Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Plurk VS Twitter

I know, I know, some of you are probably thinking, "Not ANOTHER social media site to keep up with!?!" But wait! Don't panic! Before you close this post thinking, "I just can't handle any more," I want to challenge you to at least read what I have to say, and THEN make your decision about wether Plurk might be a tool for you to use to grow your business. Ok?

www.plurk.com and www.twitter.com have a lot of similarites and a lot of differences. Similarities can be summed up as:

1. Both are Social Media Sites
2. Both provide you with a method to do "mini-blogging." IE - to share a short message about what's going on in your day.
3. Both have systems for finding and making "friends."
4. Both have systems for sending a direct or private message to an individual "friend."

Twitter has been around longer and is the one that I'm betting most of my readers are more familiar with. After all, even the stars are using twitter these days! I've been on twitter for awhile now, and I know many people who've found it very useful. I currently have 1,424 followers and I follow 1,377.

Now I know several people who've made sales that they can directly relate back to advertising on Twitter. I can say that I've gotten views on items, but no sales. I've built a few relationships, but with that many people feeding in to my twitter, building a relationship is hard!

When I first heard about Plurk my thought was, "Well isn't that just like Twitter? It's not like Twitter's really been that helpful for me..." I ignored the first few inventations I got to it, but then I noticed something. I was getting a LOT of invites for Plurk! So one day when I had some extra time I signed up...and fell in love pretty quickly.

Like Twitter, you post up short thoughts on Plurk. However, instead of having to go to your "replies" section to see if you've gotten any responses, Plurk creates a "thread" with each post that's put up so you and anyone else who's interested can follow the responses! This makes it much easier to form a connection and have a conversation with the people reading your plurks.

Plurk also updates you immediately when one of your friends puts up a new post or when someone replies. With Twitter you have to find and download a seperate program to get those features, but Plurk does it right there in your browser. I can't run the Twitter programs because I'm on a laptop and it slows down my processing speeds too much, but I can keep up with Plurk!

Now here's the kicker - I've only been on Plurk for a month or two (vs 8-10 months with Twitter) - and I've already had several sales as a result! Since all your replies to a post are right there and easy to view it's really easy to talk to potential customers. I've had several direct sales where I've posted about a new item and it's sold, and I've negotiated several custom orders via plurk.

Does that mean Twitter's all bad? Certainly not! Like I said, I know people who make sales from it! Plurk allows me to send all my posts over to Twitter so I still use my twitter. I check for responses through out the day and I still talk to people over there. I just vastly prefer Plurk!

If your interested in signing up for an account on plurk just follow this link: http://www.plurk.com/roseworksjewelry/invite

14 comments:

Home Deconomics said...

That was very helpful! I had no idea what Plurk was but I might have to check it out. I'm getting ready to do another trial run of some new sites and I might have to include that one.

Meri Greenleaf said...

I second the Plurk love! I use Twitter, too, but it's so much easier to keep up with people using Plurk. :)

BeadedTail said...

Thanks for explaining Plurk Ruthie! I don't use my Twitter much but I might have to check into Plurk. I have seen the Plurk posts come onto Twitter and I find that odd since it's like I'm eavesdropping because the conversation is happening on another site so that part of it I don't like.

TiLT said...

very nice explanation...I'll have to have hubby read it b/c he's always asking & I just never explain it right

Splendid Little Stars said...

This is interesting. Maybe someday I'll get a chance to check it out.

uniquecommodities said...

well written anda thanks for sharing! I saw Plurk and said just that..not ANOTHER one! LOL

Unknown said...

I love Plurk! I never really got into Twitter, found it too hard to keep track of new comments. Never have that problem with Plurk.
Great article!

Anonymous said...

Interesting.. going to check.. Thank you Ruthie!!

Betani said...

I like both, as they both serve different purposes. Twitter is good for reaching out, and Plurk is good for closer contact and conversation.

As far as keeping up, when I have an announcement that I want to broadcast (as opposed to a conversation), Ping.fm is great for only having to type it once and send it to both places.

Marlaine said...

My only question is how do you find time for all of that AND bead? I sure can't manage it!

Splendid Little Stars said...

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Memories for Life said...

Great summary! I'm lovin' plurk :) And I like that you can share photos as well...I've heard you can't do this on Twitter.
I still haven't taken the leap to join Twitter...maybe Plurk is the way to go :)

Adaptable Kay said...

Before I read this post, I had NO IDEA about Plurk.
When I came to this post, I was like what the heck is Plurk!?
Now that I know what Plurk is, I think I may sign up for it just to see what it's about!
Thanks for the recommendation :D If I get some sales, I chalk it all up to you!!

Unknown said...

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