Real-time competitiveness makes Plurk sticky

I think I’ve figured out what helps make social network Plurk so sticky, why it continues to draw users back increasingly more often for longer periods of time: the Plurk timeline not only shows the conversations that you’re engaged in, but those that your friends and followers are keeping up with, too.

Let me be a bit more precise.  You can pretty much categorize any update on Plurk into one of three groups:

1. Your Plurk.
2. A friend’s Plurk to which you’ve replied.
3. A friend’s Plurk to which you haven’t replied.

It’s the way Plurk handles this third category that makes the service so unique.

You’re required to be an observer

Within Plurk, you’re notified of new Plurk comments whether you’ve participated in a thread or not.  As a result, you’re encouraged by the system to keep up with all your friends’ conversations whether or not you wish to do so.  Even though Plurk graciously provides a Mute function, the opt-in nature of new reply notifications ensures that you’ll at least see the first reply to any Plurk visible to you in your timeline.

In this way, Plurk forces you to make a choice: observe, or participate.

Social networking as a competitive sport

Once a social network becomes an arena in which you can as easily engage as watch, it taps into a universal yet oft-unconscious drive to compete.  As replies and new threads pop up in real-time, popularity becomes public for all to see.

Since you’re privy to discussions you’re not even involved in, it’s easy to compare your own popularity to that of others as it’s quantified in the reply count to each individual Plurk.  In the screenshot above, we see Plurk user antoinette has been dramatically positively reinforced by a whopping 282 replies to her Plurk, whereas good friend sophiaperennis may or may not be pleased with the discussion around his cowbell comment.  Both users have an incentive to Plurk again.

Anecdotally sound

My own personal experiences within Plurk back up these hypotheses, too.  Whenever I write an update I expect to be popular that sits sans reply for hours on end, I ask myself, “Why did no one respond to that message?  What can I do next time to net a significant discussion?”  When I bump into a popular power-user who receives hundreds of responses per Plurk, I’m ever so slightly put-off as it nicks my pride.

This sort of thing exists within other social networks, too, but in Plurk it’s even more pronounced due to the real-time aspect and, as mentioned above, the way Plurk treats discussions you’re not involved in.

What do you think?  Does Plurk’s real-time competitiveness have the ability to get your goat?  Or are you immune to the social networking ladder?

(By the way, if you’re not on Plurk yet, this would be a great opportunity to join!)

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