Friday, January 23, 2004

Orkut, New Google Service

Google revealed a new Service: Orkut.com.

“Orkut is an online community that connects people through a network of trusted friends.

We are committed to providing an online meeting place where people can socialize, make new acquaintances and find others who share their interests.”
– Orkut.com, 2004-01-23

The Register writes:

“The Friendster clone is the work of Google employee and former Stanford graduate Orkut Buyukkokten.

Undettered by the feeding frenzy around the social networking bubble, and rebuffed by Friendster Inc, which it attempted to buy, Google has decided build one better. Given Friendster’s well documented problems with coping with a large number of users, and Google’s world class expertise in scalability, it ought to be more than up to the technical challange. But will it pay?”
– Andrew Orlowski, Google debuts Friendster-clone Orkut, 23/01/2004

Another source says:

“Once signed on, an invitee can quickly find out that Google spokesman David Krane is ``left-leaning’’ and lives with a partner and pets in Menlo Park, or that co-founder Larry Page’s fashion is ``alternative, contemporary, smart, trendy.’’ But the other Google co-founder, Sergey Brin, says only that he is from the United States."
– Matt Marshall, Google unveils rival to Friendster (Mercury News), Jan. 23, 2004

But you cannot just register.

“And how to join? It’s invitation only. At the moment, most of those within the system are employees at Google or know employees at Google. So while the system is open to the public, it’s really that the public now knows it exists. To be part of it, you’ll have to hope that someone you know is within it and invites you to take part.”
– Danny Sullivan, SearchEngineWatch.com, January 22, 2004

Orkut, New Google Service by Philipp Lenssen

>> More posts

Advertisement