Step on... In style... But plz watch your steps!!!. Review on Orkut

Orkut is an Internet social network service run by Google and named after its creator Orkut Büyükkökten. It claims to be designed to help users meet new friends and maintain existing relationships. Orkut is the eighth most visited site throughout the world and the second most visited site in India. Even as I write this, I keep an eye on my Orkut Account. Know buddies - it sure is great to be on Orkut.

*So, now for some facts and figures:

*Like every offline community that offers options for chatting, Orkut too has its own messaging service and photo uploading options. But what makes Orkut especially different are the “Scrapbook” and “Communities”. Scrapbook is an open page on which your messages to your friend are visible. Down the line Orkut has made replying to scraps easier by incorporating various features. Some distinct Orkut features can be listed out as follows:

1. Writing testimonials that appear on your Profile Page

2. Ranking friends(You be a fan of a buddy)

3. Sending teasers

4. Providing for a good amount of interesting info about you in general or profession or even as a person.

5. Maintaining a “Crush List”

6. Uploading videos of your choice to your Profile(You Tube Videos’ URLs to be added)…

*Orkut, however, has had social and ethical problems down the lane…

*1. Flooders and fake profiles - Fake or clone profiles made up from existing or left alone profiles or even hacked profiles are anything but rare. Profiles are faked for fun or even for flooding others’ scrapbooks and community topics. Record says in August 2005 a freeware program made in Delphi called Floodtudo was made specifically for flooding Orkut. However, since then measures have been taken by developers to curb this menace.

2. Security Issues – Probably the most that has eaten into Orkut’s image. On January 1, 2005 a Brazilian cracker called Vinícius K-Max attacked Orkut – this lead to growth of various subsequent phishing sites that stole accounts and communities. However, the worst was the worm, dubbed MW.Orc that propagated through Orkut(The infection spread automatically by posting a URL in another user's Orkut Scrapbook. This link lured visitors with a false message. The message text that carried an infection link varied from case to case), installed files into the user’s system via an executable in the disguise of a harmless JPEG and fished out e-mail banking details and passwords from the computer.

3. Speed – The famous message “Bad, bad server. No donut for you” is a typical partner in your Orkuting life. Even Orkut “Under Construction” is not a rarity.

Orkut provides easy-to-navigate screens and options that are very user-friendly. Replying to scraps is easy and even sending a message is a click away. Again, you can maintain your preferences too by not allowing members to message you directly or by ignoring users whom you don’t want to access your scrapbook. Deleting scraps is also an available option. The Profile page offers to hold a variety of information that makes your Profile look near-to-complete. Overall, the Account Page is designed to make it look the best. Through communities again, you can meet people of your own opinion, or even talk to the rest of the world on topics you like to ponder upon, or just have an idea of how the world reacts to an event or an incident. General opinion does reflect itself through participation and membership in various communities.

Personal view-points as a user for over a year now:

1. First and foremost, it’s better not to use your pics in your Orkut Profiles. Even if you do put it in the profile, try and refrain from putting any in the Album. It sure is luring but more than sharing, this act becomes one of daring. There have been huge cases of impersonation or even usage of pics for unethical usage.

2. Another issue which has been important to me is to avoid strangers. No matter how attractive their Profiles have seemed to me, I have completely maintained a strict no-no for them. And there’s the option of “Ignore User” which you can use if somebody tries to barge into your account or Scrapbook.

3. It’s better to stay away from communities that offer raw porn stuff or copyright materials. Let’s keep Orkut clean. There’s really no way you can stop somebody but if you are clear enough in your head and heart, please don’t fall for rude tricks.

4. Always stay away from clicking on links that accompany Scraps especially. They might just bridge the gap between your personal information and the rest of the world ogling to get a breakthrough into some harmless citizen’s personal life.

5. Getting carried away by the pomp is rather easy for Orkutians. That’s one reason this website is so popular – for its packaging, looks and the chic involved. It’s always better to be safe than sorry. Keeping off luring things that might tinkle the inquisitive mind somewhere is best of options if you are on Orkut. Every step you take here counts, either for your own good or for the good of someone else!

It’s always preferable to maintain a certain level of self-abstraction in Orkut. I chat away in glory to all my long-lost friends form school/college but I do keep a check when it comes to unknown people, even if they happen to be my friend’s immediate friend. Yes, I too fell for the glory of Orkut, but touchwood, I have till now maintained a clean chit. It’s not been easy, but I have watched my steps. Now Orkut is just a click away and I enjoy it as I keep in touch with all my back-home or long-lost buddies… In style…:)

Just a small fact for fun - not to miss out on mentioning the amazing number of by-pass URLs I have received till date to stop my authorities from trying to stop me from using Orkut… That’s also almost a style statement by now – it’s great to have the latest updated one just when you find that the previous one’s not working anymore!

And to all Orkut lovers… It certainly is our duty to keep things clean. The moment it stinks we become part of a lost world. It’s not easy to walk amidst wrongs. Orkut helps us connect – let’s not make it the wrong place and the wrong platform to start disconnecting from being humane… When there's a way, people do tend to use it wrongly… So it’s literally all on us…