Google announced on Monday that it is shutting down is original social networking service Orkut after ten years of existence.
I can bet a lot of people didn’t know Googles’ got a social networking service. Well, Google launched Orkut in January 2004, after a failed attempt to acquire Friendster. Orkut fared reasonably well in Brazil at that time before Facebook came, overttok it and dominated the social networking ecosystem.
Google announced its plan to shut down Orkut on Sept. 30, after more than 10 years of service. Existing users will still have access to their account and be able to export their information such as data, posts, and photos using Google Takeout, but new users wont be able to create accounts.
Users on these social networking site dwindled over the years such that there is not even enough active user base left to justify holding on to it. Google also claimed that other products like Blogger, YouTube, and Google+ have taken off, and surpassed Orkut’s growth, a basis for the decision to take it down. The search giant will now focus more energy and resources on making these other social platforms as amazing as possible for everyone who uses them.
“It’s been a great 10 years, and we apologize to those still actively using the service,” says engineering director Paulo Golgher. “We hope people will find other online communities to spark more conversations and build even more connections for the next decade and beyond.”
