Anyone who had been using the internet for about 20 years surely remembers Orkut communities. Finding people with similar interests, leaving a little note (scraps) on a friend’s wall, sending cute GIFs with ready-made phrases. It was roughly what people did while social networks were taking their first steps.
It was hard to imagine how much our way of communicating would change—and Orkut fell behind in this transformation. It went offline in 2014, but recently a development on the official website rekindled the hope that the old social network might return.
On Thursday (the 8th), Orkut Büyükkökten, the platform’s creator in 2004, launched a campaign to gather those interested in a new social network. The project has no launch date and depends on decisions that the company has not yet announced.
Is Orkut really coming back?
The new Orkut page features a letter from its founder and an invitation to support the creation of the platform. The company aims to gather millions of interested people, but it does not specify whether there is a minimum number of supporters required to move the idea forward.
The campaign also uses the participants themselves to expand its reach. Those who sign up receive a code to generate a digital supporter card and share it on social media. According to Orkut Inc.’s privacy policy, these codes identify how many people arrive at the site through the shares.
For now, registration represents only an expression of interest. The terms of use, updated on October 6, clarify that enrollment does not guarantee an account on the future platform, a username reservation, or early access.
The company also does not commit to launching the service, even if the campaign gathers millions of supporters.
What would the new Orkut be like?
Büyükkökten’s idea is to recover the spirit of the old communities, bringing closer together people who share interests. In the letter published on the site, he criticizes the direction social networks have taken, especially the algorithms that compete for users’ attention and encourage staying on the platforms.
Artificial intelligence also appears in the plans for the new Orkut. According to its founder, the technology would be used to bring together people with affinities and encourage friendships, though he has not yet explained how this would work.
Büyükkökten also expresses concern about the presence of bots and deepfakes, AI-manipulated content. He advocates for a network that gives more space to relations between real people, recovering part of the experience that marked the early years of social networks.
So far, the company has not released images of the future platform nor confirmed what functionalities it intends to offer.
How to participate in the campaign to bring Orkut back?
Anyone who wants to support the initiative can register for free on the official Orkut site. You must be at least 18 years old.
To participate:
- Visit www.orkut.com.
- Fill out the form with your email address and country of residence.
- If you wish, also provide your name and phone number. This information is optional.
- Complete the registration and use the code provided to generate your digital supporter card.
- Share the card on social media, if you want to promote the campaign.
The site does not yet offer access to old profiles. There is also no indication that users will be able to recover photos, messages, or communities from the 2014-era version.
