Main features
As in the previous chapter, before we jump into designing the clone, let's look at the main features of a microblog. An open standard called OpenMicroBlogging exists but it is not widely adopted. In a market dominated by a single powerful player it is often difficult to introduce an open standard that allows interoperability, unless the dominant player is the one that came up with it.
In this chapter we will be discussing some of the main features common to many microblogs. As before, the main features represent the features that define a microblog. Inevitably the features are mostly Twitter features.
Allow users to post status updates (known as 'tweets' in Twitter) to the public.
Allow users to follow and unfollow other users. Users can follow any other user but it is not reciprocal.
Allow users to send public messages directed to particular users using the @ replies convention (in Twitter this is known as mentions).
Allow users to send direct messages to other users, messages...
