Mysteries Are Hidden from View
If you’ve met me in person, you might think I am a little like this village, noticeably quiet and reserved, that is until I begin to reveal what lies beneath.There is one thing that will not be obvious from the get go and that’s my tendency toward luddite ways. While I don’t disparage technology, I don’t have very much either. In fact I don’t own any of the following: a cell phone, a digital camera, a web cam, a laptop or even an ipod. Add to that not owning a TV…
Getting involved in social media seems like a good idea. I like connecting with people but without the much technology this definitely makes things a little more complicated.
Well first, I tried Twitter. Twitter allows 140 characters to answer the question, “What are you doing?” Well for me, if I am on the computer, then that is what I am doing? I am not out in the world and able to connect to you on twitter. How does one answer that question on a consistent basis and remain engaging when the answer doesn’t really change? Then in order to address someone directly on Twitter I have to use @(their_username). When they want to reply back, they use @(my_username). It works, but that doesn’t feel like conversation. Instead it feels like I am talking to a bad mannered, pissed off teenager running the fast food drive thru-window because daddy made her get a summer job. Just plain irritating. But, because Twitter and Tweeting were familiar, even if not well liked, I signed in again after an 8 month hiatus.
Now I’m obviously no “early adapter”. I haven’t gone in search of the very first tweet ever Twittered. I am about equal in followers and those I am following. I have not and will not research every social media network out there. I’m in a few other places but not frequent or prolific in any of them. The first mention of Plurk I saw was by Darren Rowse on Problogger. Then a few days later I read a forum thread by Dr. Mani who quickly mentioned Plurk and the “Ten Minute Guide to Plurk” by Teeg.
I didn’t even give Plurk a chance, until after I saw the first tweet in my timeline on Twitter. It said, “Join me on Plurk.” Hmm, now I just got back on Twitter, do I want to abandon ship that quickly, because of the first tweet I see? I realized the tweet was about 10 minutes old and decided to refresh the page. The fail whale cinched my decision. Oh what harm will a quick peek at Plurk cause. It can’t be that much more different than Twitter. I already knew the timeline set up was different , so that didn’t startle me but it made me step back when I saw it for real. It was like an Egyptian Khan EL Khalili Bazaar, friendly, raucous and a little intimidating. Still I clicked the sign-up button, choose a username and filled out my bio.
That was eleven days ago.
I’ve plurked every single day since then and I am loving it. Why? I found a family, figuratively and literally.
Conversations In The Street
Literally there is a family, the Suttons, all Plurking through their day. No, I don’t mean just a wife and husband or a brother and sister. I mean, mom, daughters, daughters in law, son. The mom has even adopted so many other plurkers that she is considered “PlurkMama”. This is a real family using Plurk to keep up with what each other is doing, to support one another and in general to stay connected. Plurk for them and for me is what Twitter isn’t. I know you can’t please all the people all the time. Which is why Plurk exists. I feel at home on Plurk. I found interesting Plurks and replied to them, some of those replies created friends, some created fans. (Read “The 10 Minute Guide to Plurk” for details on the difference).
Twitter only wants to know “What are you doing?”
Plurk, is about life, no matter what you are doing.
I’m still using Twitter. I will check it a few times a day. Yet if you want to have a conversation with me, get a bit deeper on a topic, go to Plurk. We can laugh, cry, console, compete, fight, rail, live and love no matter what you are doing. As I explained to one of my offline friends, it’s like having lots of conversations at once and never having to ask what’d I miss. On Plurk, you share how you are living, what’s really going on. Even with my luddite ways, I’m glad I embraced Plurk. If you are still not sure, still sitting on the fence, give Plurk a try, come on, ’cause Plurk is family, come join other Plurksters and me.
Filed under: Connect & Communicate, Uncategorized | Tagged: communication, connections, conversation, plurk, Plurk - life on the line, social media
Thanks for explaining that “PlurkMama” reference I saw earlier. Knowing is half the battle.
As much of a “technosexual” as I am, I never got into twitter. The constant status updating and “im in my bathroom right now” aspect of it seemed like the worst part of blogging on steroids. With Plurk, however, I think I got caught up because of the immediacy of the responses … while Twitter still feels rather distant and disjointed to me, Plurk can often feel like a chatroom. I feel 18 again.
Jason,
I love the term “technosexual” and yes the early tweets on twitter were uhm, a bit too much information. Plurk is much better with the conversational sharing aspect and I think that’s what hooked me right off.
You’ve described my feelings about Plurk vs Twitter almost exactly, and I wish I’d read your thoughts here before I blogged my Social Media article today. I would have linked to this post in my text.
I’m a bit of a Luddite, too. I don’t shun technology, but I only get gear I need to use and I just want it to be a tool that works. The only time I get involved with learning more than I need (or want) to know, is when the gear goes wrong. And as soon as the problem is fixed I erase that new technical knowledge to make brain-room for more important stuff.
And yet, despite my lack of interest in technothingies, I find Plurk as user-friendly as it is friendship-friendly. It’s simply intuitive.