噗浪創辦人暨執行長Kan專訪中文翻譯按這裡
By Jeremy Chen
Q：Why would you want to set up Plurk? There's got to be other reasons other than helping us connect with each other.
A：Because there was a need for such a service. Social networking at the time offered what I call 'delayed satisfaction'. Most social networks were about editing some meta data, adding a bunch of friends, sharing some pictures and then just waiting till someone sent new comments or new pictures or changed something. It moved too slowly. We setup Plurk because we knew communication and social networking on the web wasnt being done right. We wanted to revive it.
Q：From the establishment of Plurk to now, has plurk reached where you want it to be?
A：Plurk has done well by any standards (we have been one of the fastest growing sites on the web since we launched last year) but we still think we are just starting out. We have very high expectations for our success and given the calibre of our team, we want to continue to strive to do much better. We're satisfied and grateful with our current success but this is ultimately just the beginning for us.
Q：twitter is very hot in the United States right now，will you be jealous about that?
A：I think there's always a little bit of enmity when looking at the enormous growth of a service which most people say is one of your main competitors. The truth is, we've never really seen Twitter as a competitor of ours and despite their success, we still feel we offer a user experience that is completely unlike theirs. I think Twitter's runaway success is an obvious function of the 'game' in Twitter being centered around getting as many followers as possible. While it is nice they've managed to grow so much off everyone hyping and promoting their twitter pages, it really is just spam 2.0 when everything is all about how many people you can reach. We're more committed to meaningful communication on a microscale between real people, they're committed to broadcasting short messages to tens of thousands or millions of followers. We truly think we can coexist in this vast web.
Q：Do you think Plurk is also hot in the future？If one day we are all twittering, how do you do?
A：Yes. You must remember, Twitter is was launched in June of 2006 while we launched in June of 2008. They are two years older than us. If we compare the growth in first year for Twitter vs Plurk, we've done quite well by these standards. I think our time to shine will come in the future. Even if everyone is twittering in the future, we'll still have our own niche and userbase who like the more cohesive, close knit feel of our service. Think of other areas where there are simple services (Photobucket is very much like Twitter for image hosting) and then a quality product built with attention to detail (a Flickr is very much like the Plurk for image hosting) and even in those markets, companies coexist peacefully.
Q：You have so few friends on Plurk，in fact you are not a active Plurker. Why?
A：I don't think this is true. I'm active on Plurk every day and while I may not Plurk as actively myself for play, I use Plurk religiously for private communication between the A-team. You must remember that in any sort of service, there are producers and consumers. Only 1% of Youtube users create videos while 99% watch them. On Plurk, there are some very great Plurkers who users will follow and who make the experience enjoyable for others, while most people tend to be more passive consumers (or lurkers) that tend to read more than respond or create their own Plurks. I fit into this latter pool of lurkers. It's just a different way of using the service, not right, not wrong.
Q：Are you satisfied with the performance of your team, especially Alvin and Amir?
A：Yes, wholeheartedly. We couldnt' have had a better team. Not only are our team members great at what they do vocationally, but much more importantly, they are all good people.
Q：Apart from being one of the founding member and VC of plurk, do you invest in any other websites?
A：I'm always looking for opportunities to invest in other areas and projects. I do have a few other investments across the web, but they are more minor. Plurk is our baby and my main area of focus these days.
Q：Plurk is so hot in Asia，especially in Taiwan, do you know why?
A：It's simple. Geographically small, high density Asiatic markets (Singapore, Philippines, Taiwan, HK etc) really minic what Plurk is all about in the offline world. I think a lot of why Plurk has taken off in Asian countries is because of the communal/conversational and irreverent/fun vibe around Plurk. Plurk is about socialization as it happens in the real world. With emotion, with mannerisms, as fun, as play. Twitter always felt to be a counterintuitive experience to us. People don't like to talk to the wind. They want to, and more importantly, EXPECT people will respond when they say something. This is what Plurk was made for and this is why Asia has embraced it.
Q：Have you ever been to Taiwan? If yes, what do you think about the first impression of Taiwan?
A：No, unfortunately, I have not. I have been to many Asian countries but Taiwan is one I have not had the fortune to see yet. Hopefully, later this year, I will make the trek out to see all of you there!
Q：What's your plan if Plurk still cant find a sustainable business model over the next few years?
A：There is no absence of business models we can pursue. Right now however, we want to continue working on improving the quality of our product and user experience. Money can always come later.
Q：The end of May we will celebrate the first anniversary of plurk, do you want to say something to Taiwan Plurker ?
A：Yes. Thanks again to all of you for embracing and embracing Plurk with open arms! Without all of your support we would not be where we are today. You can be assured that we have a lot more surprises planned to help make Plurk even better for you all and we'll definitely start to get more active in a grassroots movement to make Plurk even more visible in the Taiwanese community over the coming year. Make sure to party hard with Alvin at the end of the month in Taipei, we wouldnt have it any other way!
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‧Interview with Alvin Woon,design lead of Plurk（by Tenz Shih）
‧Interview with Amir Salihefendic,lead developer of Plurk（by Jeremy Chen）
