A Social Network Free of Ads

Caldwell's move was inspired by the positive response to a blog post he published this month lamenting recent moves by Twitter to restrict access by third-party apps and companies to its members' data. Many of Twitter's features and early traction came when the company adopted ideas—such as hashtags and retweets—that originated with its users, and when it let outside software developers tap into the network, which yielded the first desktop and mobile clients for Twitter. But in 2011 the company announced that it intended to provide the main, if not only, ways of accessing the service, and has increasingly restricted what outside developers can do ever since.

That appears to be motivated by Twitter's need to establish its ad business, which relies on inserting paid-for messages into a user's update stream. That creates an incentive to build a closed network that keeps users locked in to the main Twitter site, and puts their needs second, says Caldwell. He says the dynamic also afflicts Facebook. "They're doing exactly the right thing for advertisers. If you're not an advertiser, they're not building it for you." Caldwell says that offering a service paid for by users creates a clear, uncompromised incentive to do what's best for them. He says the success of companies such as Dropbox and Evernote shows that people are willing to pay for online services. He also points out that more established communication networks such as the phone system have long gotten their revenue directly from their users.

The exact design and features of App.net will be shaped by feedback from supporters, but the basic form is intended to be similar to Twitter. Users can publish updates and subscribe to those of others to build a personalized real-time feed of content.

He acknowledges that he and many of those most excited by his project are "nerds," but he contends that many people outside the tech community are leery of the increasing efforts of Twitter and Facebook to position ads around their socializing.

However, some who agree with his analysis question Caldwell's solution.

"At least it's gotta be open-source. And why can't it be federated

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