Identi.ca might be the new kid on the block, but it’s already become the best choice. Here’s why:

1. It’s open source. Frustrated by a bug or by the lack of a feature? Add it yourself! (Or convince a PHP-savvy friend to do it for you.) You won’t have to wait months for an error to be fixed or beg and plead for a particular feature to be implemented.
2. It’s federated. A federated system means that you can install your own version of Laconi.ca (the platform Identi.ca runs on) on your own server without losing any connections to people with accounts on other versions. This is like email - you can have a GMail address and still communicate with people on Yahoo or their own domain name.

   Federation is a work-in-progress, but there are multiple known instances of Laconi.ca that are up and running (just with some bugs that are being ironed out).

3. The developers ROCK. Watching this video of Laconi.ca founder @evan was all it took for me to know there is some serious, passionate, skilled developer talent forming the building blocks of the service.

   Evan and other devs are also actively communicating on a daily basis, and I’ve seen them respond to questions/concerns on blogs of all popularity levels in under an hour.

If you’re not on Identi.ca yet, what’s stopping you from coming over?

Getting started on any social network takes a bit of ramp-up time, but joining Identi.ca is worth it! Here are seven steps to get you started quickly.

1. Fill out your profile - and don’t forget an avatar! Your profile is an excellent conversation jumpstart. Take a minute and complete it. You could copy and paste your profile from another site, or take the chance to refresh your bio and really make it shine.
2. Follow 50 new people. Click the Identi.ca logo in the upper-left to access to public timeline, which shows the latest messages from all users. Subscribe to the authors of the last 50 messages (so long as their message isn’t blatantly spam). You can always unsubscribe later, after your community has expanded.

   I’ve seen a number of experienced users from other services who pop over to Identi.ca, post one message, and then leave, complaining that it’s too quiet. Building a community requires effort. Once upon a time, you had five followers on that other network, too.

3. Track five terms. “Tracking” notifies you whenever a message is posted, regardless of whether or not you’re subscribed to that person. You can track using Instant Messaging or track using RSS.

   Tracking is a great way to find new friends and participate in interesting conversations.

   Five suggested terms to track:

   • Name of your city
   • Name of your favorite coffee shop
   • An author who writes about something you’re skilled at
   • The word “help”
   • The first word starting with the letter “K” that comes to mind
4. Turn on notifications. You can receive the Identi.ca stream via IM, SMS*, or RSS. This allows you to listen to the conversation in real-time.

   *Okay, it’s technically not SMS [yet], but most users won’t be able to tell the difference. Try it out and see!

5. Dent a lot! Messages on Identi.ca are called “dents.” Say whatever’s on your mind, as often as you can. The more content you create, the more opportunities you’ll create for people to engage you in conversation.
6. Reply a lot! In turn, make an extra effort in the beginning to reply to other people. Once or twice a day, take a peek at the public timeline and see if there’s a conversation you can contribute to. This will help the community grow in a meaningful way.
7. Follow me! I’m @marinamartin on Identi.ca and I’d love to be one of your first subscribers.

Still have questions? Ask in the comments!