Deactivated since 2014, the Orkut site started to display a message in recent days that led the nostalgic social network to be one of the most talked about topics on Twitter. The eponymous founder said he was “building something new” and warned, “See you soon!”
The community network without a content feed, like most of the current ones, was created in 2004 by Turkish engineer Orkut Büyükkökten and deactivated ten years later. It achieved great success in Brazil, until Facebook invaded Brazilian computers around 2011.
The founder’s text, available in English and Portuguese, goes through its history and touches on controversial points in the networks that overthrew his invention.
“We put a lot of effort into making orkut.com a community where you could meet real people who shared your same interests, not just people who liked and commented on your photos,” he says, in a reference to the Facebook and Instagram model, by example.
“Our online tools should serve us, not divide us. They should protect our data, not sell it. They should give us hope, not fear and anxiety. The best social network is the one that enriches your life, but doesn’t manipulate it.” , says. “And that’s why I’m building something new. See you soon!”
​The former Google software engineer has not yet spoken out on his other social networks about the message.
I have over 8 years of experience in the news industry. I have worked for various news websites and have also written for a few news agencies. I mostly cover healthcare news, but I am also interested in other topics such as politics, business, and entertainment. In my free time, I enjoy writing fiction and spending time with my family and friends.
