General Discussions

**tamar** · 06-26-2008, 09:51 AM

We talked about Twitter, but what about Plurk? It's the new hype in microblogging with nested conversations and a timeline. And it's the biggest freakin procrastination tool out there (though I'm starting to learn that it works to multitask since you can keep your messages under 140 characters).

Anyhow, who is using it? If not, go for it. Add me as a friend here. I know that vangogh is loving it lately, so why not hang out with us?

**vangogh** · 06-26-2008, 05:49 PM

Yep I'm there too. Here's my profile where you can add me as a friend.

It is essentially like Twitter, but it feels more fun. I like the threaded replies since it makes it easier to follow a particular topic. Earlier today Plurk added a search feature so you can find topics more easily.

I warn you though. It's very addictive. I've gone to the site with the intent of just saying a quick hi to people and found myself there for a few hours.

Tamar have you been on Twitter as much since you started plurking? I find myself using Plurk a lot more, though I'm still putting out the occasional tweet.

**bogs** · 06-26-2008, 08:46 PM

heard alot about that one.. sounds interesting... going to try it..

**tamar** · 06-30-2008, 12:49 AM

Did you try it yet?! I don't see any new friends :P

**Learning Newbie** · 06-30-2008, 05:25 PM

I looked at Plurk. I'm guessing whoever wrote this must have never heard of Twitter, but through an amazing coincidence, invented exactly the same thing. I think 140 must be one of those secrets of the universe numbers, like 42?

**vangogh** · 06-30-2008, 09:15 PM

I'm sure the developers of plurk knew very well about Twitter. I heard somewhere that the 140 character limit is a max given the technology.

I know some people are complaining about the timeline and karma system in Plurk, but I actually like both.

**ForrestCroce** · 07-01-2008, 02:47 AM

I've tried it, but it seems like you really need to spend a lot of time on the site... I went and added you both as friends.

The time-line is pretty cool.

**VirtuosiMedia** · 07-01-2008, 04:20 AM

So what's the magic number for the number of social websites you can join and still be productive? I think I'm reaching my max...I twitter a few times a week, but I don't think I dare start plurking as well.

**Learning Newbie** · 07-01-2008, 03:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vangogh

I'm sure the developers of plurk knew very well about Twitter. I heard somewhere that the 140 character limit is a max given the technology.

That I don't understand. I mean, I've been pretty active lately at TED.COM, and most of those are around 75 MB. We upload files with potentially unlimited size to YouTube. We can even fit 20 MB attachments in our email. Going beyond 140 characters on the internet, well, it seems like a vintage 1982 kind of limit.

**vangogh** · 07-01-2008, 07:00 PM

John you'd probably know more about any character limit than I would. I'm really just repeating something I read. If I can find it I'll post a link for you, but I'm not at all sure where to even look for it.. If I'm remembering right I think the limitation is imposed by the technology for text messaging since both services are meant to work with mobile devices through SMS. But don't quote me on that.

Forrest I added you as a friend late last night, but just about that time Plurk seemed to be undergoing maintenance or something. For an hour or so it didn't seem to be working.

It can take time, but it doesn't have to. It's really up to you how much time you spend with any social site. One thing I would ask is how much time do you spend here and at other forums each week? Probably a fair amount of time. Some of that time could easily be put toward social media.

On a personal level you should obviously spend your time where you enjoy spending your time. If you enjoy forums, but don't enjoy social media then it makes sense to spend your time at forums. If you enjoy social media more spend more time with social media.

On the marketing side you should spend your time where you get the greater return. At the moment you can probably get more return from social media than you can participating in forums (though personally I consider forums part of social media even if many others don't). Your return from either certainly depends on you and hwo you participate with each. There's not necessarily a hard and fast rule.

I choose to spend my time doing both. I happen to enjoy both so it's not a difficult choice. At each social site or forum I meet new people and I also connect with people I've met in other places. When you connect with the same people in several places your connection is usually stronger than if you only connect with them in one place.

If I had to place value on the connections I do think I get a greater return from the connections I make through social media than the connections I make through forums. Both though have a place in my marketing and my personal enjoyment.

**ECSuite_Russell** · 07-01-2008, 07:27 PM

I could never get into the whole social networking site fad. Never had a facebook or myspace account, there are much better ways I can waste my time.

**vangogh** · 07-01-2008, 07:41 PM

Sorry, but they aren't fads. If anything you're going to see more social sites and more people using them. The use has been growing for quite some time and all indications are that it will continue to grow.

Just wait till the majority have internet access through their phones.

**Learning Newbie** · 07-02-2008, 12:35 PM

I'm with Russell on the fad thing. I can see a lot of value in Digg and sites like it, but I don't see any reason the world would care to know if I'm eating sushi. And (without meaning to offend!), I don't really care what most of my friends are doing at any given moment, if we don't have plans to see each other.

**ECSuite_Russell** · 06:41 PM

I think forums and blogs are in for the long run. Social networking in the form of myspace and facebook are the combined evolution of dating profile sites and the old free hosting sites like geocities and lycos/tripod. I don't think they've arrived in there final form yet, my prediction is it's going to go more virtual, like secondlife, but less creepy.

Honestly they always seemed like kid's stuff to me also, I know adults use them, but I associate myspace with highschool drama, and facebook with college drama, taking part in it just doesn't interest me.

**vangogh** · 07-02-2008, 08:45 PM

John social networking sites are about a lot more than just saying what you had for dinner, though that certainly gets posted. It's certainly your choice whether or not to participate, but know that it's more than what you think.

I know the idea of sharing seemingly pointless information sounds pointless, but the truth is most information we all share with each other everywhere is pointless. Think of some of the threads here where we all just make a few jokes with each other. That might make us laugh, but we're not exactly sharing useful information in those threads either.

Another example. Shortly after I sign off the forum I'm going to give my mom a call. We'll ask each other things like how was your day and what are you going to do tomorrow. The majority of our conversation is not going to transfer any kind of information that will greatly impact either of our lives. It'll be ordinary stuff like what we had for dinner.

Sharing that 'seemingly pointless' information is what makes people close to each other. If you really look at the conversations you have with friends and family you'll find the majority isn't earth shattering stuff. It's pretty mundane.

Russell I agree these sites will evolve. I think you'll see more niche social sites and maybe it will turn into something more like SecondLife, but that would only support my argument that they aren't a fad. Social sites might change, but we're only going to see more of them.

The whole point of the internet is to connect things. In the beginning it connected web pages. Now it connects people. That's all social media is. Ways to connect people to each other.

**VirtuosiMedia** · 07-03-2008, 03:45 AM

I'd have to say, I also don't think they're fads. MySpace and Facebook were mentioned as being for high schoolers and college students, but I'm pretty sure they each also get more page views per month than Google. Stats like that make everyone want to rush in an effort to monetize those sites, but that also gets a little tricky because of the demographic of the sites and because their users aren't usually in the search/buy frame of mind.

Most of us haven't grown up with online social networks, or at least we remember a time when they didn't exist, but there is a whole generation of kids who are using them as their primary method of communication. The idea of sharing a live running commentary of their entire lives with the public through a lifestream, blog, status updates, or text messages is entirely natural to them. (That in and of itself is a little scary to me because many of them don't have a good grasp on security or privacy and don't have an internal censor that says, "Maybe I shouldn't share this information publicly", but I think that they will learn eventually.)

I agree with Russell as well that the sites will evolve. I think that as the current generation grows up, so will their methods of communication and social interaction. I'd be willing to bet a lot of money that mobile devices will play a large part of that evolution. I hope there will be a continued move to unsilo personal data and toward open standards. You'll also see better ways to monetize the networks, ways that fit the medium more naturally than some of the current models.

We're still in the baby stages of the social scene online and because of that, there's a lot of noise to filter through out there. Personally, I use MySpace, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Digg, Sphinn, Google Groups, and 5+ forums in addition to multiple email accounts for business and personal use. Those are just accounts that I use on a fairly regular basis and don't include accounts that are less frequent like StumbleUpon, Reddit, Technorati, Tumblr, Blogger, and accounts for commenting on Wordpress multiple blogs and sites like Ajaxian, TechCrunch, etc. That's way, way, way too much noise and that's why you're seeing the trend of sites updating each other. You're going to see more social aggregation services like FriendFeed to help filter through the chaos. Those will be the sites that win in the end, I think.

If it still seems like a fad and a waste of time, what about networks like LinkedIn? LinkedIn is a great business networking tool and more than that, it's profitable. It doesn't get the same press as MySpace and Facebook, but I have a hunch that it may catch up and surpass them both, at least in terms of real world revenue. Targeting professionals with a networking tool is brilliant, I think, because they have both an incentive and ability to be able to purchase premium memberships. I can't really see myself being about to say the same thing about the member bases of MySpace and Facebook, at least not at this point.

Blogs and forums are definitely here to stay as a part of the social mix, but they will probably evolve too. IRC is still in the mix, as is Instant Messaging, VOIP, web conferencing, teleseminars or virtual classrooms, and good old-fashioned email. And don't forget sites like Wikipedia, Amazon, Ebay, Yahoo Answers, Rentacoder, Netflix, YouTube, Flickr, Urbis, Deviant Art, Craigslist...they're all examples of social media, though some might not be as obvious as others.