I've never been big into "Social Media". If I'm interested in what my friends are up to, I give them a call or send them an email. I don't want a blow-by-blow account of their life. Once upon a time I had a Facebook account; my friends were complaining that I wasn't on so I signed up. I tried it several times, but each time realized it wasn't my cup of tea. I eventually gave up and had my account disabled.
When I stumbled across the invite-only designer/developer community known as Forrst, I was hesitant to join. I figured it was another of these "social media" platforms that I wouldn't use, but I entered my email anyhow, asking to be invited, and quickly forgot about it. Weeks later I was invited by the founder of Forrst but, again, forgot about it. It wasn't until I released my first application into the wild, that I revisted Forrst. I took a screenshot of SwingFish and uploaded it with a short description. Before I knew it people were "liking" it a lot. Now, let's be realistic, I didn't become famous overnight or anything legendary. No, I'm afraid that wasn't the case. However, the people who were enjoying the application left positive feedback, and this got me excited. I released another version of the app, this time with built-in updating so I could release versions in the future without having to tell everyone to download a new copy. I added an enhancement that was suggested on Forrst and released a new version.
Writing a popular application is fun, but so is Forrst. There is something addicting about Forrst that never took hold of me on Facebook. I'm sure it's the same kind of addiction -- comment on something, start a conversation, share a photo, etc. -- but where the two differ are the audiences. Facebook was meant for friends who want to stay connected. Forrst is for designers and developers who want to get connected. It's very enjoyable to browse Forrst and see what other people are up to. If you like something someone has done, well, like it. If you have something to say about it, leave a comment. Got your own idea, share it!
Kyle (founder of Forrst), well done, sir!
