I have to admit, this post is shamefully late. The idea behind the Micro-blogging Olympics was to test out the three major Micro-blogging sites — Twitter, Plurk, and Pownce — to gauge their effectiveness towards site traffic. The experiment was a lot of fun. I met a lot of cool people and found myself enjoying new Twitter apps and the Plurk site more and more each day. I honestly never took to Pownce though. It just seems too void of performance. I actually enjoyed Rejaw better, which is a new MB site that allows 1000 character posts, which may be moving into mini-blogging, not micro.

I can’t say the experiment was a complete success. I don’t think I have the social ability to push out tweets every five minutes or get into debates with random users, like some do. Most of the time I’m too busy working to bother with updating. I used the services to unwind and to catch up with people I’ve come to know online.

All in all, I Plurk much more than I Twitter. I think its because Plurking allows me to converse rather than just speak into a void with the hope of someone echoing back a statement or two. On Plurk I’m almost guaranteed some eyeballs on my thoughts or a funny conversation to look in on.

What Results Did I See?

The immediate results have been tangible. I know I’ve attracted a few new readers to my blog, making friendships along the way. I’ve networked and found someone to help with another project of mine. I’ve received a few link backs from various people who found me through Plurk. On the scale that I used the service, it helped me branch out and find new people to read my blog, comment and to network with me both on the Micro-blogging site and in my other networks.

The statistics show a much blander result. Throughout August I had 17 visits from Plurk. Of those 17, 58% were new visitors. They stayed on average 2:37, which is well above my site average. Unfortunately Twitter sent me 10 new visitors and they didn’t stick around long. (Just noticed Squidoo sent me a decent amount of traffic, but not sure for what.)

Proportionate Results

You really do get what you put into these networks. I know I’ve made a few new connections, laughed a lot, and learned a lot too. Micro-blogging sites may cater to a specific personality, but everyone can enjoy at least some aspect of one of these sites — you just have to find the right one for your tastes. I gravitated towards Plurk, but maybe your message can get out there better through Twitter.

Micro-blogging has its perks. You can meet cool people and chat all day long. The downside — you rarely get much done except for talking and reading different blogs. Well at least that’s how Sunday went. I interacted on both Twitter and Plurk most of the day, adding in a failed EC forum postings. All in all it was a good day. Then on Monday, I went to the office and got overwhelmed with Twitter. The deluge of messages really came when Gmail went kerplunk.

Back on Plurk, things were a little smoother. Plurk does have the Karma feature afterall.

Recently, everyone reached Plurk Nirvana. I had it with less than 20 Karma. It appears you should only receive it with over 80. No big deal. It’s not like it adds a whole lot to the experience. It’s just a number, right?

It has been fixed though, so no more free Nirvana spirituals.

The Karma Number

It is just a number. But the number ties into your profile and your specific activity so it can be a good indicator of your popularity to someone you don’t know. It’s tough to add random people, because you don’t really want to add just anybody. What if they have a terrible attitude? You need some degree of separation from them. Choose a friend whose judgment you trust and check out their friends.

When you’re new to a service like Plurk, it’s good to judge by numbers. On Twitter you would look at the followers compared to the number of those they’re following. On Plurk, you might also look at this, but you would check out the Karma points too. Those with Karma points above sixty definitely participate. It’s good to be in a community of those who participate because it reinforces our desire to be there. Without those individuals responding to our plurks, we’re simply talking down a long empty hallway.

Mama Always Said Be Picky When You’re Choosing Friends

I joined Plurk from an invite. I then decided to visit that friend’s friends. Ultimately I searched for a few people I knew would be using the site, added them, and then sat back to plurk. Others have added me since. As I’ve grown to use the service more frequently, I’ve found I make genuine connections with people. I could have gone through and added person after person, but people might have denied me and that would have hurt my Karma. It makes sense to add those you know then branch out slowly from there.

I looked through the interesting plurkers earlier and found one of the top plurkers to be TechCrunch’s Arrington. He had over 92 Karma. If I had his cred, I could just let the gravity of my presence feed my karma. Unfortunately I have to work hard at it, like most everyone else.

What’s the Point of All This Again?

The point is to bring in traffic and analyse how well each service helps with that. I suppose there’s lots of intangibles too. Do you have a personality people are drawn towards? Can you stay active enough to make an impression? So far with micro-blogging the newbie seems to go after well known bloggers or industry professionals first, then heads to the lesser known folks like myself. I’m trying to just get out there, get noticed, and help you all out in the process.

1. Follow me on Twitter
2. Join me on Plurk
3. Pownce on me

In honor of the Summer Olympics starting in Beijing today, I’ve decided to start my own Olympics. I thought in what areas can I improve the reach of my blog, both with brand and readers. How can I introduce myself to new readers without paying for ad space? I’ve been somewhat absent when it comes to activity on micro-blogging platforms like Twitter or Plurk. It’s hard to use more than one micro-blogging platform at the same time, unless you’re a full time blogger, which maybe will come someday, but hasn’t happened yet.

For the micro-blogging Olympics I’m going to spend a week on three different platforms, talking, adding friends, socializing, and plugging my blog. Then, to determine the winner, I’ll review my traffic details. Of course, this isn’t an exact science. I can only measure my effort with each of the platforms. Let’s go over the three different platforms I’ll be using for the games.

1. Twitter - my first foray into micro-blogging began on Twitter. I’m partial to the service due to its simplicity, but it also has cons like number of times it’s been down when I’ve wanted to post. Overall this micro-blogging platform should be the front-runner to win the micro-blogging Olympics.

2. Plurk - This newcomer to my online routine has a lot of great potential. It has a sleek interface, with a scrolling timeline, the ability to create conversations without creating a cluttered screen, and a more reliable service than Twitter.

3. Pownce - Pownce was created by the Digg founder, if I’m not mistaken. I remember joining when it first started and thinking it had a long way to go before I would be active there. I think its been long enough. I’m ready to get reacquainted with the service and see how it can benefit me and my blogging efforts.

So there you have it. The three contenders for micro-blogging gold. The games will be relatively easy and laid back, but I encourage you to do something similar. Do you have a few services you’ve been trying to figure out would work best for you? Why not pit them against one another and find out?

I’ll be posting updates on the micro-blogging Olympics as I begin to experiment. I’m going to start off with Twitter and move onto Plurk, then Pownce. I’m looking for the service that suits my personality and needs the best. Where can engage a community and build my brand as well? I’m looking forward to the challenge.

So, with that said, I guess all that’s left is to say, let the games begin!