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In the end...: Hype comes before a fall
In A world where MMS, blogging and e-magazines have redefined how we communicate and what we read, what are the changes we, as users, have to get accustomed to? We no longer live in a global village. We are, for all practical purposes, e-citizens.
Almost everyone has an online presence. If it’s out there, chances are you can Google it; if you can’t, it is either pre-historic, or gone out of existence.
With mIRC, Yahoo! chat and discussion boards as the forerunners, we are in a much bolder and more multifarious world of software and web programs today.
Orkut is the newest baby on the block, combining popular features from messengers and online discussion boards. Leaving offline messages and threads of posts have been incorporated, “Orkut” style, to produce an online community, which no one has fully understood as yet. That hasn’t stopped millions of users from going to no ends to gain access — rumour has it that e-bay is even selling “invites.” Most users are Brazilian, which makes sense, as this time last year, Google’s software engineer Orkut Buyukkokten designed this little concoction and named it after himself. The beta-version running today is now boasting millions of users, of which Pakistanis rank-in third. The fine print shows that Google has a stake in it and they plan to use the millions of Orkuteers as their very own profile database, helping them improve other services such as Gmail and Froogle. The question is, why are all these people here?
Earlier on, Orkut was written off as a glorified “chatting” medium and a passing fad. With competition from similar existing web programs such as Multiply and Friendster, most people were sceptical. But the truth be told, it’s far from dying out. Scrapping has changed people’s habits. Not every thought is worthy of an email or call and how else can you share a single conversation with a countless number of friends, without having to send multiple emails or texts? On the other hand, the voyeuristic nature of Orkut cannot be undermined. Lengthy member profiles, photo albums and scrapbooks make for entertaining perusal and before you know it, you’ve spent half-an-hour going from one scrapbook to another, following a conversation, till you end up on a stranger’s vacation pictures. There is nothing like the freedom to “watch” others, without feeling like a trespasser or leaving a trace.
While there are several glitches in Orkut, there are a few good features as well. Members take the personal profile section far too seriously, posting lengthy descriptions of their pastimes and favourite books. Other categories have pre-conceived options that a user has to select, as opposed to letting people fill it at their own discretion. Don’t get me started on the idea of listing yourself as someone’s fan or along with rating their karma, secretly counting the number of ice-cubes, smileys and hearts on your own page at the end of a week to see how others rate you. Since when did people become rateable? I must admit, at the beginning I was perplexed, but pleased to have a large number of Brazilians asking me to add them (which makes sense now, but then I thought my profile was proving irresistible to Latin Americans). But of late, all I seem to be getting is an enormous number of unwelcome invites, messages and “add me to your friend list” requests. Orkut has to come up with a better filtering system, as it is quickly starting to resemble junk-filled inboxes, which could be its downfall in the end.
To be fair, something good definitely came out of orkuteering for me. I was able to bridge the gulf between certain acquaintances and myself, for there is nothing simpler than leaving a scrap to someone you don’t know too well, to break the ice. You can play detective and carefully investigate someone’s orkut activities before adding them to your list. The most pleasant side effect is scraps from people I once knew, but lost touch with.
Let’s not forget the strangest type of orkut behaviour, that is, people masquerading as someone else, replete with family pictures and personal details. I fail to understand what this achieves, but then again, an idle mind does breed some pretty eccentric activities.
Having said that, the problem is that once you’ve gone through the trouble to fill out your profile, added 30+ friends and joined 15 or so communities to show off your varied interests, then what? Second of all, Orkut doesn’t have much of a user-to-user interface. If you are online at the same time as the people on your list, there is no way for you to know and either way, beyond scrapping, there isn’t much more you can do. Orkut might eventually have to add calendars, address books and possibly blogs, so that orkuteers can manage a range of activities within its boundaries, otherwise, in the long run, why would people stay?
However, Orkut communities do serve as its mainstay. These communities can focus on just about anything — from soft drinks to movies, pop-stars, writers and TV programs. In fact, a single post can trigger hundreds of responses. Of course, snobbery has found a way in and Orkut elitism dictates the rules and regulations on certain communities, where members can only be invited to join. In all seriousness, they are turning out to be melting pots, where people with shared interests and similar professions or educational pursuits can share ideas, technical know-how and even find prospective work partners.
At the moment, Orkut does not allow users to exert much control. It will certainly have to become more flexible so that orkuteers can customize their pages and activities beyond what they can do now. The fact that it is still in its testing stage hasn’t stopped the creators from starting a Media section. E-journalism is all the rage and Orkut certainly has hinted that it certainly has a broader vision than one would assume at first glance.
Last of all, what Orkut has undoubtedly achieved is breaking down barriers and introducing a new form of communication. E-morality is the new principle, which the orkuteering generation is struggling to define. Censorship and how far freedom of speech extends are fluid concepts right now. What will come to be known as uniquely orkut behaviour and orkut language is in the conceptual stage at the moment. It remains to be seen where the creators are headed with Orkut.
But what is for certain is that newer, greater and more complex e-activities bring in greater possibilities and heavier responsibilities. Now, we not only have to rediscover what our online ethics will be, but also need to ascertain what we are getting out of all this. Online recreation is all well and good, but there is more to maintaining an online presence than occasionally blogging, leaving a scrap or two or reading community threads. We are just beginning to realize what is out there for the taking. In a world where everything is being up-sized once again (bigger laptops and phones), even web communities will have to adapt and expand, offering a wide range of services under one roof.
In the meantime, orkuteering is the newest sport in town, so gear up and scurry on. After all, novelty doesn’t run dry so soon.
The writer
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