Barring a few replies out of common courtesy, it's now been three months since I stopped posting to my Twitter account and moved over to App.net. So what's the change of scene been like?

It's good to hang out some place else, and while I may not have the following that I had on Twitter, I'm happy to post here for the foreseeable future. App.net doesn't have the numbers that Twitter has, so at the moment I'm following most of the same people I follow on Twitter. Not many of these people are actively posting on App.net, but it's forcing me to consider following others that I might not have considered before. Not a bad thing really.

The big change though that sets App.net apart from Twitter is that there is no free account. Yip, this is a paid service that you are using and you're probably thinking that a service that doesn't have a free account would be restricting itself, but this is precisely why I like App.net. Not only does it ensure the healthy and continued development of a product paid for by its users (or customers if you prefer), it also provides a barrier that many people aren't going to cross.Twitter's free service means that anyone can sign up, and while that's all well and good for everyone, I'm not looking for a service that allows just anyone to connect with you.

The subscription fee that App.net charge ensures that there is little chance of accounts being created on the App.net network that currently pollute the Twitter network. Spam accounts, celebs and retail companies to name a few. I don't follow any of these type of accounts on Twitter, but knowing that there is little chance of these kind of accounts polluting the App.net network means that the quality of posts by it's users should remain higher and in turn be a much more interesting place to hang out.It's early days though, but I for one am enjoying my change of network.