Orkut Mobile Coming Soon?

No, I have no hard sources (or even soft ones for this matter) but I think Google may be headed in this direction--and if not they should seriously consider it after I came across this in my Google Reader.

(The Economic Times) Bharti Airtel and Google have announced a strategic partnership that will allow Airtel to bring Google search to the Airtel Live mobile WAP portal. [...]

"Mobile users outnumber PC users in India by a factor of six. The first computing experience for the majority of Indians in the next few years will be on a mobile phone." Said Manoj Kohli, President, Bharti Airtel.

If more Indian use cell phones than computers and if India is becoming more popular than Google's homepage then I wonder if a mobile version of Orkut is in the works?

Orkut Scrapper Update

(via Orkut Scrapper Blog)

Some of you may have been experiencing problems with Orkut Scrapper after Google updated their servers.

Binny has created an update that fixes the problem, which you can download over here.

Will India Ban Google's Orkut?

(Hat Tip: Binny, and everyone else who emailed and scrapped me about this)

I sure hope not, but it seems that some people were very upset about an anti-Shivaji within Orkut, causing some violence within a few areas in India.

(IBN) The Bombay High Court has asked the state government to file its reply in connection with a pleademanding a ban on social networking site, Orkut, for hosting an anti-Shivaji web community. [...]

The community had been blocked by the Pune police after violent incidents were reported in the city when its existence came to light two weeks ago. Though the community is currently inaccessible, the petitioner has demanded that Orkut, which has captured the fancy of many Indians, be banned.

I don't know much about Shivaji, (beyond wikipedia that is) although I do not see the value in banning all of Orkut because of a few opinions amongst the millions who surf the forums.

Orkut has proven itself quite useful as many businesses use it to employ workers, as well as people using it to find the love of their life (congrats!).

Although there are a lot of forums within Orkut that I do not agree with, (especially the anti-American ones) I do not wish for them to be removed simply because I cherish the right for all to express themselves freely without consequence.

Simply banning Orkut would not only encourage members to get around the blocks, but also be a major set back for freedom of expression in the great continent of India.

Happy Thanks Giving Everyone!

Well, in America we are getting ready to celebrate one of my favorite holidays, Thanks Giving!

For those of you who are unfamiliar with this American tradition, wikipedia provides an excellent explanation of the holiday, although it can be basically summed up in a simple phrase: being thankful for what you have in life.

Some Orkuteers have decided to celebrate early in Orkut's only Thanks Giving forum (in English at least).

For those of you who think eating meat is blasphemy is not healthy, you can receive free veggie pasta recipes from Bharat by simply posting your email address over here.

Note: As far as Orkut thanks goes, I am thankful for Google developing this site as it has given me a greater understanding of the world around me internationally, especially people of other faiths.

Orkut Alert Gets A Whole New Look

It looks like Abhishek has giving OrkutAlert a whole new look from the last time it was mentioned here on this site.

Not only does the program run a lot smoother than before, but it also is more pleasing to the eyes.



The purpose of OrkutAlert is to, well...alert you to new scraps on Orkut. Although other programs such as Scrapboy, Orkut Cute and Orkut Scrapper do these as well (not to mention a ton of other things) what will set OrkutAlert apart is its future addition of alert by SMS, making it easier to know when a friend has scraped your scrapbook.

Speaking of SMS, when is Google going to make Orkut mobile friendly?

Note: You can download OrkutAlert over here, although if you want a lighter version you can visit the Official OrkutAlert Blog for more details.

Update (11/22): OrkutAlert is one word (instead of two) as I previously mentioned. Article has been corrected, although the title will remain the same in order to prevent link breakage.

Orkut Officially Adds Birthday Reminder

I came across this feature many moons ago on Personalized Google, although I did not breathe a word about it because I barely knew of anyone who actually used personalized Google, at least in my country.

Anyways, Google has officially acknowledged its existence on every users home page, which can be quite handy for those of you who do not log into Orkut very often or are a fan of the personalized Google service.



Note: I am not sure about the first two profiles, but the last one is definitely a Googler (see his profile for comparison). It looks like Google was trying to use pseudo-names to hide their profiles, although a quick visit to the official Google forum pretty much reveals all.

Orkut Not Corporate Friendly?

(via Promocharger.com)

I am not too surprised at this, as in the states many managers will fire employees for surfing on Orkut, MySpace, Facebook, etc. on company time.

It appears however in India, managers are taking a smarter approach--banning Orkut from the corporate network.

(Hindustan Times) Alpesh Kapadia, a middle-level executive in a Mumbai-based software services' major, is livid. His company recently blocked Orkut, the social networking website owned by Google. [...]

"I used Orkut to network with people with similar tastes," says Kapadia. A software developer, he used the site to meet Linux applications developers and discuss new technologies. He also pursued his interest in music through the site, and planned weekends with friends.

"If you block these sites, employees who frequent them during office hours get upset. But if you don't, there is a tendency for employees to visit these sites too frequently. This is counter-productive," said Khushroo Pithawala, senior vice-president, Datamatics.

Although there are ways to get around these blocks (as any Google search will reveal) it probably is best to find some way to compromise with management over accessing Orkut (perhaps setting up some Orkut friendly computers during lunch break).

Some users (not blogged here) have actually convinced management that Orkut was good for employee morale, although they pretty much begged their bosses everyday about it.

Note: An interesting point from the article was that some employees were using Orkut to find new jobs, something I posted about several months ago.

Using Java To Increase Your Fan Base...

(Via Digg)

To most people Orkut is simply a way to connect with people, but to others its some sort of popularity game.

Some people are into having the most scraps, others friends (or rather strangers who they call friends) and still others having fans is the ultimate way to "Orkuthood."

For those of you desiring to increase your fan base, the digital me has instructions on how to do so via java javascript.

Update (11/23): It's javascript (as opposed to java). I will leave the title as is, lest the permalink to this post end up broken. Thanks guys for the correction!

Should Google Fully Integrate Gtalk Within Orkut?

With the official announcement by Google, I was wondering if anyone out there desired more out of the Gtalk plus Orkut integration than simple orange, green and red balls dotting the deep blue forums.

What Orkut has already done with Gtalk is by itself great--but I was hoping for a full blown chat feature underneath my profile, sort of like what Gmail has for its users.

Although Orkut is built using ASP .Net (although it may be running on a Linux server) I was wondering if it would be possible to combine Gtalk's AJAX feature within Orkut's ASP .Net servers in order to allow users to fully chat with their favorite friends.

And if this is possible, should Google implement this within Orkut or would adding this feature make the site more cluttered?

An Orkut Spelling Bee?

Ever wonder what your name would look like using Orkut's people font?

Google Blogoscoped has the details...

Google Officially Talks To Orkut

Google has officially announced the marriage of Gtalk with Orkut over on its corporate blog:

Here's what to look for. If your friends are online and using Google Talk, you'll see a brightly-colored ball by their name. Green means they're available; orange means they're away from their computer; and red means they're busy. But no matter which color, if you see that ball, it means you can chat with or call your friends in just a couple of clicks.

We've put some orkut features into Google Talk too. In addition to chatting, calling, and sending files to your Google Talk buddies, you can also scrap them, receive instant notice when others scrap you, and quickly jump to any of their orkut profiles.

Although I enjoy the integration of Gtalk, I was rather disappointed over its limitation. I was hoping for something similar to Gmail, which has Gtalk on the side, which is more convenient.

I wonder if anyone could develop a firefox hack to insert all of Gtalk within Orkut?

Revisiting Orkut Mobile

Previously I posted about my disappointment over the fact that Orkut doesn't support mobile phones, although their are some indications that support may be added for the future (think SMS scrapbook).

It seems that an anonymous user (from Brazil I assume) tipped me over to this link which may make logging into Orkut via mobile a bit more friendly.

For those who speak English, I have created a tiny url which you can point your mobile phones towards: http://tinyurl.com/ykko69

Although I am still having problems logging on, this has probably more to do with the type of cell phone that I have, as Verizon Wireless is a little bit restrictive. I'll attempt to find a work-a-round for this, unless of course Google makes Orkut mobile friendly.

Google Talk Limited Within Orkut

(Hat Tip: Luiz Irber via Google OS comment)

It looks like Google is beginning to marry Google Talk with Orkut, as several new features are already appearing within my Orkut account.



Unfortunately it is not a full blown version of Gtalk within Orkut, although you can see the basics of one being developed. In order to sign up, users need to visit http://www.orkut.com/GoogleTalkSignup.aspx .

Users already familiar with Google Talk (and active using it) will simply need to connect their Orkut account with their Gtalk account. You will have the option to simply have all of your Orkut friends see you, or select which ones can view your status manually.

Once you connect the two, you will begin to see changes within Gtalk, that is if your friend has an Orkut account.

(Note: Name removed to protect the innocent.)

Although I do enjoy these teasers from Google, I await the full blown version of Gtalk underneath my Orkut profile.

Note: Is it me, or did anyone else notice the color change around your profile picture? I wonder if the change was made in order to match Orkut's skin for Gtalk?

More Upcoming Features For Orkut?

Ionut over on the Google Operating System points towards some more upcoming features within Orkut.

orkut SMS

With orkut SMS you can send and receive scraps with your mobile phone as well as other cool stuff. But first you need to register your mobile phone to use orkut.

Photo Tagging

You can tag your friends in photos. To create a photo tag, click and drag the mouse to select a friend.

The send scraps via mobile phone sounds like a great idea, although some fear this could be abused by spammers (doubtful as Google could simply ban your phone from its network).

The photo tag also seems to be very interesting, although isn't that wandering into Picasa territory?

Orkut And Google Talk: The Code Doesn't Lie

(Hat Tip: Googlified)

Ionut over at Google Operating System has more details over the Gtalk-Orkut integration previously posted before.

I am really looking forward to these changes, although Rahul thinks this may spell doom for Scrapboy (one of my favorite Orkut programs).

Well I feel Google can add another block on orkut home page showing friends using Google Talk the way they shows mutual friends listing on Profile Pages! [...]

This will certainly free orkuttian from using quite heavy scrapboy messenger!

Hopefully Scrapboy will be around to compete, although the new update is probably making engineers of the various Orkut hacks nervous (as every time Google updates its servers, another Orkut hack no longer works).

Orkut Adding Google Talk Next Week?

Google may (as in probably) be adding Google Talk within the Orkut interface allowing us "Orkuteers" to chat instantly to each other as well as see who is online.

(Light Reading) The company says its Google Talk and Orkut development teams are busy putting the finishing touches on the integration. The announcement will likely be made sometime next week. [...]

"We noticed that a lot of people that were using Orkut also had their GTalk client open at the same time," says Google spokeswoman Courtney Hohne.

Orkut members will be able to text message and voice chat with other members of the community if they choose to communicate in that way. Google believes the new functions might add a sense of immediacy to member interaction on the social networking site.

It looks as if the previous rumors regarding Gtalk and Orkut may have some weight to them after all. Installing Gtalk will solve two problems at once, as it will not only create a chat program within, but also an online status indicator as well.

Of course, I hope Google gives users the option to turn this off (like in Gmail) or even better, call users via audio within the site (not to mention potential advertisers as well).

Note: It would be cool if Google integrated this within their Friend Maps page, as users would then be able to see which of their friends are online half way around the world.

Easy Scraper (A New Orkut Program)

An Orkut member going by the user name Is it me? has created a program giving users some spice to their scrapbook.

Basically it allows you to type in text within its program and then Easy Scraper makes it fancier such as typing your message via Matrix, or making the words appear in rainbow formation.

Although many of these have been duplicated before on other various programs (I think Orkut Toolbar had most of these features) what made it stand out was the mood percentage, which I enjoyed.



You simply enter in the percentage of how you feel and it will create a smiley face representation of your "mood chart."



The only problem is, how would one interpret that? Hmm...

Note: This is a software program so you will need to download it from Easy Scraper online.

Will add this program to the sidebar underneath Orkut User Tools.

Update (11/10): You can visit the official support forum of Easy Scrapper over here.

It's My Orkut?

(Hat Tip: Pramod)

This is not exactly an Orkut hack, but for those of you who are unable to install Firefox, Opera or IE extensions or download programs on your machine will find this site handy.

Originally hosted on a Google Pages site, you can access this link from MyOrkut.co.nr.



What makes this site unique is the ability to access links quickly, as well as edit your profile, and picture.

This page was created by Karakl (spelling?) and if you have any suggestions or comments feel free to let him know in the official MyOrkut forum.

Thou Shalt Not Steal?

I've been receiving reports of forums being stolen and/or hijacked throughout Orkut, which although not surprising is a bit alarming.

I will not highlight any cases here (as I'm not Judge Judy after all) but if your forum has been taken over, you need to contact Google and let them know (visit their Safety and Security Center for details).

And remember, the whole world contacts Google about items ranging from the very dumb to the very serious. Give them some time to respond back to you (at least a week or two).

Blogger Beta Adds FTP! (Finally)

It seems as if the boys and girls at Google have added another early Christmas gift to beta blogger users!

They are now giving us the ability to post via FTP which means that we can post a weblog on our own site!

(Blogger Buzz) If you use FTP on the older version of Blogger, you should definitely log into the beta and set up a test FTP blog to make sure it can publish properly to your ftp server. We did a ton of FTP testing on several different popular hosting services, but if you experience any publishing weirdness, let us know via the Contact form -- use the "Report a bug or problem" -> "I found a bug with Blogger in beta" selection to send in reports, 'cause we wanna fix the bugs ASAP.

I have already bought out the domain InsideOrkut.com (which redirects here) but will be testing this new feature on a couple of other weblogs before possibly considering migrating to the new server.

Hopefully I've bought up enough bandwidth to handle the traffic of the site, and it will be interesting to finally "go pro" with blogspot for the first time.