The end of Orkut: Why we'd still like Google to keep these 4 features alive

Google has decided to pull the plug on its first social network Orkut on **September 30** . After a 10 year stint, its inability to pump out attractive features and the Internet stigma associated with Orkut meant the user base shrank. But if you’re sad about losing on Orkut, you can still link your account to Google+. In its heyday back in the mid-2000s, Orkut was quite addictive and a platform users were eager to engage with. It marked the beginning of the social network era, especially as Facebook adoption was limited, and there were a handful of features that we really loved. Whether they will be missed is another question, but we would like to see these retained by Google, even after we bid goodbye to Orkut.   Communities One of Orkut’s biggest feature was ‘Communities.’ Yes, we know there are  a thousand different variations of this concept by now, but somehow the Orkut way had a bit more bite. It was rawer; more like a bulletin board, than a full-fledged community. Back then, it was one of the coolest things and it was the place to look for jobs too; I know a few friends who got their first jobs by being a part of communities. Now, with Google shutting down Orkut, what about all those precious communities? Well, Google plans to preserve an archive of all Orkut communities that will be available from September 30. However, if you don’t want your posts or name to be included in the community archive, you can remove Orkut permanently from your Google account. [caption id=“attachment_226702” align=“aligncenter” width=“640”]  Orkut Communities[/caption]Testimonials Back in the days when Orkut was cool. we wrote winding testimonials to our friends. To put it mildly, testimonials were a hit. It was the place to publicly troll a friend and it was always nice seeing a well-written testimonial from someone whose opinion was valued. And even though you could reject an obnoxious testimonial. it was more fun leaving a worse one as payback. And if you found yourself wondering how to write a good one, there were several blogs telling you how to do the same.   Themes While background skins would have been cooler, Orkut did allow you change the colour scheme of the entire UI. Moreover, one did not have to go through multiple steps to do so. Right on the homepage, a Themes tab allowed you to change from puke pink to Sinatra blue in a single click. [caption id=“attachment_226701” align=“aligncenter” width=“640”]  Themes to choose from[/caption]   Page view Facebook users have often been scammed under the pretext of them finding out who has viewed their profile; it’s a common phishing scam. However, Orkut gave users an option to see who has viewed their profile. Turn it on and you can see who’s been snooping around your photos. But it will also leak out your cyber stalking to friends. And since it also showed the number of page views. Oneof the lamer contests among friends was who got the higher number.   Orkut might not have been a success but for many users in India it was their  first social network. No wonder, we’re going to miss it. PS: Which features will you miss the most? Let us know, as we countdown to Orkut’s demise.