Last night I posted to App.net an idea for a premium newsletter that aggregates and reports on activities and news happening within the App.net community. The response I got back from people was very positive. A lot of people expressed interest in the newsletter.

Why a newsletter?

It's a question I asked myself a few times while writing this blog post. App.net members can already find out this information on App.net itself, the only problem is that they might not know the correct hashtag or account to follow to get that information. The newsletter is not just a way of letting you know what's happening on App.net but also as a way of bringing App.net members together.

I'm trying to foster a better way of brining people together on App.net.
Since signing up for App.net I've enjoyed being here and I want to continue enjoying that experience. That's why I thought about introducing a newsletter for App.net members. A unified way of getting up to date information in one place. You can still use your own methods if you prefer, e.g. searching for the right hashtag for the book club or finding out when the next writers challenge is. The newsletter isn't compulsory, it's optional. It's your decision how you want to interact with App.net.

Why premium?

When I say premium, I mean a newsletter you pay for. Why would you pay for it? Well why wouldn't you? It takes time to collate, write and edit newsletters and while most free newsletters rely on ads, I don't think that ads are what people want to see in the newsletter, although I haven't validated this yet.

App.net started out as a premium service that indicated right from the start, no ads. I was hoping that the newsletter would follow the same path.

On the other hand I can appreciate those that wouldn't pay for such a newsletter and would want to receive it for free. If you're not paying for an App.net account then why would you pay for an App.net newsletter? Also we're trying to foster participation in this community and many people have free accounts. Why would they want to pay for information that they can get that information through other means?

Then there is those who are already paid members. Do they really want to pay for a monthly subscription on top of their membership? To bo honest, I would. The newsletter would have to deliver value though.

I've been thinking about this and while I can see the benefit of a free newsletter for one and all, I see little reward for those that could be contributing to the newsletter. That fluffy feeling you get from doing something for free for someone can only get you so far. What if the newsletter takes off and demands more of my time?

I started a poll last night (thanks @abraham), to get feedback on whether people would sign up for a premium newsletter on what's happening in App.net. For me the number of responses are too small to definitely say that yes most people would be interested in a paid newsletter. At 9am (GMT) this morning the responses were as follows:

• 61% (11 votes) of respondents indicated that they would be interested in a premium newsletter.
• 33% (6 votes) would be interested in a newsletter if it was free.
• 6% (1 vote) said they wouldn't be interested in a newsletter at all.

Clearly there is demand for a newsletter, but a premium one? I'm not sure on that yet.

What's in it then?

Here's the good part. I've been able to get a lot of great feedback from people with very interesting ideas for content for the newsletter. Here's some of the suggestions so far:

• App.net meet ups across the world - Really just a list of where App.net members are meeting in the next couple of weeks. Usually I hear of these things through App.net itself, but having these delivered to your inbox is a better way of finding out when they are happening.
• Community calendar of events and activities happening on the network - Really what I think we have in mind here is dates for events like #thememonday, #wedc as well as book clubs or movie nights that are happening across App.net.
• New apps and services - Got a new app that you want everyone to know about? Then why not spread the word through the newsletter. We'll also let you know when apps and services get important updates as well.
• New interesting users - I'm not talking about celebs. I'm talking about writers, photographers, thought leaders, musicians. If anyone important joins App.net we can let you know through the newsletter.
• Tips and suggestions - Did you know that Alpha supports the Markdown syntax for embedding links in your post? Not a lot of people know that, but wouldn't it be great to see tips like this and getting more from App.net with other titbits like this.
• Featured photo - Every week a photo taken by an App.net user will be featured in the header of the newsletter with a link to credit that user.
• Member profiles - Every week we could feature a user in the newsletter and do a small Q&A session with them. This could include the ADN staff as well if people wanted this. The point to this is that everyone in the community is important so featuring users in the newsletters would be great to foster connections between people.

What's the next step?

Providing I get enough positive feedback from App.net members then I think a simple first edition of the newsletter is required. Something for everyone to enjoy. What I also need is actual content as well and a structure for that content that will make up the newsletter. I've created a patter room for the ADN newsletter as well as an account on App.net for the newsletter.