Remember App.net – Dalton Caldwell’s alternative ‘social network’ which is aiming to put developers at the forefront?

Well, the platform has an updated Developer Incentive Program, increasing the total developer payout to $30,000 a month, up from $20,000.

The original incentive program attempts to monetise those apps built on the API which garner the best feedback from App.net members, with the monthly amount allocated to devs based on their scores in relation to total score.

Aside from the pay increase, other elements of the new program includes greater, more integrated developer feedback, as well as giving additional requirements for those submitting apps, including a privacy policy, terms of service and being publicly available and listed in the App.net directory.

“It’s been amazing to see the progress the App.net developer ecosystem has made during these few months,” wrote Caldwell in a blog post.

Last month App.net announced a free tier expansion to its service, following in the steps of Dropbox and Github’s freemium models.

As the vast majority of the press related to how App.net was paid only, it may have been a surprise to some seeing this free layer, which was part of the App.net philosophy all along. “It took some time to get to this point, but we are now ready to make this vision a reality,” Caldwell said at the time.  

Those who have signed up for a free system are entitled to give their feedback in the monthly surveys, but it won’t be included in the overall results, instead being integrating into an overall developer feedback system.

App.net is at pains to point out that this isn’t an exclusive operation; developers are in no way forced into this process and they are free to monetise their apps through their own channels.

Yet this news seems to show that App.net is gaining momentum. Would this tempt you on board?