Why Orkut Failed

Not long ago there was a craze in Indian Subcontinent for Orkut. Orkutting had become a verb like Googling. However, the euphoria is over in India and other parts of subcontinent, and now no one seems to be interested in Orkut. Profiles are still there but very few legitimate profiles are being opened. Orkut is owned by Google, but sadly, not supported by Google. It is amazing why Google didn’t give a penny of thought to make Orkut more attractive. currently, Google is trying its best to stand tall in the world of Social Media with its latest product Google+, but people in India (not in Brazil) are wondering about Google’s approach for Orkut.

Let’s summarize few reasons behind the sordid death of Orkut

1. Google’s Crime: When did you saw an Orkut profile in a Google search result? Never. Orkut don’t allow search engine, not even to Google, to crawl profiles of Orkut users. The profiles in Google Search would have certainly made a difference. Google didn’t learn any lessons from Facebook even though it always gave Facebook a prominent position on its search results related to a name.

2. Application: One of the main reasons of the success of Facebook is Applications. It allowed developers to develop Applications for Facebook as long as the product is in line with policies and Terms of Use of Facebook. The Application flourished and attracted many users. The development of Applications on Facebook is also a bit easier because of the use of technical issues – use of programming/mark-up languages in server and client side. Google didn’t show any concern about Applications.

3. Privacy: Over time Orkut become a hub of fake profiles. Google is showing high level of concerns for Fake Profiles in its latest Social venture, Google Plus. However, it didn’t give an iota of thought about controlling fake profiles on Orkut. Facebook is also a hub of fake profiles, but at least it is consistently trying them not to misuse its platforms. Profile of a girl has always been a target of fake profiles. Facebook has controlled it, Orkut or better to say Google, never ever tried to control it. Consequently, legitimate users annoyed by the idea of Orkut.

4. Sharing: The motto of Social Networking Sites is not only to be connected, but also to share anything interesting. The design of Orkut is really something that doesn’t allow sharing in an easy way. The ease of sharing is really a big advantage that came with Facebook and Twitter.

5. Page: Orkut decided to allow its users to create a page and call it promotion. That wasn’t easy. Even though, the promotion project of Orkut came quite late. Facebook provides an efficient Page system for business person. Facebook Pages enhances the sharing option and more importantly companies used these pages in their advertising which only enhanced the prospect of a successful Facebook.