Bad news… if you’re not already on the top Plurk user list, you’re going to have a very difficult time ever getting there. In fact, it might be next to impossible thanks to the new Karma ALGO.

There are two major flaws to the top Plurk user list.

1) It’s based on Karma
Without an official Plurk API, Karma is really all there is to go on now, unfortunately. I’m not in any way bashing on Ryan Lim, who has done a killer job putting the top user list together, especially considering the data he had to work with. But, it is what it is… a top user list based on Karma is just downright wrong.

There are users, for example, who made the top 100 Plurk user list simply because they were the first with high Karma. Some of these “top users” made it there with low numbers of Read the rest of this entry…

We’ve started a thread over on Plurk for bloggers to plug their URL’s. Join in on the fun and add your blog!

Oh! And don’t forget to Plurk the link to the Plurkroll thread so others know it’s there.

Plurk Karma is an interesting little creature. We constantly tell ourselves it isn’t really important, yet we can’t wait to see the next update. Many of our peers and fellow Plurkers say not to worry about it because Karma is designed to benefit those without motive of personal reward.

Ignoring Karma would be easy to do, if it actually worked the way real Karma should… but it doesn’t. Let’s take a look at the Wikipedia entry for the word Karma.

Through the law of karma, the effects of all deeds actively create past, present, and future experiences, thus making one responsible for one’s own life, and the pain and joy it brings to him/her and others.

The flaw of Plurk Karma is that it has rules. If you don’t follow these rules, your Karma drops. Traditional Karma operates in a random manner that rewards good deeds that do not have selfish motive, yet Plurk Karma does the complete opposite. In fact, most, if not all Plurkers take actions that bring Karma because they know it will bring Karma. And if we as Plurkers do not follow the rules set forth by the Karma gods, our Karma will fall.

So it’s important to note up front that Plurk Karma in no way operates like real Karma. It never has, and it likely never will.

If Karma is not important to you, and you see no need to work on keeping it on the upward slope, the rest of this post will probably not be for you. If you do, however, wish to succeed in Karma, read on. Read the rest of this entry…

If someone requests friendship from you on plurk; why can’t you just accept or reject them as a friend? Why is it that they are considered a fan of yours and possibly forever listed on your page? They never clicked the fan button.

The logic behind the current process is adding a contact makes you a fan of them by default. Isn’t a fan an enthusiastic devotee, admirer or follower? Why are people being associated with this when clicking “Add Friend”? Quite a gap between the two exists; friends look eye to eye while fans look up while…

Take your favorite musicians as an example. If they met you what would they think? Does it matter? Who cares; you’re a fan because you like what they do and that’s why you follow or admire them. In this case that is done by implicitly clicking on the “Follow This Person” button.

Is Plurk’s current system creating a “fans” list? Or a list of people you “don’t care to get to know” or worse; “people who I’m sure will just send me spammy junk”? Why would I ever fan someone when the “base” is comprised of apparently undesirables? The latest algorithm even subtracts karma from you for being rejected as a friend; while awarding karma for new fans... Is this mechanism encouraging or discouraging networking? Where’s the PLURK!? (Peace, Love, Unity, Respect ,Karma)

What is a possible alternative?

If you deny a request that’s it; you’re not friends. If that denied user becomes a fan you get an alert; choose yes or no. If you deny it; they can no longer friend/fan you again. Same rules apply if a follow request is initiated first. No assumptions are made about requesters affinity for the person being added.

To add to this idea when you deny someone as a friend instead of your profile showing “Add as Friend” show “Friend Request Denied”. This “request denied” can also be used on the follow button. At any time you choose to befriend the user simply add them. They accept or deny. The less ambiguity that exists in the relationship; the better.

Plurk is new and I’m sure some things will change and some won’t. I think this is an area that could use some attention. Why do I care? I care because Plurk is better then any other network I’ve tried at actually letting you meet people; not just usernames.

I did ask this question on plurk and as expected got a mixed bag of replies.

http://www.plurk.com/p/dm56

So what’s your take on this?

Written by: Bloggeries

Catch the first episode of PlurkCAST on Wednesday, June 25th, 2008! (show call in and chat details will be available shortly)

Hosts:
Eric Odom and Bloggeries of Plurkable.com

Invited Guests:
-Keith Hanson :: Confirmed
Keith is joining us to discuss his own C#, multi-threaded API, as well as his WPF windows Plurk client. (SUPER SWEET!)

-KDFrawg :: Confirmed
KDFrawg owns Plurkiverse.com

-Alvin Woon :: Invited
UI lead for Plurk Inc

Join us for an hour of hot Plurk topics. Details for show call in and live chat will be available later this week.

Giving credit where it’s due. Plurk really does listen to the user base from my experience. Hear some gripes going through plurkistan and before long you’ll see a photo of th A-team.

You can now add live links with custom anchor to your plurk profile.

http://www.bloggeries.com (Bloggeries Blog Directory) simply insert ( ) around your anchor in your profile and you are good to go.

What do I think of this? First I think it’s awesome because I spend a lot of time on plurk and now when people come to see my profile which ~900 have so far they can also go directly to my site if they wish.

I do think it will get insanely abused though and they would be smart to make that one of the rewards for reaching say 25 karma. People complain about spam all the time but one of the best things to do is prevent it. If you need karma of 25 or above your average spammer will never reach that based on the new algorithm. Furthermore if you were a spammer would you waste your time building up a profile at a social network when you could go elsewhere with less hassle?

Curious what other people think? http://www.plurk.com/p/gffb

Written by: Bloggeries