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Virtual bonding
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Orkut is giving friendships a new dimension in cyberspace
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PHOTO: BIJOY GHOSH
HELLO OUT THERE Catching up with buddies
Online groups are passé. Move over and make way for tech-savvy teenagers' latest fad — Orkut. Popular across nations, Orkut is described by Wikipedia as an Internet social network designed to meet friends. But it is more than just that. Snazzy scrapbooks, photo albums and picturesque profiles are just a small part of this organised network of friends.
How did this group become a worldwide phenomenon in a span of two years? On January 22, 2004, Orkut Buyukkoten, Turkish software engineer and Google employee, designed this network as a meeting place for friends. As it is by invite only, it was exclusively for friends. This grew exponentially, revolutionising its popularity. By September 2004, the number of users skyrocketed to two million. And tech-savvy Bangalore is right in the thick of this phenomenon.
User-friendly
"It is extremely user-friendly, less complicated and more organised," says Sushma C.S., a student from B.M.S. College. "We meet up with old pals and reactivate lost contacts. There is special additional feature called Cool Rating and another called Friends Karma."
"We can also add someone on our crush-list without the person knowing," R. Ragini while Akshaya Krishnan of M.V.I.T. adds: "Testimonials written by friends is a lot of fun. It's interesting to know what people have to say about you."
One of the other features is a space for any topic you choose, called Community, where you can post comments relevant to the topic chosen. "It is an option I make full use of. I have started my own community called I Am What I Am, that reflects my views," says Sanketh M. of M.S. Ramaiah College.
It is not only the college students who are addicted to Orkut. Even professionals use it.
"The scrapbook where anyone can post in their message is most popular," says Gururaj C.S. of S.A.P Labs.
But do youngsters feel comfortable letting in the older generation into their space? Anupama Bharadwaj puts it diplomatically: "The environment we live in is very open and friendly. The older generation may not relate to it as we do. There are oldies out there too but they are far and few."
Orkut has had its share of controversies too. There was chaos in January 2005 when a Brazilian hacker attacked to steal community ownership rights. It was a nightmare for the developers who managed to bring it under control and gave more rights to moderators of communities allowing them the discretion of choosing, editing and deleting spam users who flood communities. Racist and hate groups emerged as a by-product of this saga. And anomalies like false profiles with wrong information creep up now and then.
"There is less security than we would like to have. The photo albums can be viewed by anyone wanting to do so. And such discretion for viewing is needed by users to protect their privacy. It would be a wise move if the developers could strictly validate the age restriction of 18 years and above. In the current format, anyone having an invite and an account can access Orkut."
Orkut means "holy meeting place" and that's what it became — a haven for all those to connect with old friends and new buddies. As it draws more and more number of people, it remains to be seen whether it overrides the existing networks or not.
HAMSINI R.
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