These attempts buck the more general trend in the app-o-verse of insulating users from any direct contact with their own data or any sense of how much control they could actually exert upon it, given the slightest effort.

FORBES: App.net Just Went From Twitter Clone To A Scale Model Of Something Much, Much More

It may be that the diplomatic effect that the UK and France are hoping to exert in lifting the arms embargo is one upon the opposition rather than the Assad government.

BBC: What is driving EU Syria arms embargo move?