Identi.ca - Open Source microblogging

The new microblogging service identi.ca has been online for some time now and its user base is growing steadily. It hasn’t gotten as much attention as Twitter or Jaiku to name a few, but identi.ca offers some features that are quite compelling to geeks as myself.

Perhaps the best thing about identi.ca is that its an Open Network Service, meaning the software running the service is Free & Open Source and the data it publishes is Free. Identi.ca runs on the Laconica microblogging software (source code) and the posts are available under a Create Commons Attribution 3.0 license.

Another compelling feature to use identi.ca instead of one of the other microblogging services is the OpenID support. Instead of adding Yet Another Account to your life, identi.ca simplifies your life by enabling OpenID logins.

Identi.ca also implements the OpenMicroBlogging specification, which makes it possible for other microblogging services to receive your posts. While this spec is still in its early stages, it looks promising and a large user base on identi.ca will increase the leverage the specification has towards other microblogging services.

So that are the pro’s, there are however a couple of con points I need to make. Being a new service identi.ca isn’t as well features as established names such as Twitter. The most lacking feature being support for mobile blogging through SMS or other mobile technology. Another less implemented component is the interface. It’s adequate but that’s about it. A bit more AJAX (a useful hype if you ask me!) and a public timeline that reloads every X seconds is a basic feature for a service like this.

I had my time on Twitter, slacked off a bit and now I’m on identi.ca, microblogging my life. If you’re microblogging then perhaps you should give identi.ca a try and enjoy your new found freedom!