DISQUS

Wil Reynolds · 1 year ago

Tamar, the hard part is defining what kind of update goes on which site? I don't have the time to update both, and I'd rather just do that. Thanks for laying out the two sides.

Chris · 1 year ago

I agree 100% with you on this post. I think plurk is more for networking and twitter more for tweeting news/events/links. If you want a more close knit type of social media, plurk, hands down.

Tamar Weinberg · 1 year ago

Wil, tools like ping.fm might help you with updating both. My personal take is that Twitter and Plurk are different -- I use both very differently -- but you could still merge the two if you wanted using the aforementioned service. :)

Chris Bartow · 1 year ago

Just like kids, do you pick favorites? Yes, this one is better.

Mark Dykeman · 1 year ago

I haven't Plurked nearly as much as some other folks, but it certainly seems to be a more lighthearted, chatty atmosphere than other services. Twitter, to me, remains a broadcasting medium that isn't ideal for conversations.

Oh, and... FriendFeed. ;-)

Tamar Weinberg · 1 year ago

I'm not sure I've settled on a "favorite." It depends on what I'm trying to accomplish.

I am starting to use Plurk more with the mobile interface, though it isn't 100%. I use my Brightkite account and post pictures to my Twitter stream, but I see Plurk more as a leisure tool and Twitter as more of a professional tool.

tigertwo · 1 year ago

You've spelled it out really clearly, thank you for this. I agree - I have noticed Twitter getting more and more business-like and the silly, water-cooler conversations occurring over on Plurk. That also makes it a lot easier when you are choosing which followers to follow back on Twitter.

I think this is great advice for all social media sites. Use each site for a specific purpose (which will have its inevitable crossover, of course). That also helps a little with avoiding business contacts being subjected to your messy weekend photos!

Content Writer · 1 year ago

Clique Power
I think that the Plurk power is coming through the Cliques feature in Plurk. http://www.plurk.com/user/theGypsy fore example uses cliques to collectively create a more selective audience to hold a dialogue with. I think that the conversation threads in Plurk hold a bit more dialogue worth..with a bunch of nonsense mixed in. It is frustrating, because it seems that the nonsense plurks get more itneraction that serious topics... Maybe it's the interface, maybe it's the visual nature of the the plurk beast...

veronicaromm · 1 year ago

I never enjoyed twitter and I tried twice. Then I found a friend was spending all his time on Plurk and finally I decided to try it. At first it took time to figure out what was happening there, but now having used it for a week it is so much more fun than twiiter and if I or a friend posts a blog post of mine, I get a great deal of hits and comments from Plurkers. For me it is very easy to say that Plurk is a new favorite. Great topic, thanks .veronica

Mike Templeton · 1 year ago

Great comparison and rundown. I'll agree with you that right now it appears that Plurk is more an off-topic leisurely conversation, though I think that as more people start logging on and getting used to its interface, I think conversations will shape up very differently.

There will be some who still use it to Plurk about each event during their day, but there will also be those that use it just like Twitter, for business and networking efforts, but now they'll have the added benefit of a dedicated replies page, making it easier to manage the conversation.

Again, great post.

steaprok · 1 year ago

Fantastic analysis of Plurk and Twitter. I agree wholeheartedly that they are quite different beasts. I have been spending more time on Plurk for various reasons #1 Twitter downtime #2 I have had more conversation and met a wider variety of people in the month Ive been using Plurk, than the time I used Twitter.

Don't get me wrong, I still like Twitter, but its just gotten so frustrating to have to use summize, or any of the other apps just to have a conversation. That defeats the whole purpose, I think.

I have also been using ping.fm A LOT to post, but at the end of the day, I feel unfulfilled by the experience becuase I cant track the responses or the conversations. Which sux!

Tamar Weinberg · 1 year ago

Steaprok, that's a good point and something I plurked about this morning. It's so true! It's useful in concept, but it needs to be executed a little better to be useful beyond the first click.

Mike Wilton · 1 year ago

Awesome post Tamar. It's funny because I have done a number of Twitter vs Plurk posts weighing the pros and cons of each, but I think you have it pinned. They are simply two different kinds of social beasts that should not be compared. Much like yourself I use each service for a different purpose.

Spinfield · 1 year ago

I am in the same boat as veronicaromm, I have tried Twitter and just could not get into it, but found Plurk and really enjoy it. I definitely prefer the networking environment of Plurk to the to broadcasting environment of Twitter. Great post.

Dr. Pete · 1 year ago

Thanks for the run-down, Tamar; with all of Twitter's outages, I've been really tempted to look for options. I hate to start over building the network, though, especially since it's very likely that Plurk will have the same scaling problems. The simple fact remains that Twitter is taking a pounding on traffic and spam, raking up more and more costs with no revenue model. Once Plurk starts building up traffic, it may have the same problem. Someone's got to find a way to provide these tools and make a living doing it.

Snoop Bloggy Blog · 1 year ago

People don't like responding to me on Twitter, DAMN IT! I HEART PLURK.

Joe Hunkins · 1 year ago

Nice post Tamar -

I have yet to get the hang of plurking and really don't have time for both. Twitter seems to remain the more professional sort of hangout so unless that changes I'll probably need to leave Plurk to your *Plurkrastinators*

Great term coinage there!

David · 1 year ago

Well, I think I might have posted on Plurk a bit before the Mashable guys, but nevertheless an interesting article.

Tamar Weinberg · 1 year ago

David: I hope I didn't imply that Mashable discovered it. In the article I linked to, it says that Plurk was discovered by Inquisitr, which is why I referred to it. After all, the full disclosure is that I am the community and marketing director of Mashable.

David · 1 year ago

Tamar: All's well with me. To tell the truth, I'm not sure I care who gets the credit, heh.

Brent Jones · 1 year ago

Twitter = 1 dimension
Plurk = 2 dimensions
Plurk with IRC like IM = 3 dimensions
also needed are historical search and data mining
(and I am not joking on this) someday the cultural anthropologists will be analyzing social behavior and without a historical mine of ASCII remarks they will falter.

Terence Chang · 1 year ago

I love Plurk. I still use Twitter to follow those who are not on Plurk. Sooner or later, people will stop drop Twitter in to hell.

Great post!

Shane Floyd · 1 year ago

I had only been a twitter user for a few months when I discovered plurk in early June. I immediately noticed the difference in community at plurk. Plurk is a more laid back platform, and promotes conversation much better than twitter.It is rare to plurk something and not get a response within a few minutes, whereas on twitter replies may never come. I am not going to cancel my twitter account by no means, but plurk will get the most attention.

TheJennie · 1 year ago

Well, I've more or less abandoned Twitter for Jaiku, but I (literally) Digg your anti comparison =)

Internet Marketing Joy · 1 year ago

I agree with you Tamar..^^ Plurk is very far for comparison to Twitter..I have to say the features of Plurk are a lot fun and cute but Twitter is still closer to my heart..I guess because of its simplicity despite its inefficiency, sometimes..^^

Simple Mindz · 1 year ago

I can't get use to Plurk. And I hate how I gotta go to the site to use it. I use "Twhirl" for my desktop Twitter - and it just seems easier all around..

Mikhail Tuknov · 1 year ago

Plurk is awsome!

Ming Yeow · 1 year ago

hmmm.... is it just me, or do others find it kinda confusing too? a lot of moving pieces

Justin Souter · 1 year ago

Tamar, thanks for this article. What about using Twitter with FriendFeed? Do you think you get the same community response when folk can comment on your Tweets at FF?

Tamar Weinberg · 1 year ago

Justin, that's a good point. There's definitely an element of community there that you don't see in Twitter itself, but I think the signal to noise ratio is higher due to the fact that it integrates more services (41 at this time) and that Friendfeed is more service-centric rather than community-focused. Therefore, it's not necessarily a community building tool, per se, because you're seeing that when I StumbleUpon a site like "10 Ways to Be Productive at 4:30AM" and have this strange ongoing discussion, it's not the same as when someone shares a personal tidbit on Plurk ("I got stuck on the bus today") and the community actually responds and sympathizes.

I've written a few articles on Friendfeed -- I don't really lump it with Plurk so much.

See:
How Spying On Your Friends Causes Reevaluation of Endorsed Content
and
How Friendfeed Can Teach You About Your Friends

Social Marketing Journal · 1 year ago

We keep hearing that Twitter is more for business and plurking is more for more conversational items so maybe the two do have their own place.

Eric N. · 1 year ago

I really like Plurk... nested comments has been around since blogging became mainstream.

I liked Plurk so much I made a plugin for wordpress and turned my personal blog into a plurk powered micro-blog.

:)

Scott · 1 year ago

HAHA "plurkrastination" great term!

quixote · 1 year ago

I'm laughing wildly. "Plurk" means something like "scumbag" in Dutch, although not quite as strong as that. I guess they don't plan on pushing it there much?

Tamar Weinberg · 1 year ago

Quixote: they missed their chance to shine in Holland, I guess.

Karl · 1 year ago

I don't know why social sites keep launching, isn't myspace enough? lol I mean who will join all of them just to have a profile page identical to the others...

It's just good for the site owners to make money... rest in my opinion if everyone uses one of them only, like myspace it will be better... you find your friends easier!

Tamar Weinberg · 1 year ago

Karl, you're not serious, are you?

It's called social media marketing, not MySpace marketing.

Plus, MySpace is not even really relevant to this article. It's a social site, but we're talking about microblogging now. I hope your SEO consulting firm recognizes the importance of that too.

Simon Hamer · 1 year ago

Interesting stuff. Saw this brought up on a Linkedin question, and I'll put it on ecademy for them to see it also.

chat · 1 year ago

thank you so much.. i been looking for this solution for such a long time and now i found it.. thank you!!

susan blair · 1 year ago

I too have tried both platform and believe or not, I've gotten more of a response from plurk than any other social media network.

chat · 1 year ago

thanks for this article. What about using Twitter with FriendFeed? Do you think you get the same community response when folk can comment on

chat · 1 year ago

I think this is great advice for all social media sites

oyun · 1 year ago

Well, I’ve more or less abandoned Twitter for Jaiku, but I (literally) Digg your anti comparison =)

Jay work at home · 11 months ago

Twitter is the best IMO

Chat · 10 months ago

You’ve spelled it out really clearly, thank you for this. I agree - I have noticed Twitter getting more and more business-like and the silly, water-cooler conversations occurring over on Plurk. That also makes it a lot easier when you are choosing which followers to follow back on Twitter.

I think this is great advice for all social media sites. Use each site for a specific purpose (which will have its inevitable crossover, of course). That also helps a little with avoiding business contacts being subjected to your messy weekend photos!
chat

Jag · 10 months ago

Great comparison :)

rudeshock · 10 months ago

Twitter, Yammer, Plurk. Next thing you know we'll have Quitter, Spammer and Blurt...

Anyway, does using Twitter make you a twit?

sohbet · 10 months ago

I have yet to get the hang of plurking and really don’t have time for both. Twitter seems to remain the more professional sort of hangout so unless that changes I’ll probably need to leave Plurk to your *Plurkrastinators*
sohbet

Great term coinage there!

bedava sohbet · 10 months ago

Twitter, Yammer, Plurk. Next thing you know we’ll have Quitter, Spammer and Blurt…

lig tv izle · 9 months ago

I have yet to get the hang of plurking and really don’t have time for both. Twitter seems to remain the more professional sort of hangout so unless that changes I’ll probably need

Piska · 7 months ago

I like Plurk then Twitter..
love the commenting system, and emoticon also get karma more higher then i will get more emoticon and became NIRVANA..Yippie..

chat · 6 months ago

I or a friend posts a blog post of mine, I get a great deal of hits and comments from Plurkers. For me it is very easy to say that Plurk is a new favorite...

Sohbetci · 6 months ago

Awesome post Tamar. It’s funny because I have done a number of Twitter vs Plurk posts weighing the pros and cons of each, but I think you have it pinned. They are simply two different kinds of social beasts that should not be compared. Much like yourself I use each service for a different purpose.

[Tamar's note: Thanks Sohbetci--but I had to remove the spam links you added to the end of your comment.]

Sohbetci · 6 months ago

It’s just good for the site owners to make money… rest in my opinion if everyone uses one of them only, like myspace it will be better… you find your friends easier!

[editor's note: link removed. It looks like spam. Surely you weren't trying to spam my blog, were you?]

Love poems & Love Quotes · 5 months ago

It's really amazing how the competition heats up at the last moments of victory. Plurk is alright, but Twitter holds a east to use database. Twitter all the way no competition hands down.