Orkut Geolock? (Plus Nation Status Restrictions)

After logging into Orkut recently, I came across this message on my Orkut home screen:

(Orkut) New! Now you can select the countries from which you want to accept friend requests and profile visits. Your profile country is set as your default preference. To add countries, visit privacy settings or change your home country in edit profile.

Users can simply visit orkut.com/PrivacySettings.aspx and scroll down towards "my network."



Once there, users can simply select all countries (to accept friend requests from everyone, as well as profile views) or add select countries to their list by hitting the "add country or region" button (which will open up a drop menu).



While I am unsure whether or not this feature will enable users to "hide" their profiles from most of the public, the feature will allow users to only accept friend requests from users of certain countries.

Speaking about countries, it looks as if Google is only allowing Orkut users to change their nation status (or where they live) once a month, which seems to be an unusual move by Google.



While Google may have valid reasons for doing this (whether its to help keep the servers humming or to ensure that the Orkut Demographics are accurate), this move may not be a good idea for users, especially if they live inside a hostile area that is not friendly towards freedom of speech.

This is the first time I have actually seen a social network do this, as Google's rivals (Facebook, MySpace, etc.) allow users to edit their status whenever they want.

I wonder how users will react towards this?

New Orkut Domains For India And Brazil (And England Too?)

(Hat Tip: Rahul from Devils Workshop)

While there has been no official announcement regarding this, it looks like Google has rolled out international versions of Orkut for Brazilians and Indians on Orkut.

Users from India can visit www.orkut.co.in
while those in Brazil can login over at www.orkut.com.br.

This comes to no surprise as Brazil and India make up Orkut's largest user base--at least according to the Orkut demographics:



Google has also registered Orkut domains for the following countries (although these all redirect towards Orkut.com):

• England: www.orkut.co.uk


• Australia: www.orkut.com.au


• Canada: www.orkut.ca


• Germany: www.orkut.de


• Portugal: www.orkut.pt


• Israel: www.orkut.co.il


• New Zealand: www.orkut.co.nz


• And probably many more!

Note: Ironically, it looks as if Google was not quick enough to register the Pakistani domain (www.orkut.pk), although it looks as if one user is using it as a proxy to bypass filters and allow people to log into Orkut (not to mention several other Google products).

I wonder if Google is willing to buy that domain from them? ;-)

Google Launches Orkut Themes (But None For Me?)

(Hat Tip: Gaurav from Orkut Plus!)

It looks as if Google is rolling out Orkut themes (also called "skins" or templates) for Orkut users in order to help them spice up their profiles.



(Image: An Orkut beach theme, Credit: Demonoid via Orkut Plus)

This is a smart move by Google, as it will enable most of their users to customize their profiles without the need to switch to Firefox (as most Orkut users are fans of internet explorer) as well as speak geek.

Previously users were able to temporarily customize their profiles for Diwali (a major holiday in India).

There is no word on when Google is going to be rolling this feature out to the rest of the community on the Official Orkut Blog, but hopefully the word is "soon." :-)

Note: For those desiring to check out these Orkut themes before they go live, you can visit Orkut Plus! for more details...

Exit Question: While these themes are beautiful, I was wondering whether or not it would be better for Orkut to allow its users to design submit some more skins for the site? (with a directory provided, similar to the recent Orkut Apps)

Over 100 Orkut Apps (Which Ones Do You Enjoy?)

Despite the fact that Orkut Apps are still only open towards users residing in India and Estonia, (unless of course you change your residency to one of those countries) it looks like Google is allowing more applications to be displayed in the directory, which currently lists (as of this post) over 100.

While the Official Orkut Blog has highlighted several apps for users to check out, here are some new ones that users may be interested in.

Superscrap



Superscrap does what the title implies--it enables users to send colorful scraps (note: only within the app) to your friends.

The app is powered by Potalz.com, and while it is quite useful for sending out mass messages, its only drawback is that there is no button allowing you to select all of your friends at once (or even select groups).

That aside, this app can be quite useful for those not fluent in geek, and is probably safer than using Orkut's mail system.

Note: Users can insert this app over here.

Amazon Store



While this app is not officially from Amazon.com (its from one of its affiliates), it may make it easier for Orkut users to find the perfect gift without having to leave the realm of Orkut entirely (which is really helpful for me since Father's Day is coming up in a few weeks).

Note: Users can insert this app over here.

Blood Search



With blood shortages becoming frequent in certain parts of the world, this app (powered by Mastiff) could potentially save a life (if not your own).

Users basically fill out their blood type, when they last donated and contact info (such as email, phone).

The only drawback to this app is that it only searches the blood type through your friends. Hopefully Mastiff will update the app that will allow users to submit their blood type to a public community while keeping user info anonymous.

Note: Users can insert this app over here.

Fotoflexer



Fotoflexer is one app Orkut lovers will enjoy--especially if one has thousands of pictures in their Orkut album (which increased the maximum number to 10,000 images earlier this month).

Unfortunately there does not seem to be a way to pull images directly from ones Orkut Album (an item they will hopefully resolve in the future) although users can upload images to either Picasa Web Albums or Flickr and pull them from there (or from their computer).

Note: Users can insert this app over here.

These are only a few of the many apps that I came across while surfing the Orkut App directory. If anyone spies any other useful apps feel free to share your opinions (or links via blog reviews) in the comment section below. :-)

Google Testing Orkut Status Updates On Select Profiles

It looks as if Google is selectively testing out a new feature that allows users to post their status updates for their friends to see.



(Image Credit: Pramod of Tech Alert)

This feature looks very similar to what Facebook has, with the only exception being that you can add emoticons (i.e. smiley faces, etc.) to the status bar.



(Image Credit: Pramod)

Pramod's profile seems to be the only one that I have seen this on, so if any other users are seeing this pop up on their accounts, feel free to comment below with a link towards your blog and/or image.

Note: I wonder if the Orkut team could find a way to connect this feature with Twitter, as I would hate to have to update three different sites at once.

Update (5/3): Just received this yesterday! I wonder if Google has rolled this out to the rest of the Orkut kingdom? Also, as far as somehow connecting this with Twitter, I am going to see if HelloTxt would consider adding Orkut status to their "mini updates" page, as it would make it easier to update all of these sites at once.

Scrapboy To Help Orkut Users Access Facebook?

A new version of Scrapboy has been released, which may appeal to many Orkut users who may have fallen in love with program since its last update.

While the previous version of Scrapboy allowed users to access both Orkut and MySpace, it looks as if Assaf (the creator of Scrapboy) has now included Facebook to the mix.



This should make it easier for those who are frequent members of both networks to keep up with friends (especially if you live in different time zones around the world).

The interface is pretty much similar to what one would see on Orkut, except that it has a "facebook twist" to it.



Embracing some of the more popular social networks is probably a smart move by Scrapboy, as it seems all of the social networks (or at least Orkut, MySpace and to a lesser extent, Facebook) are discouraging users to use third party software to log into their sites (for security reasons, of course).

Note: As far as Orkut goes, I think it would be really cool if Scrapboy added a feature where users could search and post YouTube video's (not to mention slide shows from Slide, Flickr and Picasa Web Albums) as HTML scraps are becoming fairly popular on Orkut scrapbooks.

Belated (Yet New): Co-Ownership In Orkut Forums?

(Hat Tip: Orkut Plus)

Google has enabled Orkut forum owners to add additional owners to the forums, giving users more control over their communities.

Aside from having all of the powers of a moderator, co-owners can un-delete a forum in case the previous owner no longer desires it, as well as assume ownership of the forum if a community has been hacked.

Forum owners can add co-owners to their forums by clicking on the "add co-owner" link which they can find on their community profile (above the "add moderator" link)...



...then typing in the name of a member of the forum that they want to add...



...then hit the "search members" button after selecting the person. After that, Orkut should bring you to a new page in which you can then grant that individual co-owner status by hitting the "grant co-owner privileges" button below.



You can add up to two co-owners to each forum, which a lot lower than the 10 moderator limit set by Google. However, I would recommend users only adding co-owners to their communities if they are hosting a forum that has a history of being stolen via hackers (or at least many threats/attempts in the past).

I would also suggest forum owners only grant people they highly trust (or have met offline) with this status, as co-owners do have the ability to remove the original owners threads.