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Plurk is one of the more intriguing lifestreaming sites out on the World Wide Web right now. Launched in May of 2008, it takes the basics of Twitter and dresses them up in a snazzy interface, throwing some pretty interesting features into the mix.

Why “plurk”? The name alone sparks curiosity. According to Plurk’s creators, there are four ideas behind this catchy name. One is People + Lurk – yes, people do lurk online. Second, it is an amalgam of Play and Work, touching on the fun side of plurking. Third, it is an acronym for Peace, Love, Unity, Respect, Karma. Lastly, there is the potential for becoming a coined verb, just like “google”.
Now, Plurk users call themselves “plurkers”, the act of posting is called “plurking”, and the post itself is called a “plurk”. Very, very catchy indeed.

So what makes Plurk so much different from Twitter and why do plurkers love it? Here are the top 5 reasons:

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Earlier, Twitter was running to slow. Every page loads approximately 12 seconds. Then at one point it displayed this error:

I refreshed my page 3 times and still that error was displayed. After 10 minutes, I refreshed my Twitter page again and this time it displayed this error message:

But, it is OK now. Maybe Twitter has too many users logging on at the same time. This should be addressed quickly so as not to face similar problems encountered by Friendster.

Friendster was once the largest social media network. At one point, it became the #1 online social media (yep you heard it right). But because of Friendster’s server and network problems (coupled with poor marketing strategy and focus), it slipped and handed its crown. Today, Friendster is in 3rd place; way beyond MySpace and Facebook.

It used to be that a company’s online marketing efforts consist of having a Web page, sending out e-mails, and advertising on high-traffic sites. However, in this age of social networking sites – like Facebook, Twitter and MySpace – these efforts are no longer enough!

Social networking sites have allowed businesses big and small to be more interactive in the way they present their companies, brands, products, and services. Online marketing has ceased to be a one-way street where the businesses do all the talking and hope that their potential customers listen and try out their goods and services. Interactivity has become the key feature of online marketing on social networking sites.

Businesses can still advertise their products and services by sending out a Tweet or updating their Facebook status for all their followers and friends to see, or update them about the latest promotions and discounts. Meanwhile, customers can post questions and complaints in real time.

A company doing business on social networking sites can further keep itself ahead of the game by easily developing customer relationships and loyalty. You are no longer an
e-mail address promoting a product via spam, or a Web site they stumbled upon, but a profile with a real person behind it. This personal touch, which is an additional way of interacting with your customers, can make them feel connected and supported and in turn leads to more positive feelings and loyalty to your business. Anne Rice, for instance, just does not write great novels, she goes on Facebook to discuss any aspect of her characters as her fans ask her questions about them, or she conducts online writing workshops for her fans. Rice also speaks to them, making them feel that they are friends and that she, too, has her own hopes and dreams.

Social networking sites also provide a way for businesses to talk about their products in a more natural setting. You are not a business that intrudes on people as they read e-mails from friends and family, but you are part of the social network. That means that people will be more receptive to your pitch. If you provide a link to your Web site, people are also more inclined to click on it and visit your site.

More importantly, these links on social networking sites become new inbound links to your site, which makes your site rank higher on search engines. Few people realize that the links they put up on Twitter, YouTube and Facebook do not only point their friends and family to their site, they also point search engine spiders to their sites, making it seem more important and therefore making their site rank higher on Google, Yahoo and other search engines.

You’re probably tickled pink about your childhood crush having just “poked” you. Maybe you’re losing sleep over a fight with a Paris Hilton wannabe, or wanting to drink more human blood. Or you might be spending time writing something for a worthwhile cause you feel passionate about. Or you’re keeping up with what’s happening in the life of a college friend you haven’t seen for years. All these, because of a five-year-old.

Yup, Facebook has just turned five.

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Previously, I told you about the benefits of Twitter as a source of information and as a means of propagating it. Twitter would work best if you have good quality contacts. Friends, associates, business contacts are the best set of followers.

This kind of audience is ready and interested. To start with, always put in your real name in your Twitter profile, just as you would in Facebook and MySpace. And always fill out your profiles, so people can easily find you and know who you are. After you set up your Twitter profile, then it’s time to pay it forward: follow people you know, or whose content interests you. Always introduce yourself to them, tell them what you do and what interests you. Think of it as networking on Twitter. If they check your profile and find out more about you, they might follow you back.

Like RSS feeds, you can promote your blog or Web site via Twitter. All you have to do is to type in the updates. Unlike RSS feeds, however, Twitter allows for more interaction, giving you the opportunity to field more feedback to your site changes or blog posts in real time.

If you are always on the go, you can give your followers important updates throughout the day using your mobile. Note that updates should be substantial and has meat in it. A lot of your followers would probably turn you off if you twit “still stuck in traffic…” every five minutes or so.

If you’re a powerblogger, you can let a third party service handle the updates for you. Sign up for twitterfeed, an update service that reads your blog’s RSS and feeds them to Twitter automatically, thereby saving you the time and effort of having to do the updates yourself. This is especially helpful if you maintain a lot of blogs, and you want to automate each one.

Remember that your Twitter account should speak about you or your business. While you may have a lot to say about the world, or about yourself, be sure to moderate your postings. Posting too much would cause your followers to abandon you, or not read your twits, posting nothing is just as bad. Further, be careful of what you post on Twitter. Twitter posts are basically archived by Google (another benefit of having Twitter is that you get inbound links so your site could rank higher in Google) so even if you have deleted your particularly embarrassing twit, it can still be found on Google search.

Lastly, learn to play it by ear. And of course, HAVE FUN!

Please read another interesting article about Twitter here: Don’t Ignore Twitter!

Twitting…

If you guys have been ignoring Twitter, you probably haven’t realized its power. You have probably tried it at one point, and decided that you really didn’t care if a friend is having lunch with Bill Gates, or taking a piss. Really, who’d want to be THAT updated?

But as with all things high-tech, people have always used technology for mundane things. Even great technologies have their asinine yet practical application. While most people use Facebook to play Fashion Wars or solicit sympathy for a dead toenail, a lot of businesses have found suppliers and customers on the site. Some people use it to connect with long-lost friends and keep up with them.

Twitter, I found out, has great potentials. I was recently out with a couple of friends and went to see a movie with them. Tina, a movie buff, mentioned something about a movie shot in India that won a lot of BAFTAs and nominated for a number of Oscars. For the life of her, Tina couldn’t remember the movie’s title.

I haven’t heard of the movie, while the other two were as clueless as I was. It bothered Tina to no end, so she kept on tapping and doing all those insanely Tina-things to let us know she’s bothered. Mon finally surrendered and whipped out his laptop. I thought he was going to Google for movie, India, BAFTA and Oscar, but he went to Twitter instead. In the box, he twitted: “What’s that new movie that was shot in India and is nominated for the Oscars?”

In a matter of seconds, and right before our eyes, Mon’s followers came up with the answer: Slumdog Millionaire. With it came the names of the producers, the director, the cast, the movie’s official Web site, synopsis, even the Oscar categories it was nominated in. As in SECONDS.

Until then, I didn’t really think much about Twitter. I thought it was just another Internet fad that featured a cross between social networking and RSS. I did not realize its potential power both as a source of information and as a means of propagating it.

The possibilities are endless. Looking for a recipe? Twit it. Want a recommendation for a hot date? Twit it. Wanting to know how much to budget for that new restaurant that just opened last week? Twit it. Want to launch your business or advertise your service? Twit… You get the idea.

Read another interesting Twitter article here: Getting the most out of Twitter