Neha Tiwari Pvt. Ltd.

It’s astounding to me how memes spread like wildfires on social networks. I discovered the latest craze, FaceYourManga.com on Pownce a few days ago.

Run by Pixelheads, a flash design company, the site has two entrance portals: one for the Italian site, and the other for the UK. Both links lead the user to a place where they can make an animated representation of themselves. Like other sites with a similar purpose, there are eye, nose, mouth, face shape,wardrobe and patterned background options. What makes this avatar-builder different is the variety of features. Although there are no specific molding tools like say Second Life, it’s enough to make an avatar that bears semblance to the real you. Manga-seekers will also enjoy the unique features like tattoos, piercings, jewelry and wild hair options [though none had my pink streaks!]. I do wish that there was a way that you could upload clothes or items of your own design to make each avatar more distinctive.

Last year, I did a whole feature on online avatar builders alongside my friend Jessica Dolcourt from CNET Download. com.

Back then, we took a look at many of the instant messenger and game based avatar builders, which is another way FaceYourManga is different. There is no real instructions on how or where to use your manga, it’s really just left up to you. I’ve seen most of them Twitter and Pownce, but they could also be used in a gaming or IM capacity as well. The site does have some bugs, like the fact that some portions are not fully translated to English [I did learn that "caricamento" means "loading" in Italian, however]. Also, I am unsure how many people will put down money to own their avatars so they can be printed.

FaceYourManga is a fun place to spend some time. It does take a moment to mix and match features to make the perfect you, but stick to it. I went through three renditions before I was really happy with my avatar and it helps to have a picture to refer to while making it. Enjoy, and give me some links to what you make!

No matter where I turn, the website updates keep coming. A few days back, it was my iGoogle page. With left hand navigation to all your widgets, it was an unwelcome change to my homepage. I like my iGoogle the way it was–not fancy, unassuming and utilitarian. The expanding modules also seem to be a feature that I could go without as the actual use is limited. The only thing that is somewhat interesting is the option to gChat from iGoogle, but I don’t gChat all that often anyway [and if you have Adium, this is pretty useless]. Something that I do like is the growing selection of artist themes. My current choice is “Puppies” (how cute is that)!

Then, I checked out my new Facebook page thanks to a post on Mashable. I know the Facebook folks are still working on it, but my first impression was not a great one.

First off, everything seems to be a mirror image of my preexisting Facebook page. I have become accustomed to my picture on the right, links below, and even the mini-feed (which has grown on me) being the first thing I see. It seems that tabs rule the new Facebook page, with wall, info, photos,boxes and an option to add more tabs. This makes it more organized, but can increase the time spent navigating through a friends page. Also, the boxes tab may be the end of Facebook apps as we know it. Who would really be curious as to what apps someone has, unless they are smack dab in the middle of your page?

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Like any niche online, the micro-blogging space is technically limitless. Any group of talented geeks can put together a place where friends can communicate frankly. Practically speaking, with so many sites interested in what you are doing every second, there are so many places one can post before the next moment passes.

Being one of those people who are social network obsessed, I had to check out Plurk.com.

The site can best be described as a place to express yourself in a time line format, and receive comments all classified chronologically. After you sign in, you can use qualifiers like loves, hates, likes, is, wishes, etc. to share how you feel. I do wish there was a “need” qualifier, as that seems to be a basic one that is left out. Plus, if you want to go freestyle and have your own qualifier, you can do that too. After you have selected the word, you can continue with a sentence or link, making it somewhat like Pownce [where you can also share a link and get comments].

Another item that is like Pownce is the ability to make sets of friends, or “cliques.” This can make it easier to send a note to the few rather than the many. In terms of UI, the site has a colorful look with some different templates, but I would like to see more.

Plurk does have a lot in common with Twitter and Pownce. The thing that sets it apart may be the one that is hardest to get used to: the time line. With hundreds of friends, it’s almost over stimulation with the amount of information coming in every minute. Plurk did add an “add, but don’t follow” option a few days after it was launched, but it still can be hard to comprehend all that is occuring. I liken this to reading Arabic to most other languages; it’s a different direction [right to left]. Twitter, Pownce, and even the personalized Facebook homepage deliver linear content while Plurk gives it to us horizontally.

There is also a karma point system that I honestly don’t get the point of. It seems that with more karma points you can have a different ugly doll like creature on your time line, and unlock more emoticons. Not so enticing as a feature, unless you are weirdly into that type of thing [a dancing banana emoticon is good enough for me!]

Test it out for yourselves and let me know what you think of it. Plurk is a fun looking site with a good concept, but I am unsure of who it will appeal to or if it can compete with the micro-blog heavy weights. Scoble first commented that Plurk may be a good place to go when Twitter was down, but later stated that he “hates plurk.” I definitely don’t hate it and will continue to Plurk on. However, It won’t be the first thing I log onto anytime soon and will have to stand in line behind the big boys that came before it.