Deja Vu: Google Testing Ads On Orkut (Again)

(Image Credit: Rahul Bansal of Devils Workshop)

Rahul of Devils Workshop has recently spotted Google ads on an Orkut profile of another user.

If this sounds like deja vu, that's because Google previously rolled out AdSense on Orkut, before removing them from their social network.

From the images (provided by Rahul), Orkut seems to be placing the ads in a much better position than Facebook (who places them at the very bottom of the page), without the "overkill" that one often sees upon MySpace.

While I realize not everyone enjoys viewing these ads on Orkut, I do think that having them is a good idea as it helps cover the cost of hosting our content (which translates into Google launching even better services for Orkut).

Placing ads on profiles however may be "slightly controversial," and it may be wise for Google to instead place ads next to orkut's universal search, a feature they launched last year.

Google should also consider sharing the revenue with forum owners (although they should give them the option of whether or not they want ads displaying in their communities).

Hopefully Google keeps the ads this time, as I have found them to be quite useful, especially when Google fails to find the item you are looking for (cough, refurbished iPhone, cough).

Note: If anybody else is able to view these ads, let me know by blogging about it and providing a link below in the comment section for "the rest of us." :-)

Google Protecting Orkut Profiles?

I ironically came across this awhile ago while trying to capture an image of a user (to use in a post) but, believing this to be an error on my part, I simply went on surfing Orkut like any other casual user.

It was not until Devi Mahapatra informed me about this (as well as explaining the reason behind this) that I understood this a move by Google to protect our profile images.

(Ivilla) As you know it was very unsafe to upload your original photos to orkut as they were not right click protected , any one your enemy or else could save these images to there hard drive and misuse by publishing these photos to any where or creating a fake account[.] [...]

Now when the evil will try " right click then save image as " he/she find a image file has been stored in his hard drive named as " b " and yes it is a blank file .So she/he can't misuse your photos.

This is great news for girls (some of which are harassed by immature guys) as well as those who are often hassled by internet bullies.

Devi notes in his blog post that Google has not yet provided the same protection towards Orkut albums (which may be a good idea) so users may want to with hold uploading their personal photos for the world to see.

Orkut Members Mourn For Minal

From Inside Orkut

After reports came in yesterday that Minal was among the missing, it was confirmed by media outlets, Facebook members and various individuals who emailed me reporting the sad news about Minal.

Minal's scrapbook has received well over 20,000 scraps in the past few days, and here are some of the best comments from well wishers expressing regret and sorrow to Minal, as well as to her family.

____________________

Patrick:

Goodbye MINAL PANCHAL
Though I never knew you at all
You had the grace to hold yourself
While those around you crawled
They crawled out of the woodwork
And they whispered into your brain
They set you on the treadmill
And they made you change your name

And it seems to me you lived your life
Like a candle in the wind
Never knowing who to cling to
When the rain set in
And I would have liked to have known you
But I was just a kid
Your candle burned out long before
Your legend ever did

GOD BLESS ALL

Sraven:

Like a bird
Singing in the rain,
Let grateful memories
Survive in time of sorrow.

My deepest condolences to ur family

Kaarthik:

You Be With God...

U and I may not be knowing each other...

But my heart pains when I heard of my Indian Sister lost her life in the US...

My heart pained a lot when I heard that a good talent was killed for no valid reason...

I assume, it might be that God needed a skilled Architect to build a new Heaven...

And you are the one chosen by him... All the best of luck for your new venture!!!

____________________

There were also a few text art images, ranging from roses to candles, all made in honor to Minal.

There have also been several forums established in her memory. In the Minal Panchal: God bless her forum Savio writes:

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord.
And may perpetual light shine upon them.
May the souls of the faithfully departed through the mercy of God rest in peace. Amen

My prayers are with you gurl, May ur soul rest in peace!!!

Other forums have been created, such as Minal Panchal -a brave girl where users are also expressing their condolences for her family.

____________________

Last but not least, here are some of her last scraps on Orkut (Hat Tip: an anonymous user and Anjali for compiling these on the original Minal Panchal forum.

Shilpi Gupta's scrapbook:

Minal: madam photo change itne jaldi!!! achche lag rahe ho!!! kisne khichi yeh pic..... i wonder

Payal Aggarwal's scrapbook:

Minal: pahoch gaye ghar.... ?

(earlier scrap)

Minal: amazing pic payal, wat place is it???? mere bina akele kahan gaye the???? kiske saath???!!!!

AMBITION's scrapbook:

Minal: hi anjummmmmmmm!!! how r u????? kya kar rahe ho aaj kal? wher r u working?? i m fine, first years coming to an end.... cant believe it! its nice getting bak to studies and now cant wait to get bak to work :) !!!!! it was very nice to hear from u... do keep in touch!

Rajiv's scrapbook:

Minal: thanx rajiv for listening (or telling your guest), very unlikely of u...... :)
i really appreciate ! waise hamare ceiling par thode cracks ho rahe hai.....

Bharati Karmarkar's scrapbook:

Minal: stalking????

(earlier scrap)

Minal: hmmmmmmmmmmmm..... wat?

Akshay Shah's scrapbook:

Minal: how r u akshay? lifes good at my end!!! first sem abt to be finished!!! unbelievable!!! howz work at your end???

(the next ones were from last year, December)

Minal: gr8!!!! congratulations yaar!!! so, how do u feel???? wow, its gona be quite a while for me to be thru wid my masters!!! wil be in NJ to visit my sister during the break.

(earlier)

Minal: hi akshay, how r u?? my sem was good.... got really hectic in the end with all the submissions!!! right now just relaxing and enjoying the break! wat abt u? how was yr sem?

Vishu's scrapbook:

Minal: hi, how r u?? lifes good... bas the same job search, course work :((
congrats for your new car!! and howz work????

Richa Walia's scrapbook:

Minal: hi richa! bahot unrichable hogaye ho!!!!??? (btw shruti gets 50% credit for this pj)!
saaw your pics today!!! they r really good. loooking very pretty! aur batao kya chal raha hai?

____________________

Here is a request to the general Orkut community. If anyone can recall Minal sending them a scrapbook or her posting in a forum, would you mind posting the links to those in the original Minal Panchal forum for her family and friends to view?

And if anyone is a close friend of Minal's family, would you mind forwarding these last posts by Minal to her mother and family, as I am sure they would appreciate this very much.

On behalf of everyone who has heard about this tragedy, my prayers go to the family of Minal, as well as to the families of those who have lost loved ones. God bless. :-(

Virginia Tech Shooting: Minal, Where Are You?

I do not know if anyone has been following the news in America lately, but if you have not heard there was a school massacre at Virginia Tech, which has shocked our entire nation, including me.

Although the media has released a partial list of those who were killed, there is some concern that one of the fallen may have been Minal Panchal (not to be confused with the other Minal Panchal) who apparently is not responding back to her scraps. :-(

(Times of India) An Indian student of the university who was caught in the shooting is missing, according to inputs from the student community in Virginia’s largest university.

There are many Indian students in this university. All other Indian students are safe, say inputs from the student community. [...]

According to reports from the campus, friends were searching for an Indian student, Minal Panchal, who has been reported missing.

Minal Panchal has her Orkut scrapbook full of prayers hoping she is fine and urgent pleas to respond and tell her near and dear ones that she is safe.

According to standard policy, the media and government do not release the names of the victim until the family members have been contacted. With that said, here's praying that she is still alive and well and that someone (hopefully Minal herself) can verify her safety.

Related: Two Virginia Tech forums posting memorials for the fallen.

If anyone knows if Minal is safe, let us all know please. May our prayers be with those families who have lost loved ones today. :-(

Update: Startup Dunia is pointing to an article over on IBN Live listing Minal among the dead. I have not seen her name on any official list online, (or other media outlets confirming her status) so I am for now assuming otherwise.

I've posted some messages on Facebook (popular among college students in the US) asking if anyone knows any info regarding her safety. If I find anything, I'll post about it here.

Update (4/18): I'm receiving more an more messages hinting that she is among the victims killed. She is not on any official list that I see, but people have put together a list on Wikipedia suggesting that she is one of the fallen.

Other Facebook members are also hinting at this as well. Keep her family in your prayers.

Update (4/18): Minal is now officially listed among the fallen according to media sources. I am going to do a tribute post detailing forums paying honor in her memory. I have visited several already, although if anybody knows of any I should mention let me know via scrapbook or in the comment section.

Attack Of The Orkut Clones (And How To Remove Them)

(Image Credit: Collectoybles)

Story: So you are surfing Orkut one day and your friend contacts you and asks why you are scraping disgusting remarks about their girlfriend. You laugh at the your friends accusation, saying you would never do that until he points you to a profile that has your image on it.

Worse, it has your contact info, as well as a list of all your friends. It's a fake profile. So now, what do you do?

______________

Many people have been scraping, commenting (on older posts) or emailing questions on how to remove a fake profile. Although some may consider this trivial, it has resulted in some embarrassing situations for certain people, and believe it or not I've heard of worse examples bordering on criminal.

So for those of you who are harassed by these fake profiles, here are some recommended steps that you can take to successfully remove these profiles from Orkut, as well as suggestions of what NOT to do when you discover one.

1. Flag the profile: This is the first step that you need to do (and if you skip this, you may end up making the process longer). Underneath every profile (and community) there is a report abuse button where you can notify Google of the offense.
   
   
   
   Select the impersonating someone else or is a fake person option...
   
   
   
   ...and in the text field below provide a detailed description of why this profile is fake, along with links to your real profile and the fake one for Google to compare.



2. Alert your friends: Contact your friends online (via email not scrapbook) and ask them to do the same above.
   
   The email method would be advisable over scrapbook because it doesn't alert Mr. Fake Profile on what is happening and it keeps your friends scrapbook from being flooded with unnecessary outrage.
   
   Note: For those of you who are Firefox fans, Orkut Helper makes this process so much easier as all you have to do is right click and select "report as bogus" on the profile link.
   
   
   



3. Alert the Orkut Public: believe it or not, there are certain forums whose sole purpose is to alert each other about fake profiles so they can (as a group) remove them from Google's system. See this post for details.



4. Contact the Authorities: Only do this if the fake profile created is posting your personal info online (i.e. phone numbers, email, address) and random people are requesting disgusting services (you know what I mean by this).
   
   American users will probably receive a faster response (being that Orkut is hosted here locally) than those in other nations such as Brazil or India. Either way, don't go off into "Google hating," as they often have to balance user privacy against justice issues.
   
   Note: If you are a lady, I would recommend contacting the authorities if the profile is harassing you in any way, as these losers should know better.



5. Relax and wait: Don't let this one profile ruin your experience online. After you (and various individuals) have reported this, simply go on surfing Orkut, and enjoying life in Google's deep blue forum.
   
   Also give Google at least two weeks to remove the profile, as they are supporting close to 50 million users on Orkut alone, let alone the hundreds of millions (if not billions) who use their other services daily.
   
   Note: if after two weeks you do not receive a response, you can contact Orkut directly over here or alert Google at security [at] google [dot] com .

Now that you know the steps you have to take to successfully remove a profile, here are several things you SHOULD NOT do:

• Hack the account: This will not only get you banned from Orkut, but also from most of Google's services.
  
  Worse, your fake profile would still remain, spreading even more havoc online.



• Threaten the user: Although it may feel great to vent how you feel towards Mr. Fake profile, this could also not only get you banned, but also arrested as well (which would make the situation worse).
  
  Note: Ironically in similar situations I've seen some people get banned from Orkut because of this (which helps out your enemy more than it helps out you).



• Spam their scrapbook: It's not only a waste of time, but also a quick way to earn Google's wrath.


• Yell at Google: I would only recommend this if you want to slow down the response time for Google to solve your problem.
  
  Simply alert Google to your problem, and do not spell in all caps (it's considered yelling) and check your grammar and spelling.

That's it thus far, and hopefully these steps will help aid your fight against these impostors. I am interested to hear on other ways people have combated these Orkut clones, and if you have any advice or stories to share, then let the rest of us know by posting below.

Another Orkut Engineer Spotted?

Update: Alas, a beautiful post gone south. Thanks for the tip "Anonymous." Marissa is not an Orkut engineer, but a VP of Search Products & User Experience. Thanks for correcting my sloppy research!


Okay, I am not sure if she specifically works on Orkut, but it seems that she did help out the Google team enough to make a significant impact.

(BlogHer.com) Marissa leads the product management efforts on Google's search products – web search, images, groups, news, Froogle, the Google Toolbar, Google Desktop, Google Labs, and more. [...]

Her efforts have included designing and developing Google's search interface, internationalizing the site to more than 100 languages, defining Google News, Gmail, and Orkut, and launching more than 100 features and products on Google.com.

Marissa Mayer (who looks surprisingly younger than her age) will be at the speaking at the 2007 Blogher Business event this summer in Chicago.

You may have also noticed her face whenever you log into Orkut, as it can be seen on the top right.



With all of the identity theft going around, Google has certified her profile as authentic, as one may notice the Orkut medal hanging behind her name.

(Note: I wonder why the founder does not certify his profile, as there are probably a few dozen jokers claiming to be him).

Aside from Ellen, Orkut Engineers seem to be a bit shy in cyberspace. I wonder why that is?

Attack Of The Fake Clones (On Orkut)

Don over on TechNiche reports on an incident where someone tried to create an exact replica of his profile.

Someone had created a fake profile of mine in ORKUT! The fake profile was an exact clone of my profile! and the only difference was the number of friends!

He/She, whoever it is, was very clever and had already started adding all the people on my friends list!

I did not come to know this till some of my friends started asking me why another profile when i already had one! They thought it was me who created the profile and thought it was one of those pranks which i casually did!

I was taken for shock when i saw the fake profile, luckily he/she had not abused anyone using it, else there was a chance that i would have been mistaken by my friends.

Don reported the incident to Google, and within a day they removed the fake profile from Orkut (is it me, or has customer service recently improved on Orkut?).

Because I was curious myself, I decided to search for fake profiles, and low-and-behold I discovered one! Ironically, there was nothing in the profile (no pictures, no friends, and no communities listed) so I think Google should have an easy time figuring out the real me from the fake.

Note: If you ever run into a similar incident, you can always report fake profiles to these communities as they enjoy exterminating these types of accounts.

What's Your Orkut Story?

One of the cool things about Orkut (that is if you live in Brazil or India) is that you can find long lost friends and relatives, and perhaps even strangers of interest.

Oormila Prahlad has posted her Orkut story over on her weblog. Here is a snippet of her post below:

I have suddenly become severely addicted to Orkut. Initially it was a twice-a-day fix but over time, the frequency of my addiction has drastically increased. Now I need it on an hourly basis. It is the natural fallout of being holed at home in a predictable routine with minimal links to the outside world. One discovers a small release that gives a definite high and before long, one is hooked. [...]

16 years back, while in exile in India during the Gulf War, I made it to the finals of the Kerala State Youth Festival Art competition. There, I was introduced to the art prodigy of our generation, Kavitha Balakrishnan. She of course, won first place and I was placed fourth, I think. Over the years, both of us were featured in the media quite often: she was the art prodigy and I was the writing prodigy. Kavitha Balakrishnan and Oormila Vijayakrishnan. Nice alliteration. We never met after that competition. Till two days back. On Orkut.

There are some other funny parts to her Orkut story which made it a great read (hint: read the whole thing). Stories like these are common in the US (well, at least with MySpace anyways) and I was wondering if anyone else had a similar story regarding Orkut?

Another Google Orkut Employee?

I know that he is a Googler (which is an employee of Google) but I wonder if Greg Reshko works on Orkut or not? (as he lists it as one of his passions)

I'll scrap him to see if he is, although Googlers generally do not talk to outsiders unless its work related (as Google is listed as a cult--just kidding).

Featured Artist: Shweet Star

I am not sure if that is her real name (although I could be wrong) but today's featured artist is Shweet Star who can not only draw some fairly decent water drawings, but also create designs on vases as you can see from the image below in the bottom left hand corner.






Although her artwork is pretty good, I think Shweet should seriously consider selling some of her vases online, as you do not see too many artists in Orkut creating designs on pieces of furniture (or would a vase be considered a house decoration?).

Shweet is from Pakistan, and if you can check out more of her artwork on her album. If you enjoyed what you saw on her album (or are interested in hiring a vase designer) you can drop by her scrapbook and leave Shweet a message.

(Hat Tip: Water color painting lovers forum)

Update: Moved larger photo down slightly.

Keeping Orkut Clean (Sweeping The Mess)

Thanks to everyone who has joined the campaign to keep Orkut clean and for alerting users about forums, profiles, etc. that encourage child predators in their sick behavior as well as those who enjoy promoting violence throughout the forums.

Orkut is Google's most undervalued feature that has (in my honest opinion) the potential to bring in millions of dollars for the company--and I am not talking about via Ad Sense here (I'll cover this in a later post).

Unfortunately Orkut's biggest threat are those using it for "less desirable purposes" and this could threaten not only Google, but the millions who use it for legitimate purposes.

Without further delay, here is a partial list of some content that Google will frown upon. (Note: Titles with an "*" have been partially translated into English.)

___________________________________________
Warning: Some of these forums contain graphic images and are NOT suitable for the viewing public (let alone the sane).
___________________________________________

On the child predator front:

• Exchange of photos, lolitas and teen * (Report as bogus)


• Gayzinhos de 10-18 anos (Report as bogus)


• MSN & WebCam Gay TeeN - BRASIL (Report as bogus)


• Who wants to eat the Dannyzinha * (Report as bogus)


• I WOULD ABSORB THE MIRIM_13ANOS * (Report as bogus)


• There are several other questionable profiles, albums and forums which you can find over here.

On the terrorism front:

• Terrorists deep of yard * (Report as bogus)


• Followers of Osama Bin Laden * (Report as bogus)


• Rede Alkaida Brasil (Report as bogus)


• Al Hamas (Report as bogus)


• Although other forums were mentioned, the ones above advocate violence against others, something Google may want to check out.

There are several other communities also dedicated towards keeping Orkut clean, and I will see if we can all network together to make Orkut a fun place to surf in.

Google already has a system in place to deal with this content, so I would recommend that WE USE IT before contacting the American authorities. Let's keep Orkut clean together...and make Google millions. (=

Note: Above image created by Web 2.0.

Featured Artist: Pallav Mazumdar

Alas, the Drawing forum never ceases to disappoint me! Pallav has posted some wonderful drawings of his art work in his album for the world to see.

Here is a snapshot of some of the images below.



Pallav has already framed several (if not all) of these pieces of art and these are some of the best sketches that I've come across while skimming through Orkut.

I like the shadow effects of the lady's cheek bones (lower left hand corner) as that little detail adds depth to the face. He also has another great sketch of a woman (not shown above) in what appears to be a fancy Hindu dress (what do they call those things again?)

Anyways, Pallav is from India and currently holds a Bachelor's Degree and if you enjoyed his artwork as much as I have, send him a scrap and let him know.

Featured Artist: Aamruta Deshmukh

Earlier this month, Aamruta requested in the Drawing forum for feedback regarding her art work (since she is a beginner). After viewing some of her sketches, I am wondering if she really is a beginner at this as she seems really talented at drawing faces (something I have yet to master myself).

Here is a sample of four of her drawings below in her album.



I like the way Aamruta portrays the moods of the individuals, as you can see the guy in the top right corner looks depressed, while the girl at the bottom looks like she can't make up her mind on which item to buy (so I am reading a little too much into the images).

She seems pretty good with shading, although it would be nice to see some of these images in color. (I wonder if she has drawn any?)

She has uploaded ten images thus far, and if you enjoyed what you saw feel free to let her know within her scrapbook.

Update: I forgot to mention this related topic. Apparently in the Oil Painters forum, there is some discussion whether art is "a creation or a talent." What do you think?

More Googler's Spotted On Orkut?

Many of you may have remembered the various Google employee's featured on Phillip's Google Blogoscoped weblog.

Apparently Jarod Lam (a Googler himself) has started has started a forum for Google employee's, allowing fans to connect with developers of their favorite Google products.



I did a quick search and found some interesting info about which Googler's work on certain products / features.

• Orkut: Orkut (the founder) and Ellen Spertus


• Gmail: Michael McNally, Dan Fingal and Kai Huang


• Picasa: Andre Philippi (note: I see the connection)


• Google Ad Sense: Hunter Walk and Greg Blevins


• Google Ad Words: Riki Nakasuji, Ann Hill, Julia Burg, Jennifer Nghiem, Sushmita Thakur, Joe Carroll, Thomas Prager, Dan O'Connell, Dhanya Murali, and Miriam Wynn (as well as the temps Maria Reynoso and Annie Kellough)


• Google Search: Leo Martin


• Google Earth: Bruno Bowden (it says Keyhole, but that was it's former name)


• Google Analytics: (unsure) Aubrey Sabala


• Froogle: Roshan Vyas

Unfortunately you have to be a Google employee in order to join (which they probably verify over at the Googleplex) so unless you have some ambitions on getting hired by Google, you can only view this forum from afar.

Featured Artist: Shone

In the Drawing forum, Shone has sketched some excellent pieces in his album. One way you can tell a good artists is how he draws people's eyes.

What I love about these images (shown below) is the fact that you can almost see a reflection of light in these people's eyes, matching what one would see in reality when you gaze upon someone's face.

Note: Original images were not uploaded in order to respect copyright laws

Shone is from India who describes himself as "a funloving easygoing guy" who loves food, music, movies and drawing. He has even more images over on his weblog, although I think he should consider signing up for Picasa Web Albums as Orkut limits users to 12 photo's.

Featured Artist: Rao

Now that Orkut is back up (at least for me) I can talk about some artwork that I stumbled upon in the Drawing forum. Rao, from India who enjoys graphic design (of coarse), tv commercials and cricket as long as India is about to win.

Here are some of his drawings below. (for a clearer screen shot please click here).

(Note: Original photo's not uploaded to respect copyright laws)

What I enjoy most about Rao is his "cartoonish" art that is not only fancy but fun to look at (especially the guy with the tie at the end). The sad part is that his best work is not located on his album, and in order for you to see that you are going to have to visit his site.

Update: Fixed photo.