Stephen Downes

Today's issue of Protocol introduces us to HalloApp, which refines the social network experience by limiting interaction to only those people in your friends network. Now it's not one I'd use: it's only available on Android and Apple, and you register using your phone number. I would want to have multiple identities so I can belong to more than one friends network. HalloApp is also subscription based. This means there's no algorithm and no advertisements, but it costs money. The Protocol column makes the point that this is a good time for small social networks in general, given the problems facing the huge multi-million member networks.