Usually platforms built around some useful service or product.
For example Apple built a platform for iOS devices, Microsoft for Windows OS, Facebook Platform for Facebook social network, Amazon for AWS, Google for Android, ChromeOS and Cloud Platform, etc.
App.net did it in reverse, they built a platform and hoped that useful products and services will be built on it.
I think they had better chances if they were white-labeled Social PaaS/BaaS/mBaaS completely hidden from the end-users.
App developers would be paying for the BaaS Platform, not their app's end-users.
The idea was to be Basically.. Parse, but where the users keep shared accounts across all apps and services.
The underlying idea is good but the executions and message were lost in TERRIBLE, TERRIBLE marketing. No one knew what it was other then, "that twitter knockoff site you have to pay for".
For example Apple built a platform for iOS devices, Microsoft for Windows OS, Facebook Platform for Facebook social network, Amazon for AWS, Google for Android, ChromeOS and Cloud Platform, etc.
App.net did it in reverse, they built a platform and hoped that useful products and services will be built on it.
I think they had better chances if they were white-labeled Social PaaS/BaaS/mBaaS completely hidden from the end-users. App developers would be paying for the BaaS Platform, not their app's end-users.