When Google announced “Orkut will be officially shut down on September 30, 2014″, that is when I realized few things. I wanted to take a look at how the current Orkut website looks and feels. It must have been more than a year since I logged in. So with utmost eagerness I visited www.orkut.in , but wasn’t able to login after umpteen attempts. I couldn’t recollect my email or password.  This kept running at the back of my head and finally a week ago, the email and password struck my head. Visiting my Orkut profile was magical, seriously…. I was in for a surprise looking at the awesomatic theme.

• I felt nostalgic. To give you an overview, I currently have 301 friends(few of my friends deleted their accounts after getting addicted to Facebook). I was part of 16 communities, had 188 scraps and ‘very few’ photos & videos. Back then,I was afraid to post photos of myself citing security reasons. But today I feel ORKUT was far more secure than the social sites of today.
• ORKUT showed me the doors to a social world where friends from every nook and corner could chat, poke and share photos.
• “SCRAP” got a totally different meaning. Every evening I would return home from college expecting “scraps” from my friends. Scrapbook was the buzz word and having an account in ORKUT was more of a fashion statement.
• “TESTIMONIALS” were an accomplishment. Receiving a testimony from a close friend was considered a blessing. Today as I read the testimonials written by my friends, I re-live those wonderful moments. These testimonials speak volumes on how beautiful it is to hear good words from friends who don’t often express how precious you are to them.
• Today’s Facebook groups seem over crowded ad get spammed in no time. But the concept of “Communities” in ORKUT were well received and brought people with similar interests together. I personally think ORKUT has a better look and feel than any other social network. I always loved the forums, questions and discussions that went inside each community. For those of you who forgot how community looked like, check this out.

• Many parents kept an eye on their children and forbid them from having an ORKUT account. My dad was one among them. As a matter of fact, ORKUT allowed anyone above 18 to sign up. Today anyone above 13 can easily sign up for Facebook.

GOODBYE ORKUT!!!!! You have given me good memories. You will be remembered. 🙂

I am online on Facebook almost 24*7 and cannot live without it currently. Today Facebook is doing a fantastic job but that doesn’t stop me from appreciating ORKUT and the experience it has given me.  And the point to be noted is, everyone in the family today has an account on Facebook. If a school kid posts a photo to his profile, you can see a whole bunch of family members liking it and commenting. Grandpas and Grandmoms have profiles with beautiful profile pics.

Social networking sites today play an important role in our lives. They don’t just connect people but create memories that can be cherished for a lifetime. Though Facebook is the buzz word today in the world of internet, “ORKUT ” has a special place in my mind. Who knows ..someday in the future “Facebook” will also close down and give way for a new network. But the bottom line is “FRIENDS both near and dear will always be connected through technology”.  Make time for FRIENDS ….