ON INNOVATIONS IN MICRO-BLOGGING

A NEW TAKE

For all of the folks who're ardent users of "micro-blogging" services like Twitter, Pownce and others, there's a start-up that tries to do the same thing with a little bit of user interface innovation.  PC Magazine reviews this new service called Plurk, and has this to say:

"Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, but it can also be a darn good way to compete—especially when the imitator improves on the original. That's the approach taken by Plurk, a new microblogging rival to Twitter..."
"But while plenty of Twitter wannabees, such as Jaiku, dot the webscape, some offer little that's original beyond a slicker interface. Plurk's interface is certainly better, but the site also rethinks the genre somewhat and incorporates clever features.

   

		SLIDESHOW (7)
		Slideshow | All Shots

The site's primary innovation is the horizontal timeline it uses to display entries. That approach makes a lot of sense to me—it's a far more natural way to view sequential events than the vertical-scrolling method Twitter and its clones use."

The slideshow goes through some of the UI innovations, and they'll make more sense if you're already a user of these types of services.

The feature that strikes me as the most unique, is one which gives users credit, or "karma" for simply doing various things on the service:

"In the Plurk universe, your actions produce karma, but unlike its metaphysical counterpart, this one is quantifiable: Specifically, it ranges from starter (0 to 20) to Plurk Nirvana at from 81 to 100, and is recalculated every day. High karma brings a reward far beyond enlightenment, though: permission to use extra emoticons. Your karma level is based on your frequency of posting, the richness of your profile, and how many friends you invite."

It's kind of a frequent flier program for the online service, and an idea borrowed from world of computer and online games.  We'll see if it gains traction in the world of online social media.
I'm in the process of trying out the new service myself, and will see if the innovations make a material difference to using a service like this. 

Of course the critical factor driving the success of failure of a social service are the number of people using it.  And while Plurk offers ways to find Plurk members amongst your network of online friends on AIM, Yahoo!, MSN, Twitter and other services, there's obviously not that many folks who've started to use Plurk yet.  So it may be some time before "Plurking" becomes familiar, even amongst geeks.