That's correct. There will be no centralized website. You will have to run a Synereo node to take part in the network. The plan is to make running a Synereo node as easy as downloading, installing, and running an app. You log in to your account via the app.
Is this definitely the way it will work - you will have to download and install an app to be on the Social Network? I assumed various individuals could host their own nodes and you could register there. Having to download/install something to get connected seems like a fairly large barrier to entry
You'll be able to do that too, but the goal is to have as many people as possible running their own node as it aids decentralization.
Sure, but there has to be some balance between decentralisation and convenience so that alot of people can signup and move towards a critical mass of users. The ability to signup via a website/browser in a "traditional" manner rather than having to run a node seems to be pretty important to me. Alot of people will run nodes (I will), but alot of people wont want to go through the "hassle" etc
So just to be clear, people will be able to signup / access the network without running a node? Just that it would be preferred the more nodes the better?
What about a mobile app actually, has that been discussed at all?
Yes, we need the ability to access Synereo without running a node. If this is not available, it can be a big drawback for the project. I believe the Mobile app will be built by the end of 2017 and somewhat by the start of 2018, people can use it. That's what I saw in the road map.