A lesson learned from app.net is that when all conversations on a social network are meta-conversations *about that social network* you get an incredibly boring, self-centered echo chamber that's very unappealing to most audiences (which, in turn, makes it more boring and self-centered).
Disclaimer: not *all* conversations on app.net were about app.net. Far from it, actually. Still, it was such a prevalent topic that it might as well have been the only one. I'm convinced this is what killed it.
@Averly point taken. I also don't think that this kind of meta-conversation is bad in and of itself. It's probably necessary. And then there's another difference between thinking publicly about what one wants for a social network and armchair quarterbacking how the rest of the world just doesn't understand it and doesn't know what's good for them. Both of which are fine, but the latter becomes a problem when it's what β in public perception β your social network is for π€·π»ββοΈ