Plurk
Encyclopedia
Plurk is a free social networking and micro-blogging
service that allows users to send updates (otherwise known as plurks) through short messages or links, which can be up to 140 text characters in length.
Updates are then shown on the user's home page using a timeline
which lists all the updates received in chronological
order, and delivered to other users who have signed up to receive them. Users can respond to other users' updates from their timeline through the Plurk.com website, by instant messaging
, or by text messaging
.
According to Alexa
, , 41.5% of Plurk's traffic comes from Taiwan
. Plurk is also ranked 27th in Taiwan and 1,297th worldwide.
The etymology of the name was explained by the developers as such:
and updated through AJAX
. Users can post new messages with optional 'qualifiers', which are one-word verbs used to represent a thought (e.g. "feels", "thinks", "loves", etc.). There are also advanced features such as sending updates only to a subset of your friends, posting updates on events earlier in the day, and sharing images, videos, and other media. Plurks can also be "liked", as in other social sites.
Plurk also supports group conversations between friends and allows usage of emoticons together with the usual text micro-blogging.
The Plurk.com developers allowed public access to the API on December 4, 2009.
Due to messages being sent between users in near-realtime, many users use Plurk as an alternative to chat.
, an earlier micro-blogging service.
In June 2008, Plurk received online attention when it was featured by Leo Laporte
and Amber MacArthur
on their net@night show in the TWiT.tv
podcast
network.
threat posted on plurk.com that called for the assassination of the President of the Republic of China
, Ma Ying-jeou
.
Micro-blogging
Microblogging is a broadcast medium in the form of blogging. A microblog differs from a traditional blog in that its content is typically smaller in both actual and aggregate file size...
service that allows users to send updates (otherwise known as plurks) through short messages or links, which can be up to 140 text characters in length.
Updates are then shown on the user's home page using a timeline
Timeline
A timeline is a way of displaying a list of events in chronological order, sometimes described as a project artifact . It is typically a graphic design showing a long bar labeled with dates alongside itself and events labeled on points where they would have happened.-Uses of timelines:Timelines...
which lists all the updates received in chronological
Chronology
Chronology is the science of arranging events in their order of occurrence in time, such as the use of a timeline or sequence of events. It is also "the determination of the actual temporal sequence of past events".Chronology is part of periodization...
order, and delivered to other users who have signed up to receive them. Users can respond to other users' updates from their timeline through the Plurk.com website, by instant messaging
Instant messaging
Instant Messaging is a form of real-time direct text-based chatting communication in push mode between two or more people using personal computers or other devices, along with shared clients. The user's text is conveyed over a network, such as the Internet...
, or by text messaging
Text messaging
Text messaging, or texting, refers to the exchange of brief written text messages between fixed-line phone or mobile phone and fixed or portable devices over a network...
.
According to Alexa
Alexa Internet
Alexa Internet, Inc. is a California-based subsidiary company of Amazon.com that is known for its toolbar and Web site. Once installed, the toolbar collects data on browsing behavior which is transmitted to the Web site where it is stored and analyzed and is the basis for the company's Web traffic...
, , 41.5% of Plurk's traffic comes from Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
. Plurk is also ranked 27th in Taiwan and 1,297th worldwide.
History
Plurk was developed by and envisioned as a communication medium meant to form a balance between blogs and social networks, and between e-mail messaging and instant messaging. After months of development, Plurk was launched on May 12, 2008.The etymology of the name was explained by the developers as such:
- abbreviationAbbreviationAn abbreviation is a shortened form of a word or phrase. Usually, but not always, it consists of a letter or group of letters taken from the word or phrase...
of 'people' and 'lurk' - portmanteau of 'play' and 'work'
- acronym of peace, love, unity, respect, and karma
- verbVerbA verb, from the Latin verbum meaning word, is a word that in syntax conveys an action , or a state of being . In the usual description of English, the basic form, with or without the particle to, is the infinitive...
neologism, similar to how GoogleGoogleGoogle Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
was eventually used as a verbGoogle (verb)The transitive verb to google refers to using the Google search engine to obtain information on the Web. However, it can also be used as a general term for searching the internet using any search engine, not just Google...
Features and technology
Plurk's interface shows updates in horizontal form through a scrollable timeline written in JavaScriptJavaScript
JavaScript is a prototype-based scripting language that is dynamic, weakly typed and has first-class functions. It is a multi-paradigm language, supporting object-oriented, imperative, and functional programming styles....
and updated through AJAX
Ajax
- Mythology :* Ajax , son of Telamon, ruler of Salamis and a hero in the Trojan War, also known as "Ajax the Great"* Ajax the Lesser, son of Oileus, ruler of Locris and the leader of the Locrian contingent during the Trojan War.- People :...
. Users can post new messages with optional 'qualifiers', which are one-word verbs used to represent a thought (e.g. "feels", "thinks", "loves", etc.). There are also advanced features such as sending updates only to a subset of your friends, posting updates on events earlier in the day, and sharing images, videos, and other media. Plurks can also be "liked", as in other social sites.
Plurk also supports group conversations between friends and allows usage of emoticons together with the usual text micro-blogging.
The Plurk.com developers allowed public access to the API on December 4, 2009.
Due to messages being sent between users in near-realtime, many users use Plurk as an alternative to chat.
Availability in other languages
To help translate their base list of qualifiers/verbs, Plurk hosts its own translation website where users can submit translations of the Plurk user interface in other languages. As of July 2008, Plurk is translated into over twenty languages.Reception
Plurk has often been considered to be a rival to TwitterTwitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
, an earlier micro-blogging service.
In June 2008, Plurk received online attention when it was featured by Leo Laporte
Leo Laporte
Léo Gordon Laporte is an Emmy Award winning, American technology broadcaster, author, and entrepreneur. A former resident of Providence, Rhode Island, he now lives in Petaluma, California with his wife Jennifer and two children, Abby and Henry....
and Amber MacArthur
Amber MacArthur
Amber Dawn MacArthur is a Canadian television and netcasting personality. MacArthur is currently the co-host of BNN's App Central....
on their net@night show in the TWiT.tv
TWiT.tv (network)
The TWiT Netcast Network, which is the operating trade name of TWiT LLC, is a podcast network run by technology broadcaster and author Leo Laporte. The network began operation in April 2005 with the launch of This Week in Tech. Security Now was the second podcast on the network, debuting in...
podcast
Podcast
A podcast is a series of digital media files that are released episodically and often downloaded through web syndication...
network.
Post calling for the assassination of President Ma Ying-jeou
On March 20, 2010, Taiwanese police investigated an InternetInternet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
threat posted on plurk.com that called for the assassination of the President of the Republic of China
Republic of China
The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...
, Ma Ying-jeou
Ma Ying-jeou
Ma Ying-jeou is the 12th term and current President of the Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan, and the Chairman of the Kuomintang Party, also known as the Chinese Nationalist Party. He formerly served as Justice Minister from 1993 to 1996, Mayor of Taipei from 1998 to 2006, and Chairman...
.