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Plurk - Twitter clone, or heir to Twitter's throne?
Plurk is a new micro-blogging service that looks a lot like a Twitter clone. At face value Plurk allows you to post updates letting people know what you're up to. You know, telling everyone you're brushing your cat, or feeding your hair, or trying to break the world beer drinking record whilst standing on your head.The normal stuff.
There might be more that meets the eye to this little service though.
Right off the bat, here are some features that make Plurk stand out:
- No character restrictions
- More elegant display of your "timeline", with Ajax drag and drop capability
- Pre-set emoticons and prefixes such as "was, is, will"
Well here are the two potential game changers:
- Karma Points
- Cliques
And what are cliques? Well you know the answer to that. It's the ability to group your friends together into categories that you choose. Pownce lets you do this already, and so does Facebook...but the possibilities are endless with this one. Think of being able to send updates to very unique groups of people. Family, friends, possible investors or colleagues. You could spend an infinite amount of time shuffling your cliques based on what's happening around you. Has someone fallen off the map or lost favor with you? Then they're out of the clique. It's sticky AND useful.
Twitter's downtime and focus on marketing over substance has maddened a lot of people. Who will be there to clean up the mess? Don't shirk, it might be Plurk. On the other hand, Plurk may have to deal with the same scaling and reliability issues as Twitter. The service was down for a brief period this morning. What do you think? Are you ready to leave Twitter for a service that offers more features? Or would you rather stick to a network that already has a loyal userbase?
UPDATE: There is indeed a 140 character limit.
Comments
17
Subscribe to commentsrobotrockJun 2nd 2008 11:21AM
Someone needs to buy Twitter and keep it running 24x7. I'm not even a heavy user and I run into downtime constantly.
Drew OlanoffJun 2nd 2008 11:24AM
That's a good point. If their aim is to sell, should they make that public to avoid frustration and to give people an honest and clear choice?
The platform is valuable, the idea is valuable. The issues are not.
zkamJun 2nd 2008 11:41AM
Plurk went within an hour of Leo Laporte twittering about it:
http://twitter.com/leolaporte
zkamJun 2nd 2008 11:42AM
oops. That should have said "Plurk went DOWN within an hour"...
ToddJun 2nd 2008 11:59AM
Not connected via people's mobile phones? Not connected via Jabber IM? No API using oAuth? Doesn't support Fire Eagle? Hardly a "game changer" then. Allowing an unlimited number of characters just completely defeats the purpose.
The next version of Twitter, currently being beta tested, supports "groups", BTW.
For transparency, I would really like to see the internal memo(s) from all the tech blog's editors telling to write daily "Twitter is dead" posts to raise clicks for advertisers.
Robert HJun 2nd 2008 1:24PM
Has anyone even gotten Plurk to display the timeline in Firefox?
SridharJun 4th 2008 11:59PM
Same here. Timeline is not visible in Firefox.
JakeJun 2nd 2008 2:04PM
I think that Plurk will become more popluar than Twitter.
Its GUI, the features it brings to the table and that it doesn't go down once ever hour on the hour makes me happy.
NetFlexxJun 2nd 2008 4:51PM
I like the GUI - better than Twitter imho. If the features keep what they promise and if it scales to a growing userbase - why not ? Even if I don't like the logo (beheaded somethings is definitely not my style) the name has some sort of cult status.
Drew OlanoffJun 2nd 2008 5:00PM
Strike #1 is I've emailed them and asked them questions and have gotten zero response.
Never good.
wayneJun 2nd 2008 6:31PM
I agree if plurk makes a few small changes and adds a few features it's a serious game changer.
Everyone has to remember plurk is a new site, api, sms, and more features are coming soon. We're early adopters again, aka live beta testers.
I'm http://www.plurk.com/user/waynesutton on plurk if you want to follow my plurks and I'm @waynesutton on twitter if you want to follow my tweets!
kingkool68Jun 2nd 2008 10:13PM
I must say, I have fallen in love with Plurk as I have outlined in my recent blogp osting -> http://www.russellheimlich.com/blog/plurk-brings-a-breath-of-fresh-air-to-microblogging/
I wish more people would get away from Twitter. Clearly, they need the breathing room.
Stefan HaydenJun 2nd 2008 11:27PM
This is pretty fun. add me as a friend: http://plurk.com/redeemByURL?from_uid=14695&check=-2029061888&s=1
Dr. VictorineJun 2nd 2008 11:41PM
So far I've made the switch and have had no problems. I don't use most of the features that aren't available at the moment so their absence is no bit deal to me (the fact that the TM automatically updates does away with the need for API apps for me).
There is, however, a character restriction. 140, just like twitter.
With time and patience from users, Plurk can become a formidable player in the microblogging game. And honestly, for anyone who complains about what's not "available" have to admit that at least it's working. And if you've put up with the constant Twitter downtime thus far, you can give Plurk double that time to get it's ducks in a row.
CarlenLeaJun 4th 2008 3:26PM
I'm definitely digging plurk. The Privacy features at the message level are a major plus and definitely different than Twitter. I don't think any of the Twitter super users will move over, because it's just going to be too hard for them to move their followers all over to a new system too. If it gets enough press, I think that newcomers to this style of communication may head to Plurk first
terinJun 4th 2008 4:25PM
I love Twitter, but the downtime was a huge deal breaker. I just discovered Plurk today around noon and I've already fell in love.
At first, I hated it because it's not Twitter..."just another Twitter knockoff". But after using it, I'm in love and I hope that they learn from Twitter's mistakes and keep themselves afloat.
William ShakespeareJun 20th 2008 11:05PM
Each man to what sport and revels his addiction leads him.
http://www.plurk.com/user/WilliamShakespeare