Plurk is a free social networking and micro-blogging service that allows users to send updates (otherwise known as plurks) through short messages or links, which can be up to 140 text characters in length.
Updates are then shown on the user's home page using a timeline which lists all the updates received in chronological order, and delivered to other users who have signed up to receive them. Users can respond to other users' updates from their timeline through the Plurk.com website, by instant messaging, or by text messaging.
According to Alexa, as of March 15, 2012 (2012 -03-15)[update], 37.1% of Plurk's traffic comes from Taiwan. Plurk is also ranked 49th in Taiwan and 1,975th worldwide.
Plurk was developed by and envisioned as a communication medium meant to form a balance between blogs and social networks, and between e-mail messaging and instant messaging. After months of development, Plurk was launched on May 12, 2008.
The etymology of the name was explained by the developers as such:
Can you believe how much we've worked on our technique?
Sunshine for everyone you know
Brian, as we work on scaring you to death
It's become a contest
Of stealth perfection
To always catch you off your guard
We won't have to walk too far
To hide behind a doorway
And burst out screaming your name
If you're outside for too long
If you're seeing clouds of grey
We'll keep seeing sunshine
Everyone you know, Brian, is quiet and crouched down
You haven't made it hard
For a point and click reaction through the lens of a camera-phone
Stealth perfection
To always catch you off your guard
We won't have to walk too far
To hide behind a doorway
And burst out screaming your name
If you're outside for too long
[Jon Loudon:]
(Behind every doorway you'll find us
You're making it so easy
Around every corner you'll find us
Behind every doorway you'll find us
You're making it so easy
You can't hide
Cause you know we'll always find you
It's alright
It's alright)
And I don't trust us either
(And it's alright
It's alright)
And I don't trust us either
Sunshine for everyone you know, Brian
Making the third verse the same as the first
Cause it works over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again
Stealth perfection
To always catch you off your guard
We won't have to walk too far
We'll hide behind a doorway
And burst out screaming your name
If you're outside for too long
We're behind every doorway
We'll burst out screaming your name
Dreaming of beauty and then for
bigger things, and im not sure
whats the point to all your
babbling. i have a right inside
to decide on my own, with no help
or promise...to do some thinking
for yourself and if we hate each
other for something someone else
said, well then do some thinking
for yourself, please let me make
my own future with all the pitfalls,