Rise of Facebook over Orkut in India

Recently I was reading a report on the rise of social networking giant Facebook in India and how it can eventually surpass the popular Orkut just by its sheer size. The news is a bit surprising, especially if you consider the fact that Brazil and India have been considered as two of the most popular markets of Orkut for years.

Let’s start analyzing from our personal experiences to find out the reasons why Orkut is not a buzz anymore. On a lighter note, the parent company Google has shown no intention to mix it with buzz either..

A Brief History: In 2004 when Orkut started catching the fancy of the youth in India, social networking was truly a first of its kind service. As initially it was ‘offered by invitation’ only, getting one and subsequently sending many was a sport that we all enjoyed a lot (guess I sent at least 50 invitations to my friends).

Rock-Star: Soon we realized that it was the best avenue possible to keep in touch with long lost friends. We could create groups for schools/colleges/ alumni clubs or ’speak-support-oppose’ any cause close to the heart. We drooled at the availability of a bigger/better online space compared to previously popular yahoo groups. For ‘Young India’, Orkut slowly became a part of one’s social entity. The impact was so strong that even our parents started inquiring about it and by the end of 2008, I saw many of the older generation hooked onto it.

Reasons to Rule: Easy User Interface (UI) backed up by services from Google (gmail, gtalk..) provided Orkut a huge traction among millions of fans. As more people joined in, others had no option but to follow, after-all thats exactly what social networking means. Everybody was sure to find ‘our people’ there and it was truly an Indian service from a global company.

Too Local and Fall: Last night I was talking to one of my college pals who spends at least a couple of hrs in facebook everyday (he was one of those early birds of Orkut too). When asked why Facebook, he quickly replied “I love harvesting food in FarmVille, besides I can interact with my neighbors whenever I have some spare time..anytime”. When the same question was asked to a teenager, she quipped, ”Facebook is cool and I have made 30 friends in US and UK in last six months” .

Facebook is Global: As both pointed out, facebook is ‘Global’. Today we travel abroad, we have friends and family living across seven continents . Then why do we need to confine ourselves while making new friends? And thats the exact reason why once so popular Orkut fails, its too local hence not good enough.

Besides, Orkut performed pretty poorly in introducing trendy apps. Its not even considered a serious platform for social gaming (nothing even close to Zynga’s FarmVille) and definitely its look-n-feel sucks.

Verdict: Even today Orkut appeals in a better way to millions of young users from semi-urban India and Facebook is still tagged as ‘elitist’ by most. However, by the end of 2010 we can surely expect a different trend and most likely Facebook will only have to think of beating twitter to sit at the top of Indian cyberspace.

Prologue: In 2004 when Orkut started catching the fancy of the youth in India, social networking was truly a first of its kind service. As initially it was ‘offered by invitation’ only, getting one and subsequently sending many was a sport that we all enjoyed a lot (guess I sent at least 50 invitations to my friends).

Super Star: Soon we realized that it was the best avenue possible to keep in touch with long lost friends. We could create groups for schools/colleges/ alumni clubs or ’speak-support-oppose’ any cause close to the heart. We drooled at the availability of a bigger/better online space compared to previously popular yahoo groups. For ‘Young India’, Orkut slowly became a part of one’s social entity. The impact was so strong that even our parents started inquiring about it and by the end of 2008, I saw many of the older generation hooked onto it.

The Empire: Easy User Interface (UI) backed up by services from Google (gmail, gtalk..) provided Orkut a huge traction among millions of fans. As more people joined in, others had no option but to follow, after-all thats exactly what social networking means. Everybody was sure to find ‘our people’ there and it was truly an Indian service from a global company.

The Fall: Last night I was talking to one of my college pals who spends at least a couple of hrs in facebook everyday (he was one of those early birds of Orkut too). When asked why Facebook, he quickly replied “I love harvesting food in FarmVille, besides I can interact with my neighbors whenever I have some spare time..anytime”. When the same question was asked to a teenager, she quipped, ”Facebook is cool and I have made 30 friends in US and UK in last six months” .

Facebook is Global: As both pointed out, facebook is ‘Global’. Today we travel abroad, we have friends and family living across seven continents . Then why do we need to confine ourselves while making new friends? And thats the exact reason why once so popular Orkut fails, its too local hence not good enough.

Conclusion: Even today Orkut appeals in a better way to millions of young users from semi-urban India and Facebook is still tagged as ‘elitist’ by most. However, by the end of 2010 we can surely expect a different trend and most likely Facebook will only have to think of beating twitter to sit at the top of Indian cyberspace.

8 comments

Subhay / March 19, 2010

Yes.. its very true. Facebook is global..

Akash / March 19, 2010

I agree with Shishir completely. The reason for my switch from Orkut to Facebook was that I had social network with games also. Zynga Rocks!!! Thanks Fb!

Shishir / March 23, 2010

Yeah.. I left orkut long back in early 2008 as it became monotonous activity in the new busy life. But later found Fb interesting and caught hold of it last march.

Anisa / March 28, 2010

facebook is far better than orkut. i love you facebook you have made my life…….

hemen parekh / April 5, 2010

Nice Post.

Regards
hemen parekh
Jobs for All = Peace on Earth

________________________________________

Paul / April 24, 2010

Yeah Fb is interesting..

Adam / April 25, 2010

Yes.. its very true. Facebook is global..

Trackbacks/Pingbacks

How to track Visitors who viewed my Facebook Profile? | Shishir Speaks - [...] network user has became more keen to know who visited or viewed his online profile. After the Rise of ...