Tag Archive for 'social networking'

Live Blogging - Plurk Registration

Published by brian on June 3, 2008 in social media. 2 Comments

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I think we can all agree there is a plethora of social media tools/sites out there. Some might say it’s getting a bit ridiculous & I would agree. While I would love to think that each is created to give people new & interesting ways to connect, the cynic in me says this is just an attempt to get in the game with the ultimate goal of generating advertising dollars. Oh wait, that’s what pays my bills.

That said; I feel compelled both personally & professionally to check these out. For your benefit; I’ll keep a log of my thoughts & experiences during the sign up & initial investigation phases.

Plurk: Your life, on the line

  • First Impression: Holy crap; there’s using design to be different/endearing/edgy & there’s plain stupid. A weird fish asking a headless pig, “What is up, headless doc?” This seems like something looking to compete with Twitter. Note to head Plurk guy or gal; Twitter is dumb enough a name, don’t mistake our affinity for the tool to be something related to having to talk about Tweets, retweeting, & using the @ or # symbols.

Plurk Home Page

  • Registration Process: One step to sign up. You can search for friends from your AIM, Yahoo, or MSN instant messenger accounts, Twitter, or email. The latter two are much more helpful. Twice submitted AIM account info & got a HTTP 400 Bad Request page. A subsequent attempt using my Yahoo IM info yielded the same. Lame. I am then brought to my home page with an invite to the tutorial.

Plurk Profile

  • What It Is: You can view both your own & your friends’ plurks, over time. Conversation is displayed in a timeline manner &, just like Twitter, you get 140 characters per post. Very easy to navigate & using the tool (updating, changing account settings, editing your profile, & finding new Plurkers) is easy. There’s even a link - Interesting Plurkers - which allows you to browse people you may want to add. Mobile & IM capabilities exist; although I think this is standard now for the Social Media world. The last note in the tutorial explains that Plurk is not 100% instant, meaning that you should check back for new plurks, comments, or friends.

Interesting Plurkers

  • Potential: Like all social tools, there needs to be enough people with similar interests who will start meaningful conversations. I sort of like the manner in which the conversation is displayed & I find it amusing that you can segment friends into Cliques. Plurk has done a few things to differentiate themselves such as creating color-coded words that are commonly used to start and the ability to share multi-media without opening a new browser or leaving the page. There are also Karma points; not sure what these are as there is now mention within the FAQs (dumb), but a Google search tells me they’re awarded based on activity.

Plurk YouTube Clip

  • Why You Should Join: If you can get all of your Twitter friends to abandon it, completely, & move over to Plurk, it might be worth your time. The multi-media components give you the opportunity to share more dynamic content & the timeline view is easier to read & navigate, in my opinion, than a simple list, a la Twitter.

Plurk Conversation

  • Why You Should Avoid: If you are already actively using Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, etc., & have a healthy influx of new content into your RSS reader, adding something that takes more time to monitor, update & investigate will eat into the little free time you have.

Look for more upcoming; I’ll be doing one a week (or so) & will include brightkite, Plaxo, Jaiku, & Utterz. If there are any others you would like me to scope out, let me know.

It’s worth noting that I am not heavily engaged in all of these tools; I have a life & would like to keep it that way. That said, I’m sure there are some things I’ve missed or possibly misinterpreted. If you have any feedback, I’d love to hear it! If not, go plurk yourself…


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What’s Your Twitter Style?

Published by brian on May 18, 2008 in social media. 4 Comments

If you don’t understand Twitter, it’s ok. Exactly one year ago today (did not plan that, I swear), I posted my first Tweet & literally had no idea what the point was. It didn’t help that Twittervision was my initial foray into this communication vehicle & caused massive information overload. That’s akin to ordering tako the first time you eat sushi; sometimes it makes sense to dive in without abandon…other times a more cautious approach is required.

It can be a little intimidating at first; Twitter is not the easiest place to assimilate yourself. It takes time & you will find, fairly early in the process, that it is good to have a balance of people you follow. Once you get a feel for the flow, you’ll see how easy it is to add people you know, find new people, & minimize the noise. You can change the voice & direction of conversation without much hassle.

I did not visit or log on to Twitter again until the end of March, this year. Now I get it…well, mostly. So, in the spirit of getting it & idea mashups, I dedicate a post to Twitter with a bit of Starbucks influence. While this is no Machiavellian approach, I’ve segmented things based on what I’ve seen thus far.

Solo

  • What they do: Literally answer the question, “What are you doing?”
  • Who follows them: No one…yet.
  • Why you should follow them: If your TweetStats tell you something along the lines of “get a life” or “you are supposed to use your vocal chords to communicate as well”. Their random posts with no replies will remind you what it’s like to be the low man on the Tweetem pole.

Dopio

  • What they do: Random status updates aimed at pulling people in…problem is, not too many are listening.
  • Who follows them: Mostly kind people who Dopios have added; many of them gleaned from or recommended by friends & co-workers. Maybe a few friends & old colleagues they have referred to Twitter.
  • Why you should follow them: If you’re tired of talking & want to listen to someone else talk about things like current events, sports, weather, Belgian beers, or why stupid people are the bane of their existence.

Tall

  • What they do: Multi-task; they tweet semi-frequently, but are more interested in on-demand access to people, information, answers, etc.
  • Who follows them: Industry peers, friends, airlines, news wires, bars, restaurants…usually a reciprocated follow.
  • Why you should follow them: Their multi-tasking nature & hunger for information will have inherent fringe benefits. They have a knack for pointing people in the right direction.

Grande

  • What they do: These are your industry & social leaders. Somehow, even the seemingly inane stuff they post is relevant & adds to the conversation or sparks an idea. Dopios aspire to be Grandes.
  • Who follows them: Those with a thirst for knowledge who seek inspiration on a daily basis.
  • Why you should follow them: If you are looking for cutting edge stuff, personally or professionally, these people have it. It will be difficult to keep up though as many others have identified this. Be prepared to retweet. Truthfully, I don’t know how Grandes keep up with it all.

Venti

  • What they do: If you’re not sure what’s on their mind this very second, give it a couple minutes, you’ll soon know. By day, they are solving the world’s problems. By night, they want you to know that what they’re doing & where they’re going is way cooler than anything you’ve got planned.
  • Who follows them: Industry peers, social media mavens, friends, Obama, your mom, your dad…just about everyone.
  • Why you should follow them: Because of their hyperactive involvement, Ventis have lists of followers that would make an aspiring Tweeter jealous. You want to get plugged in fast? Follow a handful of Ventis & add the Twitter RSS feed to your reader.

Barista

  • What they do: Have a following:follower ratio of about 15,000:1. Their lives are truly & fully open books. Random micro-blogging at its worst finest.
  • Who follows them: Not many, but mainly because people don’t want current or potential followers (or simple browsers) to know they follow people like this. While Baristas don’t have as many followers as they’d like, people occasionally read their tweets.
  • Why you should follow them: Keeps you on your toes & reminds you that everything you publish online can follow you forever.

So, which style best describes you?

Don’t have Twitter? Sign up, install twhirl, use Tweet Scan, TwitterLocal & Twitter Friend Recs, & when you’re bored, check these - TweetStats, Twistori, & Tweet Clouds.


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