I’ve played around a bit with Plurk, since Joe Brennan invited me to join — knowing now that my acceptance has beefed up his Karma. I’m not even going to try to explain.
It’s an interesting application, or platform for communication. It’s like Twitter, but probably more like blogging than Twitter is. The difference between Twitter and Plurk, that I’ve observed so far, is that a single Plurk message, can be commented on, turning itself into a conversation — just like commenting on a blog. It’s micro-blogging in that you’re limited to 140 characters, just like Twitter. But it is blogging, because it facilitates conversation more effectively.
An understanding of the currency of Plurk, karma points, still eludes me, and there is much about the interface that is still confusing. But having just come off of NECC and having enjoyed using CoverItLive so much during the few sessions I attended, there is something about the interface with Plurk comments that appeals to me.
Imagine a conference schedule page that is laid out just like plurk — a time line of sessions, with slots for each concurrent breakout. The slots can be clicked on, unfolding a conversation about what’s being said — hyper-backchanneling.
It’s probably that my mind is still tangled up with NECC.
16 minutes before I head for the airport.
“Imagine a conference schedule page that is laid out just like plurk — a time line of sessions, with slots for each concurrent breakout. The slots can be clicked on, unfolding a conversation about what’s being said — hyper-backchanneling.”
Now that would be a great use of plurk!
Thanks for the karma boost, Dave. I’m still not sure what or how it is, but we all love a little carrot on the end of a stick along with a smattering of competitive score keeping. I do like the conversations that can be held together around a single post, but leave it to you to envision an interactive conference schedule. Enjoy Vermont.
I found plurk a little while ago and enjoy the layout among several other little features that distinguish it from twitter. But with the carrot comes the stick – if you do not continue to “plurk” with some frequency, your karma score goes down. I took a week off of all computer usage a little while ago in order to move to a new apartment. When I got back to plurking, all my karma was gone. I found this disincentive to be annoying enough to stop using the site (at least for now). It didn’t feel fun; it felt like manipulation.
On another note, I just found your blog recently and have enjoyed your posts very much. Thanks.
You’ve laid out an interesting thought for the use of Plurk. It would be interesting to play with during this year’s NCTIES (NCAECT) conf.