I‘m not really into social networking. Browsing profiles really isn’t my thing… I just don’t have time for it, and I honestly think I have better things to do than going through each and every one of my contacts’ profiles. I accept the invites, sign up, approve Friend requests, customize my profile a bit—but that’s about it. I don’t really spend too much time on those things after that. So yeah, it’s kinda hard for me to get into web app “fads” as easily as others do.

Plurk is different. It’s like Twitter, but I like it better 🙂

First off, the interface. It’s basically like Twitter, except that Plurk updates are presented in a time line. Which, in my opinion, makes it more fun 🙂 Then, there’s Karma!

Karma is something like a Plurk rewards program where users get to edit their profiles to certain degrees depending on a specific number of points. It also gives you access to icons exclusive only to those who have accumulated Karma points.

For me, it’s the Karma concept that makes Plurk addictive. People have a tendency to want to “accessorize” and customize—I guess that has something to do with our need for individuality—and I honestly think Plurk made good use of that. You can’t edit your profile much till you use the app extensively, so what do you do? Either you just leave it or continue using the app until you get to a certain number of points that will basically allow you to do what you want.

Another thing that makes people stay (well, it’s what makes me stay) is the fact that Karma points do work like the concept of real-life Karma. Do good in Plurk and you will be rewarded. Do bad by ignoring Plurk, and points will be taken off you. So you’re not only trying to get to a certain number of Karma points, but you also need to maintain it.

If only people are that concerned about real-life Karma as they do about Plurk Karma, the world would probably a better place 😛

I’m going to be quite busy the next few days (for the first time, we have a client who doesn’t mind us spending our time playing computer games and is actually rather pleased that we do :P), but I’ll be in Plurk (it’s easier to write short and sometimes totally useless things than blogging, you know). Do add me while you’re at it 🙂