Most people these days have heard words like “Twitter“ and “microblogging” muttered on their radios or local newscasts. While you might be familiar with the terminology, you still might not know what is going on. “Hearing” about these services and concepts second hand and actually using them are two completely different things. Trying out all of the different microblogging services can be rather time consuming, especially if you’re not familiar with what makes them tick. Luckily for you, we’re here. On today’s episode of the Showdown, we start our journey into the world “Tweeting, Plurking, and Shouting” with nothing but an email address and some time to kill. All six services are being test-run by none other than Angela Smedley, herself an admitted “microblogging newbie.” All of her profile pages have been linked below, making it easy for everyone to follow her progress. The official “results show” will be posted on Monday, April 6th.
Service #1: Twitter

Website: http://www.twitter.com
Company: Twitter
Angela’s Twitter Page: http://twitter.com/mantraofdoom
First Impression: “It’s very friendly. It told me that I have a nice profile picture.”
Ease of Setup (Out of 10): 9
Signing Up: Signing up is a fairly easy process. The first thing you encounter is a page of the basics — user name, email, and password. The password box flat out tells you if your password is too weak, which is a nice feature for all of those who still like to use the word “password” as their secret phrase. It then prompts you for your email and address and password so it can scan your address book for names. If any of the email addresses found match those the service has on file, that person or persons will instantly be added to your “following” list. If none of the addresses are found, it asks you if you want to invite those people to Twitter. While it’s a nice idea in theory, the feature is bound to give those concerned about identity theft a reason to worry. After the “email nervousness” subsides, you’re asked if you want to partake in the new (and recently covered) Twitter Suggest service. Several major celebrities and organizations are available, from the New York Times to Ellen DeGeneres to actor/writer/”king of the geeks” Wil Wheaton. From there, it’s all up to you. You can find other users, change your theme, or just start writing. Aside from the “email thing,” setting up Twitter is both stupidly simple and worry free. Whether it can hold under the pressure of popularity, however, is another story altogether.

Service #2: Identi.ca

Website: http://identi.ca/
Company: Control Yourself, Inc.
Angela’s Identi Page: http://identi.ca/mantraofdoom/all
Specialities: OpenID support.
First Impression: “Simple.”
Ease of Setup: 8
Signing Up: Unlike Twitter, the Identi.ca sign up page is more traditional, complete with a solid color backdrop and no-nonsense text boxes. After filling out the essentials, it takes you directly to your profile page. In many ways, signing up for Identi.ca feels like signing up for an email box. It isn’t difficult or time consuming; just rather cold and impersonal. That said, if you are looking for something “no nonsense,” or if sites that pile on extra helpings of “that warm, fuzzy feeling” annoy you, Identi.ca is definitely a service worth looking into.

Service #3: Plurk

Website: http://www.plurk.com/
Company: Plurk
Angela’s Plurk Page: http://plurk.com/mantraofdoom/
Specialities: Plurk directly to Twitter; CSS support.
First Impression: “It’s adorable! And I can Plurk directly to Twitter! [Pause] I think that’s the cutest thing that I have ever said.”
Ease of Setup: 7
Signing Up: The first thing you will notice is the overall site design. To put it bluntly, it’s cute. Really, really cute. It might be even friendlier and more inviting than Twitter, which is definitely saying something. The sign up process is simple enough to get through, though you will encounter a few “oddball” options along the way. Although it might seem needless at first, the options, such as the aforementioned “Plurk to Twitter,” will come in handy later on. After sign up page, you are brought to your profile. It is there that you get your first glimpse of Plurk’s secret weapon. Instead of simply “choosing” a new theme, Plurk allows you to design one using CSS script. While this level of customization might be lost on some, it’s perfect for all of those who want their page to be “just so.” All in all, Plurk is at once powerful, yet surprising easy on the eyes — a powerful combination.

Service #4: Zannel

Website: http://www.zannel.com/index.htm
Company: Zannel Inc.
Angela’s Zannel Page: http://www.zannel.com/viewupdates.htm?user=mantraofdoom
Specialties: Multimedia, geotagging, and integration.
First Impression: “Wow … it’s almost exactly like Twitter.”
Ease of Setup: 6
Signing Up: In many ways, signing up for Zannel is a lot like signing up for Identi.ca — cold and impersonal. The only thing that really makes it stand out is the “find your friends” option, which was also found in Twitter. After getting past the boring looking setup page, you are greeted by your start up page. It is there that you see what Zannel is really all about: integration. You can add Zannel support to several major services, including Flickr, WordPress, and Movable Type. This level of integration works well with the overall “theme” of the service, which stresses multimedia interaction over all else. Despite a few innovations, the jury is still out on this one. We will definitely know more in a few days.

Service #5: Soup

Website: http://www.soup.io/
Company: Euphoria GmbH
Angela’s Soup Page: http://mantraofdoom.soup.io/
Specialities: Geared more toward “creative people” such as writers and artists.
First Impression: “Very fancy.”
Ease of Setup: 7
Signing Up: Fitting with the “artistic vibe” that Soup seems to pride itself on, actually signing up for the service is totally optional. If you do decide to sign up, you are taken to a page asking you if you want the service to find your friends. A “manual look up” service is also available for those who, like me, aren’t exactly thrilled with handing out their email information. Once all your friends are found, you are taken to what seems to be a blank page. On the side of the page lies a collapsible menu filled with various tools and options. From here, you can make your white sheet of nothingness into something that truly reflects who you are. Although it might seem like a waste of time, the customizable nature of Soup seems to be tailor made for those who value their creativity and uniqueness. Simply put, Soup is already shaping up to be a rather unique experience. Whether that experience is a “good” one or a “bad” one, however, remains to be seen.

Service #6: Rejaw

Website: http://rejaw.com/
Company: Infoteria
Angela’s Rejaw Site: http://rejaw.com/mantraofdoom
Specialities: In addition to “shouting,” you can also participate in chats.
First Impression: “It’s like Twitter, only more ‘in my face.’ I don’t know if that’s a good way to explain it, but that’s how it feels.”
Ease of Setup: N/A
Signing Up: There is no setup here. All you have to do is enter your email address. After you click on the link found in the resulting letter, your entire account is set up for you. Only after your page is up can you enter your information. As you might have guessed, fixing your profile on your actual page is much easier than filling out a form. Overall, Rejaw seems to have several interesting features available to its users. We just don’t know how to access them yet. Expect to here more about these features (and all of the services, for that matter) next week.