Pownce. About 14 hours ago, news of Kevin Rose's new startup (partnering with, according to the Digg, Leah Culver, Daniel Burka, and Shawn Allen) hit Digg and the rest of the internet. If you don't know what I'm talking about, check the website out for the basic details. In summary, it's like the recent Web 2.0 darling, Twitter, but with some solid additions and improvements.

Lucky for you guys, unlike most other current Pownce members, I was able to rip myself away to write up some first impressions. Without further ado...

The Initial, Initial Impressions

I think a lot of other people shared my knee-jerk response:

I mean, the thing is, Twitter's a pretty awesome idea. I actually first heard of that little gem reading some article on Digg about how Twitter was going to fail, and my reaction was immediately signing up and diving right into a several weeks long addiction of voyeurism and friend/fan gathering. (That's one of the great parts about social networks, right? You feel great creating friendships, and a lot of times, recreating friendships, with a click of a button.) Continue reading...

Here it is. The party took place at the Aftermodern art gallery on the 13th, and I think I can say with confidence that it (almost) went without a hitch. So here's the obligatory followup post, in a kind of photo journal format, with photos picked out from the search, "Delicious Generation", on Flickr:

The hangout scene outside, comprised of smokers, sweaty Mac geeks, and everyone who showed up but couldn't get in. Photo by Scott Beale / Laughing Squid. Continue reading...

We're down to the last 25-50 spots or so to fill, and there's stlil over 200 people in the moderation queue. Crap.

I'm looking to fill this party with people with awesome stories to tell, and sweet things to show off. The goal is that any random person you meet at the party will be able to strike up an awesome, memorable conversation.

Of course, there's only so much I can infer from the hopefuly guest's company and comment. So if you're not on the guest list right now, and think you deserve one of the remaining spots, EMAIL ME ASAP.

Talk about too much of a good thing. (And a nice alternative to coffee for getting the ole brain warmed up this morning.) For your amusement, here's a glimpse at the massive pileup that has accumulated over the night in the party site's backend/guest queue: Continue reading...

Update: If any of you readers are SF residents are know the city well / want to help out planning the party, feel free to hit me up on AIM. (VCard to your right.)

"The "Delicious Generation" is a breed of young developers who embrace interface experimentation and brash marketing. The term "Delicious Generation" was meant as an insult, but they wear it as a badge of honor." - Leander Kahney, Scott Gilbertson, Wired.com

I think it's fair to say that this is the most substantial article so far about, well, "us". The Delicious Generation. And the cool news is, it's super positive. Oh, and Wired apparently thinks it's a pretty big story. (Edit: Apparently digg users think so too.) Sorry Apple.

I've kinda kept quiet for months, through a lot of public shitting on us by certain individuals. I feel that, as a 19 year old student, I handled this pretty maturely, keeping my cool. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, you might want to check this Wired.com article out as a refresher course on the "Heist controversy", and this lovely post by Paul Kafasis that sparked the Delicious Generation controversy. In it, he talks about making positive steps for fixing the schism in the Mac community, while simultaneously making grandiose, vicious statements like this one: "Disco's smoke effect is now infamous for being a sign of the fall of the Mac." (Oh really Paul? And who exactly said that... BEFORE your post?) What makes it worse, is that, from a marketing perspective, I can make a real case that the controversy was designed to boost sales for his apps. (I mean, he IS marketing for Rogue Amoeba.) If you don't believe me, check out his next post put up a few days later. Yeah, it's just a list of his apps. Great blogging material there.

So anyway, we've actually been working on an amazing Delicious Generation party over the past couple weeks. And we're actually trying to, well, piece together the schisms in the community, repair burned bridges, that sort of deal. There are Apple people showing up. Reps from Yahoo. Youtube. For Digg fans, Kevin Rose will be chilling. And of course, the best of the best in Mac indie software development, showcasing their latest and greatest, and demoing some awesome, upcoming stuff. The generation's Godfather, Wil Shipley of Delicious Library fame, will of course be making an appearance as well. We're working hard to make this an unbelievable party (no cover fee!) for you guys, and that's with an open bar, great food, free t-shirts and live jazz. Yeah, we're just ballers like that. (Just kidding. Thank the sponsors.)

It's going to be awesome. And now, to take my five minutes of vindication here. Paul Kafasis, I assume you will be at the conference. In which case, if you have the balls to RSVP and show up, I'll offer up the microphone for a few minutes, to say whatever you please. Look, you left a flaming bag of shit at our door, and here I am, tossing toilet paper at your house. I am offering an opportunity here for you to say a few words, crack a few jokes, and make peace. You do that, and I will once again have respect for you.

So I hope to see everyone there. Aaaand, I'm out for the night. Good times indeed.

A note: Please don't take any offense if you, well, can't get in. The venue is small, and honestly, I'm expecting a lot of RSVP's. So apologies in advance to those who will get kinda shafted on this. Lesson learned: get a bigger venue next time.