How a simple social media app about joining groups took over a country.
The history of Orkut
I recently read through a story about a social media platform that I had never heard about called Orkut. Orkut was a social media site made by an ex-Google engineer named Orkut Buyukkokten. He created a social platform that was originally designed for those in the technology sphere as the platform was invite only. The addition of invite only created an exclusivity that made more people want to be apart of the platform as many saw it as a status symbol meaning that they had enough connections to gain access. The platform was about creating communities. Orkut was designed to be a simple to use interface that allowed users to find many different communities. Users on Orkut could do things such as rate other members on many different categories. Users could also make recommendations about products in the communities. Orkut reached its peak member count in 2012 with over 30 million members
The Brazilian Impact
The interesting thing about Orkut came not from its stent as a social media platform that went belly up but who was using the platform. Almost all of the page views on the site were from Brazil. Brazil does not allow outdoor ads in the country, so businesses there have had to become creative in how they spread the word about their products and businesses. Brazil has for a long time been a hotspot for digital advertising due to the ban of outdoor advertising, so a platform that came out that was entirely dedicated to joining new communities where you can rate and share, products and people was a massive hit. Brazil also because of this outdoor ban makes the country one of the largest digital markets in the world.
The Sunset Farewell
Orkut would eventually begin to run into problems as time went on. The platform began to die off due to factors such as video advertising being difficult. Orkut also began as time went on to develop new issues such as limited friends, difficulty sharing photos, and blockages on the site. The platform would continue to slowly die out until 2014 when it shut down for good. If you visit the website now which will be linked at the bottom of the blog you will see a heartfelt goodbye from the founder of Orkut, Orkut. The goodbye talks about what a pleasure it was for him to have created his community and how the world needed kindness in it. Orkut also in his farewell messaged took a stance against the tech industry and how they sell consumers data saying “Our online tools should serve us, not divide us. They should protect our data, not sell it. They should give us hope, not fear and anxiety”. Orkut is a great past platform to look at and see how much the internet has changed in only a decade. The final fun fact about the large Brazilian user count is that on the farewell address there are only two languages that the message can be read in English and Portuguese.
Where I got my Info From
3 responses to “Orkut The Brazilian Powerhouse”
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Greetings! I appreciate your insight to Orkut and for the lessons we can take from the case study as we enter our respective professional roles. Like you, I had not heard of Orkut prior to taking our Social Media Marketing course. In the world of social media, change is a constant, so it is no surprise that during our lifetime, there has been several companies that have seen a rise and fall in success, just like we’ve seen with Orkut.
My constructive feedback would be to ensure you are writing casually and in the same way that you might speak these same words, avoiding sounding too academic in a blog setting, where the goal is to communicate with audience of all educational levels. I would also suggest reviewing to ensure your punctuation flows, as I have noticed a few grammatical errors. The good news is, you’re human. Mistakes are inevitable and the growth that comes from awareness of your flaws is what makes all the difference in this journey. Within your blog, you are also able to strength your points by embedding hyperlinks when referencing another source. We want to ensure that when the opportunity presents itself, we provide space for our readers to continue their own research and to form their own opinion.
Nonetheless, I appreciate your review of the Orkut product, what made them successful in Brazil, and some of the lessons about their demise. As we apply this knowledge in the context of social media marketing, I wonder if the Orkut brand will ever be revamped and be able to compete with other social media giants like Facebook or Instagram. I would be eager to hear your thoughts about a future strategy if this re-introduction were to occur.
Keep moving forward!
Alison K.
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Hi Justin!
I really enjoyed your post and truthfully had never heard of Orkut either prior to this course. It’s amazing how such a simple idea and initial infrastructure such as joining groups and building community took off the way that Orkut did in Brazil. I appreciated the point that you made on their ban surrounding outdoor advertising. It really outlines the need for platforms like this and allows us to conceptualize exactly why something like this took off in that service area.
I also loved that you mentioned Orkut’s farewell message to their audience. Especially the point that was made about how tech should be there to serve people and not divide them feels relevant, especially now. Having the insight from Orkut is a good reminder to us all that the best social media platforms start with genuine connection, not algorithms. At the end of the day, it should always be about the people we serve.
Great job and good luck moving into finals week!
Warmest wishes,Bridget
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