I’m sad, but not surprised to see Pebble has pulled the plug on its Twitter alternative.

The site never got past basic functionality, there was never a Pebble app.

Pebble was intended to be, and, up to a point, delivered on being, a non-toxic, calmer, version of Twitter.

There were some good ideas embedded in the site.

But it wasn’t that interesting or engaging. Pebble wasn’t the place for breaking news. It didn’t achieve a critical mass in the communities or subject areas that interest me.

I found my visits were fewer and further between.

Worst of all, Pebble was too cut off from the rest of the web. If there is a viable path on from Twitter, the idea of ActivityPub has to be in there somewhere.

And that is the lesson of Pebble’s demise: any new social media alternative needs to fit into the wider online context.