One of the questions we get asked a lot around here is ‘what’s the next big thing after Twitter?’ It’s a good question but I think also a double-edged one – do we really need the next Big Thing when even the current one isn’t truly mainstream yet? Also, by asking what it will be already consigns Twitter to last year’s fad. However, in the name of research, the question has been bandied around internally and there are a number of contenders on the table. However the most novel seems to be Plurk…
Plurk is a social media site that allows you to send the now standard 140 characters and pass them on to others who are Plurking.
Plurk takes everything that Twitter has to offer and ramps up the game by bringing onboard video and pictures that you can share right from within the service. However, it’s the Plurk wall that hits you the hardest. For the first time user it can be a little daunting getting used to all your activities up in front of you (one colleague has fled the service as it’s a too much to handle).
Once you’ve come to terms with the UI Plurk does offer quite a lot – the couple of late nights recently spent playing with it are testament to that fact. Getting to grips with Plurk seems to be the aim of the game but I’ve not seen many people using it over Twitter yet.
People seem to have cottoned on to Plurk and are using it much as they do Twitter. So, the question is are they actively using it as a real alternative, or, like me, is everyone just seeing what’s coming down the pipe?