orkut and india

Online groups are passé. Move over and make way for tech-savvy teenagers' latest fad — Orkut. Popular across nations, Orkut is described by Wikipedia as an Internet social network designed to meet friends. But it is more than just that. Snazzy scrapbooks, photo albums and picturesque profiles are just a small part of this organised network of friends. How did this group become a worldwide phenomenon in a span of two years? On January 22, 2004, Orkut Buyukkoten, Turkish software engineer and Google employee, designed this network as a meeting place for friends. As it is by invite only, it was exclusively for friends. This grew exponentially, revolutionising its popularity. By September 2004, the number of users skyrocketed to two million. And tech-savvy Bangalore is right in the thick of this phenomenon.Orkut has had its share of controversies too. There was chaos in January 2005 when a Brazilian hacker attacked to steal community ownership rights. It was a nightmare for the developers who managed to bring it under control and gave more rights to moderators of communities allowing them the discretion of choosing, editing and deleting spam users who flood communities. Racist and hate groups emerged as a by-product of this saga. And anomalies like false profiles with wrong information creep up now and then.Orkut means "holy meeting place" and that's what it became — a haven for all those to connect with old friends and new buddies. As it draws more and more number of people, it remains to be seen whether it overrides the existing networks or not.