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The best UI critique of Orkut (IMO), but also he's right about the pointlessness, He's right about ownership, he's right about the interaction and this is what it looks like.
YASNS stands for Yet Another Social Networking Service and Orkut is clearly YASNS. With emphasis on the YA.
Three days in I'm wondering why bother?
BTW, I won't invite you if I don't know you/know of you-- I feel like social networks are broken by "false connections."
but you can buy your way in....
"
Dear orkut.com users:
Wow.
The response to orkut.com has been phenomenal and I've been learning a lot about what people like and expect from a service like this. Thanks for all your feedback so far!
Based on your suggestions, I'm taking orkut.com back to the lab for some fine-tuning and improvements. It will likely take a few days to finish them. None of your data will be lost and I should have some nice surprises for you when I bring it back online. I'll email you when it's ready and running again.
Thanks again for your ideas and for bearing with me as I work my way up the learning curve.
stay beautiful,
Orkut Buyukkokten "
Hmm... interesting! In checking the 'down for maintenance' message now and comparing it to the one you've seen, Christina, there's definitely a different tone... from the personal to the corporate/impersonal.
What does this mean? Probably not a whole lot (perhaps Orkut though... hmm... I should make this bigger than myself, and not have it sound like a project in my garage), but still, I thought it was noteworthy.
Here's the NEW message:
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We've taken orkut.com offline as we implement some improvements and upgrades suggested by users. Since orkut is in the very early stages of development, it's likely to be up and down quite a bit during the coming months. None of the information you've entered will be deleted, and none of the connections you've made will be lost. And, if all goes well, you should see some significant improvements when we come back online.
We'll send an email once everything is ready and running again. Thanks for your feedback and for bearing with us as we work our way up the learning curve.
The orkut team
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well, there is an fine example of tone for you... I much preferred the thought that there was a guy named orkut who had suprises for me and wanted me to stay beautiful than a corproation that wanted me to "bear with them"
sheesh, what a stupic call.
I heard of this orkut on google forums. There was an offtopic thread of persons on the threshold of prostituting themselves soliciting a sponsorship whatsoever to enter something they know nothing about (not even what that sorcerer's name could mean) simply because it smelled of dating and it slammed the door on their faces instead than opening arms wide to the potential newcomers.
Orkut doesn't court you, so you should investigate why it doesn't, that's the assumption.
What is behind this assumption, and which is driving the frenzy?
And why blasting the dullness of orkut while at the same time reasserting full wilful compliance precisely with its most moot prescription: being elitarian in picking the petitioners?
A dramatically low level of self confidence must be implied, when we go shopping for an identity this way. We're beggars of status.
There are some places where a person should make a point of honour not of joining but of never doing it.
Or, better, there are a few things that you'd never sell - and none of them is physical. A pact with Mephistopheles is still more intriguing - and after all is the real thing hinted at, just without Mephistopheles to make it truly unforgettable.
ciao
ps by the way, you've by far the best blog I ever saw. Your words dance like the rain, and I know something about words. Why I chose to answer to a post I don't like probably depends on the fact I didn't sleep at all.