In what has recently seemed like a decrease in user activity it appears that Plurk is trying to change its image a little.  When I head over to the social site this morning to login I was greeted with this new home page layout.

But is it enough, and did they really come up with a new design that is really going to attract new users?  It’s always been my opinion that the one thing Plurk fails to do is make itself stand out amongst other social networking and microblogging sites on the net.

Plurk is unique in the fact that it is built around a physical timeline and makes it easier for friends and fans to interact freely in the plurk timeline .  Unlike Twitter you are able to see everybody’s response to a person’s Plurk regardless of whether or not you are following the person.  The opens up the conversation significantly and can also open you up to meeting other interesting Plurk users.

Sadly Plurk has never done a very good job at selling these points to users on their site and has never had a very appealing home page.  The new design is even less appealing with a boring white background and the usual lack of anything of real interest on the home page.  At this rate it makes me wonder how much longer Plurk will stay afloat.  Most of my social media and SEO guru friends left Plurk ages ago and I only check it a couple of times a day.

What do you think of the new Plurk home page?  Do you think its an improvement or has Plurk fallen back into the days of early 2.0 sites? Are you a Plurk user?  Have you seen a decrease in user activity as well?  I’d love to hear your thoughts.