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Duthie, a self-professed anti-Twitter blogger (“Let’s get one thing straight… I hate Twitter.”) is giving Plurk a chance, but not before he lists the reasons why in “Plurk: An anti-micro blogger’s perspective”.
His first 3 “negatives” for Plurk are actually related - I’d even say causal - and in fact the very reason why Plurk has become quite popular. Duthie’s Micro Blogging Negatives are:
Karma… But the fact is that as long as a karma score is maintained, people will abuse the system with the objective of reaching the ‘Top Plurkers’ list. Why exactly do we need to know who the top Plurkers are anyway…?
… Which causes Clutter and Time Wasting, Duthie’s #2 and #3 negatives for microblogging.
Let’s face it, Plurk founders were smart to create a point system because they blend microblogging with a competitive atmosphere, not to mention subjecting users to a peer-pressure like environment that can be both good and bad.
Does the Karma system suck and is it useless? ABSOLUTELY! I even started a “Take this Karma and Shove it” Clique and last week in protest, deleted a bunch of my old Plurks just to lower my Karma system. Will Plurkers still Plurk? YEP. It’s like highschool.
Duthie does bring up a great point about return on investment - I’ve commented on the ROI for creating a separate account to use Plurk solely for task-keeping or private microblogging purposes. I thought about creating a separate private account for a nanosecond and then decided against it.
I did, however, create a Plurkaholics.com Plurk account, specific for announcements from this site; it’s a courtesy to those who don’t want to be subject to MY inane drivel
By the way, Duthie will get a kick out of this manifesto-like philosophy from Plurk:
4. Simplify. We hate clutter; emotional, physical, on the web, or otherwise. We absolutely hate it. Why unnecessarily complicate things or aggravate your users? We take solace in striving towards beautiful simplicity. From Plurk - Our Philosophy in a Walnut Shell
James Duthie 4:38 pm on June 24, 2008 | #
I love Plurk’s stance on clutter. I just wish users would follow it instead of trying to make the top Plurkers list
I see similarities between karma and a video game. There’s no reason for people to want the highest score, but they strive for it anyway.
plurk.com/user/janechin 4:44 pm on June 24, 2008 | #
(not to mention the pathological desire for people close to the highest score to strive relentlessly to usurp the highest score and throne themselves!)