Is Plurk Losing Traction Growth Wise?

Posted in Plurky Stuff | August 14th, 2008

We all know I love plurk; obviously or I wouldn’t dedicate my time to writing on the subject when I”m not using the network. Recently the compete score came through and it appears that the numbers of Plurk users has in fact gone down since the last evaluation.

First let’s visit Compete.com

Date: 07/2008 People Month ? Year ? What is this?
plurk.com 267,026 -18.8% N/A

Compete shows that Plurk stats are down 18.8%

Second let’s visit Alexa.com

Feel free to click on the Alexa graph for further details. According to Alexa they are up over 3 months. I’m curious how it is over the last month. I think both metrics are horrible but the best we have to gauge without actually looking at the actual statistics. Another reason why the Alexa is probably less affected is because most people using plurk probably use the Alexa tool bar. I know the tool bar has less weight then before but I still believe it has some. Webmaster / Early Adopter / Geeky stuff always ranks higher its’ where the geeks w/ the tool bars hang!

First I think it makes sense for it to be tapering down a bit. It had it’s initial “introduction” and many people checked it out; opened an account used it. Some continue to use it while others most likely moved on. I know I do that with most social media networks I join. I just like plurk a lot more so I stick around. Obviously Plurk has a GREAT ACTIVE community but my question is how many NEW plurkers are coming in and really joining the party?

I do think that Needy Karma is the biggest detractor to casual / new users using the system. I also think that Plurk may be asking too much of its community; sometimes I feel like I’m being used. Do you know any other sites that demand you use the site 4X a day plus to stay in “Good standings”?

Another reason I think plurk could be losing some traction is because of the new front page.

Old Plurk Front Page

When I saw that for the first time besides the word “EMO” I loved it. I was intrigued it was something NEW. Now they have made the front page look so generic like they unzipped some script and made their own “Social Media Network”. It just doesn’t look original it looks generic which is too bad considering Plurk is anything but generic. Ok ok this probably isn’t a valid reason but I just thought I’d throw it out there as I really dislike the new front page.

I think Plurk is going to be alright and continue to grow but I just thought I’d mention this as it’s something I noticed and thought I’d share.

What can we as the community do to help? Well if you have a blog; blog about it. Just write anything about why you like it or mention a plurk you liked or anything. Your readers will probably check it out if they trust what you say. Also don’t spend too much time on plurk; haha. I know it sounds weird saying that but check your sites are you losing ground while gaining karma? I did for a while heck I wasn’t even posting in my blog forum anymore. The reason I’m pointing this out is if you only spend your time on Plurk how will it grow? Everyone needs to let others know. It would be a shame if this never hit real critical mass.

Stay tuned for more things plurk,

- Rob

P.S I think the Invite code is totally spammy. Imagine telling someone hey you will like this site and then sending them an affiliate link?… That’s what the current system is doing.

11 Responses to “Is Plurk Losing Traction Growth Wise?”

caile on August 14th, 2008 | 9:38 am

This is an excellent post. I just joined and I love the overall concept. I have met some really GREAT people here and have been surprisingly happy to talk to perfect strangers in this manner.

However, one reason I DID join was to get away from all the “pressures” I feel over at StumbleUpon (it’s not SU, it’s me due to my following and other people’s expectations there). Here I wanted to just be in some relaxing company and talk to folks and enjoy immediate feedback to my thoughts, etc.

But I’m kind of rebelling/resisting this whole Karma thing. It grates. I don’t want to feel like I HAVE to post, which is why I think a lot of the “plurks” cluttering up my screen are so trivial and senseless. It’s hard to have “depth” in your plurks if you have to be more concerned with quantity over quality!

For that very reason (some people plurking constantly all over the place, making it a nightmare to navigate and keep up with everything), I had to drop some new “friends” I’d made because their plurks were just visual clutter to me. (Yes I know that sounds rude, but I think the fact that we HAVE to post constantly to keep our karma encourages this kind of mindless plurking.) I think newbies (like myself!) get driven away from the demands made by the system.

Another reason I think new people leave is because when they start, many don’t know how to integrate themselves into other conversations and thus spend quite a lonely time plurking to themselves. I noticed several of these yesterday while I was checking out some random people and it seemed kind of depressing, actually.

I would probably like this and recommend it to my friends much more if there was no “catch” (i.e., KARMA) that makes you feel like a failure in some intangible way if your little arrow goes down. We’re adults. I think we are capable of using this feature in a manner that suits us and if given that free reign, will be more likely to encourage growth and participation from new people because we LIKE it, not because we have to.

Maybe it’s just because I’m a rebel at heart, but the more I feel pressured to do stuff, the less likely I’ll do it. That’s why you don’t see any “friends invited” in my little stats box ~ because I haven’t invited any. If the structural basis relaxes a bit and doesn’t seem like such a taskmaster, that might change.

So I’m happy with not reaching “karma nirvana” simply because I don’t have the patience to post enough to keep it anyway. I want what I say to reflect who I am, what I’m feeling, what I want it to say. Not spend my time yapping about really inane superficialities (unless I’m in the mood). And I have times when I’m sick and won’t be around at all. Imagine being at a network where you’re penalized for being sick and can’t post. That’s essentially how I view it. You have to work a lot harder to gain karma than to lose it, and I don’t think this is a very good motivator for most who want to use Plurk to relax, not compete (we get enough competition in the real world).

One last thing: anything even remotely “spammy” will not be utilized by me. I hate being spammed by friends (even well-meaning ones) and won’t do that to others. So that was a great point about the Invite code, as well.

Just my thoughts (as a relative newbie).

Cheers,
caile~

caile’s last blog post..http://caile-girl.stumbleupon.com/review/20408366/
Bloggeries on August 14th, 2008 | 9:47 am

I agree with most everything you just said Caile. Great comment.

One thing I totally forgot about how incredibly barren it is when you first signup. If I didn’t have a friend like @theGypsy to kinda show me around I would of bounced. I just remember that 1st plurk you make. I think I wrote “Can anyone see this!?” luckily the guy I joined under replied and well the rest is history.

This brings me back to the whole… What is the A-Team actually looking to promote? You have a badge for fans now, nothing for friends and its still VERY hard to find new friends when you’re first starting out.

I think the average user isn’t already a total social media addict who just adds their friends list from other networks. Even heavy users you want to meet NEW people. Why go to a new network to talk with old friends?

I might write another post later on how / why is it so cumbersome to meet new people. It’s definitely a drawback.

Thanks for your thoughts!
KDFrawg on August 14th, 2008 | 10:40 am

Great job, Rob! A very impressive and thoughtful post!

KDFrawg’s last blog post..Today’s Plurkcast!
Don M on August 14th, 2008 | 11:21 am

Right now it’s fun and I have friends on plurk, but once I reach karma and I begin feeling pressure to plurk just to maintain that I will probably just let it fade.

It was hard enough to get me to Plurk in the first place (Twitter’s zillionth failure finally did me in), but my reaction before that was “Why join ANOTHER microblogging site?” But Twitter was dying so I did it. Otherwise I would not be on there - even now. Now add Karma to the mix and it’s just ANOTHER reason not to be a part of another social blogging site.

Unless Plurk makes some real changes to Karma or eliminates it altogether, or replaces it with something less
“needy” I believe you will eventually see people migrateBACK to twitter - which could be what you are seeing now.

DM

Don M’s last blog post..Ask The Readers: What is your favorite songwriting book?
Thoughtwrong on August 14th, 2008 | 2:55 pm

While I realize that Karma may be detracting to some newcomers, it seems that the overall consensus on Karma is that while most people do not Plurk for the Karma the rewards are a nice ROIT (Return on Investment of Time). I believe that while Plurk might be able to change the current Karma system to better fit the needs of the Pleeps, there will never be a complete drop of the Karma system altogether. Its part of what makes Plurk so enjoyable and while I do not Plurk for the Karma, I do get excited when I reach a milestone.

On the topic of the new front page, while I do like the old one a lot better I can still see the need for the change. Plurk needed something a little more streamline to attract investors to the service. If this is not the case, and Plurk is not getting their funding from investors then that leaves one to wonder where on earth their current funding is actually coming from. I think while the new front page is not the old front page by any means, it is still very attractive and would not detract too many would-be Plurkers from coming. Plus once you sign-up you don’t have to see that page too often.

As far as the affiliate link comment, when I am trying to attract someone to plurk I will usually give both links. I will put the affiliate link after the plurk.com link and make sure to tell them that if they like what I wrote then use the affiliate link to give me credit for the invite so I get my shiny new star. I also will let them know that if they want to they can use the direct plurk link as that makes some people feel safer. I find that 9 times out of 10 they use my link instead of the direct one because I was so honest with them about it from the get go.

Anyways, I know this has been long but you brought up a lot of interesting points and they are things I have commented on in the past. Please note that these are my opinions and other people may view these topicas differently. Well, that’s what these comments are here for right? So I encourage everyone else to discuss their views here. We want to hear your opinion too =)

-Thoughtwrong
alex on April 3rd, 2009 | 12:21 pm

im trying to get readers to my blog too and was wondering if i could purchase a link in your blog roll via paypal? let me know - thanks
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