Plurk Keeps On Going Strong

The momentum behind microblogging platform Plurk is still moving forward, with the new service continually adding new users to its vibrant and interesting community. Even in the space of one week (the time since we last wrote about Plurk) a lot has happened.

Plurk API

The unofficial but supported to the point of not physically offering support Plurk API has been released and is available on Google Code here. I haven’t had a chance to look at it yet, but YungSang notes that the API is very similar to Twitter’s, and allows for things like timeline extraction. We just have to wait for the desktop applications to follow.

Tools

Although we don’t seem to have any tools built on the API yet, Plurk users have still been busy. The best of the bunch is the Plurk Firefox Sidebar, that brings the mobile version of Plurk into an easy to get at Firefox sidebar. As I noted June 7, Plurk Mobile is a Twitter like experience, and this plugin offers that experience to more people.

Another handy tool is Plurk Sync, that delivers Plurk messages as status updates to Facebook.

Community

Already there is Plurk piss-takes (video above) and dedicated Plurk blogs. There’s even a “Plurkcast” podcast on the way, promising to deliver a weekly show of all things Plurk. If blogs aren’t your thing, there is the unofficial Plurk Wiki, Plurk Dictionary, and even fan generated Plurk themed wallpaper. At the time of writing the Plurk Junkies Facebook group has 255 members.

Looking Good

Although I haven’t spent a lot of time on Plurk in the last week (FriendFeed gets most of my spare time now) every time I do go back and post something I’m always pleased to see full timelines rich with discussion. Like Twitter (and unlike FriendFeed) these are shorter discussions so don’t always have a lot of depth, but there is little doubt in my mind, evidenced from my Plurk friends, that significant numbers have jumped ship and decided on Plurk is their main outlet. Enough people to make Plurk a vibrant community that keeps people coming back. It may still be a little early to call Plurk a winner, but it looks like it has passed that point where people jump on for the novelty then decide whether they’ll stick around or not.