Orkut Introduces SMS Service – Brazil-Only Again

We all know that Google permits its employees to use about a quarter of their labor hours doing something outside their primary occupation. And it was in his own spare time that one of Google's developers - Orkut Buyukkokten - built a social network named with his own name - Orkut. The network was launched over 3 years ago - on January 22, 2004.

Orkut grew very popular almost immediately: it reached more than 100 thousand registered users within 2 days after the launch - and we should not forget that registration was by invitation only. Half a year after the launch Orkut had a million of users and by September, 2004 the number doubled. So by the moment registration did not require an invitation from an existing user (after October 20, 2006) Orkut had 30 million of registered users.

Since it's the first time we talk about Orkut on Profy, I guess I'll describe some of the network's features.

Orkut is affiliated with Google - and this means that you can use your usual Google account here. But building your profile on Orkut really takes quite a long time (though some of the fields can already be automatically filled with your personal info you have already stated for other Google services)! But still the profile here is one of the most detailed ones I've ever seen online (it even includes your attitude towards smoking and drinking, pets, religion and political views). Only the first page takes several minutes to fill! The only thing that encourages your further participation in Orkut is that you can click ?Complete later' button to fill in the remaining pages when you are more at home with Orkut.

The website itself contains four major sections: News, Friends, Communities and Media. The categories are quite usual for any social network. To add friends you can import your contacts directly in CSV format. And the search within Orkut is easily customizable according to your own needs.

It is also worth mentioning that Orkut has Google Talk integrated - meaning that you will see status of your friends when you are in Orkut. Taking into account the growing popularity of Google Talk integration of instant messaging seems to be a wise move for the social network.

Despite of the fact that Orkut is targeted at an international (and multi-language) audience, it is well-known that the majority of users (over 70%) is from Brazil. This means that Portuguese is actually the most used language at Orkut.

But it seems that Google is planning to change the current situation somehow. At least it is clear that Google usually tries to play a leading role in everything it does - search, online office, email. And definitely this is not true with social networking - for now, at least. Changes are needed here - and fast.

But while bloggers are speculating about Orkut's future, the network is adding new features: today the official Google blog has announced introduction of SMS service for Orkut users “to enrich the offline social life of its members”. But, sure, in the nearest future the new feature will only be available to Orkut users from Brazil. Maybe going mobile will improve the situation for Orkut in relation to geography of its user base - but this will take partnering with mobile carriers from outside Brazil as well.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to profy RSS feed!