance to check it out yet. The problem is I've already got a lot of friends on Twitter and now it's like starting over! Plus, obviously I've got pretty used to Twitter, eccentricities and all.

    I thought Plurk was a really great alternative, but haven't been on there lately really...

    It'll be interesting to see what happens with identi.ca though.
  • Oh yea, and let's not forget--Twitter has the fun lexicon to go with it: Tweet, Tweeple/Tweeps, Twitterati, Tweet up...
  • I signed up yesterday. Made one update. Haven't gone back. It seems like it can do what people would need it to do but it was painfully slow for me to load it last night and I couldn't figure out how to see my own stream.

    I agree that the idea of it is very interesting in whats to come.

    Keeping an open mind on identi.ca for now.
  • I'm most excited about the OpenID integration at iDenti.ca - and while your statement about OAuth may be a digression, to me it is what I'm focusing on most.

    I'm hungry for a way to streamline my online presence. For now, that means sticking with LinkedIN, facebook, Twitter and Freindfeed. I only dabble with the other services. The day will come, though, when I can manage my online persona at one location and use it on various platforms. When that happens… *sigh*

    If iDenti.ca does nothing more than push development toward data portability, I will be happy.
  • I signed up and it was sluggish. So that's that. With that said, I am excited about the possibility of having a Twitter-like service within BizUnite.
  • It seems more a proof of concept than an actual viable contender. Having been on Twitter for ~6 months now, and finding it, despite the technical burps of late, an immensely useful and satisfying experience, I'm not going anywhere. Twitter + FriendFeed + LinkedIn do the trick for me. Plurk? Keep giving it a chance, but it's not making it on my must use list.
  • Yeah it is getting to be social media application overload for me. I just got into Plurk and still trying to see if I like that - guess it is the nature of the juggernaut that is social media - wont stop keeps going.

    I found that using Internet Explorer 7, I couldn't open identi.ca, it wouldn't recognize the MIME files. Had no problems with FireFox. But I’m not too keen on using two different web browsers for different tools.

    I've never really had a problem with Twitter and the failing whale syndrome - but for those who have, I can see what an alternative would be welcome.
  • Ahh. The lightbulb just went off for me when I read your post. The value of Indent.ca is all about taking something with the same features of Twitter and throwing it into an internal network, or integrating it to a web site so sales people can communicate with clients in their own space. Now that's something to talk about.

    Forget that it's not working too well yet. Forget that everyone's still using Twitter. This just screams with potential.

    Thanks for clearning that up for me!
  • I'm plurking for presence this evening. I get its interface now - it's better at managing threads, while not as cluttered as Friendfeed.
  • I'm over on FriendFeed. Interesting where we go when we lose our drug.
  • Gonna kick the tires on it and Kwippy this weekend, thanks for the heads up!
  • I'm trying to like identi.ca because of the promise, but I'm not succeeding. When Twitter's legendary instability drives us elsewhere out of frustration, "elsewhere" can't buckle under the load immediately. (Without even offering a Fail Whale). I don't get Plurk and FriendFeed is a cluttered mess. I think I'll go and "talk" to my wife.
  • Bob Keyser
    How many micro-blogging platforms does a person need? For me, one is enough. Twitter was the first one I tried, it works (most of the time) and I think I probably waste enough time as it is.

    Three weeks ago people were talking about Plurk, this week it's Identi.ca. Three weeks from now, it will be ????.

    Chris, as you mentioned above, it's not the site, but the open source platform, Laconi.ca that makes it unique. This will be a benefit to organizations that want their own platform.
  • As much as I love innovation and new things, I can't always keep up with them, especially when the current things I have (like Twitter) work well with me. Just when I am getting used to it, I don't want one other thing that I need to keep up with. But, hey, its the site that makes it most user friendly and faster wins the race, 'cos one thing people still (and always) really LOVE is 'instant gratification' !
  • I registered today to snag my preferred username and poke around for about 20 minutes. Couldn't figure out for the life of me, despite reading "help" and "faq" how to search for others to follow.

    I hope they don't expect you to stare at the public timeline and hope people you want to follow post when you're looking at it. I'm sure I missed it, but I'm not an idiot. If it's there, it should be easier to find. That turned me off.
  • I don't think I want to spend time on a new twitter type site, Twitter is enough for me. All though Twitter is a crash pain at times, I like the WP plug-in for auto post updates.

    Thanks Chris!
  • I went to Identi.ca to see what it was all about and reserve my name (thanks for the personal branding tip). While I don't fully speak the IT language, I believe the Open ID thing will be huge for the future. But I'm with you Chris. For all its (sometimes) frustrations, I'm sticking with Twitter for the presence and the relationships that are already forming.

    Good post - thanks for confirming it's OK to check out new things but not dive in completely to everything.

    Happy 4th!
  • Interesting article and interesting site. I am still trying to figure out a way to have a one-stop destination for me to access all my web apps. Is a personal blog the way to go with links to facebook, twitter, linkedin, etc...

    kk
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