Very early days, but I’ve managed to create a basic websub reader for myself. Missing more features than it has, but progress is being made #indieweb
While thinking about the similarities between Vero and Google Plus I also started considering those between Plus and micro.blog.
From the outset a big problem with Google Plus was the public perception of it. People didn't really understand it's scope seeing a particular aspect and assuming that was the extent of it. There was a "duality between its roles as a social network and social layer" which confused users.
As I've mentioned before, a similar duality exists within micro.blog in that it appears to be a social network when it is actually a networked collection of (micro)blogs. When you further add the complication of having both hosted and external blogs things can get a little convoluted.
When you consider replies in the timeline are really comments in response to blog posts, and these comments can be sent to external blogs using webmentions, it's role as a social layer is apparent but not necessarily obvious to the uninitiated.
A network providing a social layer is not actually anything unusual. Facebook have offered a comments box as part of their API for years and Plus followed suit in 2013. The difference with micro.blog, however, is that it isn't a "true" social network and, in webmentions, utilises something far more powerful and wide reaching but that most haven't heard of let alone understand.
Hey, I’ve done a lot with IndieAuth and Micropub. If you have any questions about how to do anything, feel free to reach out.
Free speech and it's limits
It sounds to me like you got a lot of great things arranged and working on your site though! Congratulations on the Webmentions progress. That's awesome!!