Plurk Review: Plurking Away
[If you want to add my as a friend on Plurk, you can find my profile here]
When I first read about Plurk, I dismissed it as yet another Twitter clone – though with a cool interface. I had read about it in early May, but I didn’t pay much attention to it then.
Yesterday, after I read MG Siegler’s post about it, I decided to give it another look and I must say I have come away slightly more impressed.
What is Plurk – besides a funny name?
Plurk is, at its heart, very much like Twitter, but, as you can see from the screenshots (you can click on the pictures for a bigger version), the interface is radically different. Plurk displays new messages on a left to right scrolling timeline, with new messages appearing on the left.
Plurk also has some other features you would expect from a Twitter-like service, with direct messaging functions, but also the ability to comment on items, something Twitter does not allow for. Like Twitter, Plurk also has an SMS and an IM interface.
The user interface is what really defines Plurk, and while the default theme might seem a bit strange (maybe even bizarre), you can chose between different themes and colors. As you use the interface a bit more, it actually starts to grow on you. One thing I would like to see is automatic updates of your timeline. Right now, if there are updates, you get a notification, but you have to update the timeline manually.
Plurk also puts an interesting twist on writing messages, as it gives you the option to select a number of verbs to start your messages with (is, loves, will, asks, feels, thinks, says, wants, hates etc.). You can also ‘freestyle’,’ but it seems most users are actually working with the preset verbs.
Who is there?
Like all social media services, a lot of the value you get out of them depends on the users. Since yesterday, it seems hundreds of people have signed up for Plurk and started using it – so while it is still a small community, it actually already feels very active. A lot of the activity, by the way, is not happening through messages themselves, but in the comments. It is not unusual to see a plurk with 20 comments or more.
What’s not to like?
As I said above, automatic updates of the timeline would be nice. One other gripe I have is that the interface for writing comments is rather small (see screenshot) and whenever there are a lot of comments, you have to scroll a bit too much to read them all for my taste.
Final Verdict
Plurk is a fun service with a refreshingly different, yet useful interface. A lot of the future of Plurk will depend on how many people will adopt it and how they will use it. As of right now, Plurk doesn’t seem to have an API, so there are no third party desktop applications or memetrackers available for it.
With Twitter still having issues, a lot of people are looking at alternatives right now. A lot of that traffic might turn out to be transitory, but you could do a lot worse than giving Plurk a try.
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