Appatic

Up to now, not a single one of the true (as in not artificially limited by design) Social Messaging Networks has managed to make it big. Pownce by Leah Culver entered the scene introducing this model inspired by Dodgeball  and failed because the backend first got messed up and because they lacked any clear direction. Then the glorious Rejaw came in introducing a real-time Social Messaging Network months before Friendfeed did it and with some seriously solid tech and concept. But it failed as it was partly only a tech demo for a parent company without vision and execution, plus the fact it was also direction less on a long term mark. Finally Simler came in guns blazing with a admirably well done marketing, swag and concept focused around tags and discussions. But it failed as it got its backend messed up and it could never execute their strategy. Now, it is time to see if a fourth attempt can make it where its predecessors failed.

Topickr is a Social Messaging Network focused on the element of discussion and debate.  Discussing and socializing any kind of personal interest or topic at all. That is the hook for you join this new SMN entry.  Besides being a true social messaging network and focusing on discussions, Topickr  also brings it in a package infused with Twitter inspired conventions, in a Quora like design, on a Facebook reminiscent coat of paint and with a Web 2.0 styled name.

And not that there is anything wrong with that if it is well executed. On this, Topickr don’t disappoints as it all very well played. To the point where it could feel familiar and inviting to the casual user. But in the case of a old internet wolf like me, the experience feels almost eerie. A deja-vu shock if you will.

Topickr is all about discussion, threads and reply ranking.  In this respect is a mashup of the experiences you would have in a Disqus powered comment thread, a Facebook Update and Digg v3 entry.  If you take the basics of the experiences of those 3 things and then throw it into a  thread, it is exactly what Topickr aims for.  Where the title-quoted Quora comes is in the design style as I think it must be there just not because the founder Santiago Sarceda thought it is a good design, but as a way to set the mood for users and instantly try to convey a sense of use into Topickr. 

Now, lets be clear that this is not a review and just a preview post meant as a first impression on a BETA web project that could rapidly change in Focus, Design or even in core features. So for that reason I think it is better if i  stop ranting about what I feel Topickr is like now and let anyone that wants to try it out to get their own first impression of it. So, on that note, I got 10 invites to giveaway so you can try it out. Just leave your Email in a comment in this post using the following format:

YourEmail(at)YourEmailProvider(dot)com

If you are already using Topickr let me know what you think of it too.

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Topickr

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