As if we didn’t have enough with Twitter, Tumblr, Pownce and other micro-blogging, time-consuming services, here comes the latest state-of-the-art social community tool to keep us badly hooked on for now on. Its name is Plurk and this is what it looks like:
The top-down design we’re all used to see in blog and microblogs has now been replaced by a horizontal timeline you can scroll with your mouse. Like in Twitter, you can customize your profile’s colors, add a personal avatar and embed a Plurk widget on your website. So is there any difference with the micro-blogging pioneer? Well, in Plurk followers are “fans”, there’s support for colorful emoticons, you can share videos and images that are displayed right on the Plurk interface… oh and there’s also karma.
Karma is a nicer way to say user ranking. You earn points by taking an active part in the Plurk community (using instant messaging, uploading your avatar, sharing videos and pictures) and of course also by inviting friends to join Plurk. The higher karma you have the more tools and features you can access.
In short, is Plurk worth it? Even for someone who doesn’t like micro-blogging that much, I’d say yes. In my opinion, Plurk is yet another micro-blogging tool, but implemented in a smart way. It features the simplicity of Twitter and the extended features of Tumblr; messages are limited to 140 characters, but now you can embed videos and photos; it’s seems just another piece of Web 2.0 nonsense but at the same time that karma thing really grips you into it. Plus, you can easily import your friends from Twitter and other social networks and services.
Now the only thing left is having a software client with which to plurk more comfortably from your desktop. Meanwhile you can always embed Plurk’s mobile interface into your Firefox sidebar as we taught you a few weeks ago.
