Downfall of Orkut and Focus on Google Plus

Orkut a Social networking web portal from Google had tenterhooks on the user base; a million registrations in just few days- such was its clout. Although still prevalent in Brazil, it has failed to garner the numbers over rest of the world.

The widespread acceptance of Facebook among users could be the onset of its plummet, apart from other setbacks such as poor user interface: there were many frustrations over the Orkut page's layout designs and of a buggy interface. One of the key concerns for Orkut subscribers was the privacy setting: it lacked the Facebook's visibility option; hence all users could access the profile pages. Web pages crawled while crashes were frequent, while the network was flooded with spiraling new sign ups. 

On a trail to understand the reason for Orkut's diminutive presence over the years, we find that there was a dearth of business apps integrated within Orkut. In Addition, games were clearly slow, while the Facebook has blazing speeds on games such as Farmville among numerous flash games. The seamless integration of Facebook with Mobile devices was an instant success; especially, the intriguing apps for the hand held gadgets.

Furthermore, in India the Facebook features in ad campaigns regularly on radios and service providers such as Airtel and Aircel. The Orkut could have been a little cautious in mitigating the drawbacks. Nevertheless, after it shutdown the social networking site, Google Buzz in December 2011, its all set for a comeback with Google Plus.

According to Douglas Edwards, Google's long associated and former employee, the Google Plus could be a wildfire as he writes in his book: "I'm Feeling Lucky: The Confessions of Google Employee Number 59", illustrating some of the candid views over his impact and experiences in Google. In his book, when he was asked whether Larry and Sergey were really bright, he says, "I can't speak to their IQs, but I saw with my own eyes that their vision burned so brightly that it scorched everything that stood in its way."

The Google plus, though still in beta stage, looks captivating with some cool features such as "Bragging rights", "Circles". More importantly, the easy access from Gmail window coupled with a simple interface could be the game changers for Google.