Every new Web app gets compared to its predecessors. Pownce, the new messaging, sharing, and microblogging service from Digg founder Kevin Rose, is no good because it's just a poor man's Twitter, right? No, says startup expert Lane Becker, because Pownce isn't a messaging service — it's a productivity app, and it's competing with development boutique 37 Signals, the makers of Basecamp, Web-based software for group collaboration. To which 37 Signals says, "First of all, it's named after a cat treat." [Satisfaction: Pownce]

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