Since May 2008 Plurk has been giving internet users a way of updating their friends (and fans) with a minute-by-minute account of their lives. It is instant messaging, blogging, and social networking all rolled into one. Just like Yahoo Messenger, AIM, or Windows Messenger you will be able to send instant messages (with cute new emoticons) to your friends. Similar to blogging, you will be able to send short messages containing links, photos, and even YouTube videos. Social networking comes into play because you can add a number of fans who can follow your timeline, and a set of friends who you can follow and who can follow your timeline as well. So long as the plurks (which are actually the messages) are viewable to the world, people in the plurkiverse (who may or may not be your friends) can post replies to them.

As the A-Team puts it, you are a celebrity! So no matter what you do, or how boring you think your life is, there will be people who will tune in to your social journal.

There are features in Plurk that are not available on their (considered-to-be) rival, Twitter. In Plurk, the plurkers (or subscribers) can post new messages with a given set of qualifiers. These are one-word verbs that can be used to represent a thought (ex. hopes, wonders, wants, etc.). Also, there is a list of supported languages for qualifiers that you can opt to use: Filipino, Italiano, and Bahasa Indonesia are just some of them. You can also suggest your native language if it’s not on the current list yet.

Karma is another feature. Every plurker has a Karma value that is recalculated everyday. The Karma value depends on several things: updating the profile, the number of plurks, friends and fans, and inviting more friends to Plurk. It is very important to know the difference of quality plurking from spamming. A high Karma value rewards you with exclusive features. For instance, a Karma value of more than 10 will earn you the ability to give a title to your own timeline. A Karma value of more than 50 will give you access to exclusive emoticons.

Because of the increasing number of members, along with their demands, add-ons and widgets have been created for its users that would quickly post the plurks without having to visit their own user profile. In the Philippines, PhPlurk has provided Plurk users with a way of updating their timeline just by sending a message from a mobile phone to PhPlurk’s gateway. They have created a gateway for the following mobile network provider:Globe, Smart and Sun Cellular.

Plurk is just one of the many tools in the internet that gives you a chance to connect with people, be it with family, friends, and even strangers. What are you waiting for? Start plurking.