The Orkut Days!

I was jumping from one folder to another removing dust from good old files, I created once, now rest in a huge folder called 'Backup'. As I was going through the files I found lot of articles that I wrote but never posted. One article caught my attention. That article brought back sweet memories from the time spent with friends. It also reflects upon how technology is changing each day and how important it is to gauge the changing preferences and be progressive to remain relevant in dynamic competitive environment.

"April, 2009

"Yaar tera ho gaya kya, meroko bhi net use karna hai. I have some important mails to check...."
 

"...aarre mein emails check kar raha hooo, aur ek poorana friend online hai yaar...""Achacha thik hai, tera jaroori kaam ho jaye toh bol merko, I will use it then....... Jaldi kar but..."

The first guy who was supposedly doing his jaroori kaam on internet was accessing Orkut and the one who was in queue and wanted to check important mails, also wanted to access Orkut!!! Somebody might have sent him a friends request or he must have received lots of scraps. Oh his display pic has become old.

I started orkutting in 2004 for the first time. Initially I thought that it was a crap and didn't make much sense. I created my user account as my sister insisted me to do so. She took all the pains to create my account, told me what to write in 'About me', 'Interests', etc... I thank her now for introducing me this part of the world so early.  

"How can we use this instead of mails!" was my first reaction, little knowing how that site could actually be used. The term "Social Networking" was alien for me ...back then I was in graduation first year and wasn't found on nets that often. My frequency to access mails was so bad that every time I use to login...I never remembered my passwords and end up creating new email IDs..."Arre yaar koi important mails ayye honge uss ID pe toh!!!..." I use to think. Who the hell would send an email that too important one if I haven't given the address to anyone. Ignorant me!

The Orkut phenomenon was little know in my friends circle that time. I use to feel supreme amongst them. Things have changed a lot and THE Orkut has also evolved...a lot... for good, I suppose.

Today, before signing in my email account, I and probably all my friends sign in Orkut. Spending lot of time, for what pleasure I really cant explain... Creating 'Communities'. Scrapping on 'Threads' and ensuring that the once I create, remains in lime light. Counting 'Fans' and sharing pictures to get comments. Praying to get 'Testimonials' each time I logged in, after all who doesn't like to read good about themselves. "How would people stay connected with friends earlier?", I wonder. Today if I don't have Orkut access for a day, or if I get message from server 'No donuts for you', I think "Oh my God! there may be so many updates in my scrapbook! I am missing the action."

The phenomenon is very popular atleast amongst the people I know and amongst those with whom I am remotely connected without actually knowing them. My cousins, just 10th passed are found on Orkut, discussing homework via scrapping...man this is beyond explanations....

Hope the phenomenon grows and stay connected with friends as usual..."

This article was written by me in the year 2009 when I was a bachlor staying with friends, in Mumbai. We had only one laptop amongst us. We use to surf internet turn by turn. Orkut was our favorite pass time. Facebook was yet to take center stage, atleast in India and nobody remotely also thought that Orkut would become history one day.

fOoD fOr ThOuGhT: Writing on the wall meant kids scribbling on the wall with crayons. Commenting meant passing comments. Like and share referred to emotions. Social site meant Orkut. Time has changed so much. If you are not progressive and become irrelevant, you have to make way for the newer, better and stronger competitor.

Celebrating friendship with 'Hangout'!

 

A decade ago, Dil Chahta Hai (DCH) movie was released. It took the nation by storm. Not that friendship never existed or friends never went to Goa or any other place for that matter, to have fun. But the movie highlighted the importance of Celebrating friendship! Enjoying with people whom you trust the most. So was the craze that DCH became synonymous for friendship. The youth started looking at friendship from all together different perspective!

With Zindagi Naa Milegi Dobara… another fine piece of art, this time by sister Zoya Akhtar, importance of celebrating friendship is reinstated. It took the dimension of relationship to the next level. Girlfriends, adventure, foreign trip, emotions, pain, child like fight, ego, money, power and then finally friendship taking all over them. A must watch for the ones who liked DCH.

For me it will always have a special place in my heart because last year, we planned a bachelor party at Goa for one of my closest buddy… bookings were done, train ticket were done, all planning was done, money was paid and in the end...boooom! The friend for whom the party was hosted… couldn’t make it due to his work commitments (he being a surgeon). All three of us were deeply disappointed. We cancelled the trip. We showed our anger to him in his marriage and till date we bully him for that. None of us watched ZNMD movie together but each one messaged the other three when the trio in movie plans for the  bachelor party! That’s the connect. Having said that, out of four of us, two are married now, so we still have two chances to make for what we missed earlier. The thought excites me!

However, somebody has realized that the world is moving with a fast pace and people have become robots in their own life running after making good living. In doing so, they knowingly and un-wanting-ly (I christened this word) are getting drifted away from their close pals. Friends are always a call away but sometimes you want to see them, if not remove the geographical barriers. Sometimes you want to have that Maggi or a Cup of coffee with your friends all together, though at different locations.

‘Hangout’ feature of Google+ gives that option. I have been on Google+ since it created 'buzz' among the masses. People are yet to embrace the site completely. Updates happen at a snail’s place. On last weekend, I was casually surfing and then I decided to try the 'hangout’ feature. Believe me, I jumped out of my seat with my experience of this standout feature – Hangout. I asked few of my friends to come online on G+ to try the feature. I invited four of them. Two couldn’t join due to some errors but the other two joined and Vollaaaa! 

I could see, chat and talk to them - all simultaneously. The multi-chat multi-video functionality is just awesome. I was trying other features also and to my surprise I could play video from youtube site, real time, all in one screen. Jitu signed in from US. He was doing some work at that time. Sarang joined from Mumbai, he was having his lunch and I was chatting with them, simultaneously answering my cell phone. I was delighted that I could see and chat with my close buddies, enjoy watching videos - all sitting at my cozy sofa at home. And yeah not to forget all this for free.

With the fight between Facebook and G+, the users are surely going to win. Some breakthrough technology is going to treat them. The technology which is going to value relationship, personal preference and comfort would move headway towards North.

fOoD fOr ThOuGhT: Friends are lifeline. A relation that gives meaning to life. With technology assisting us in staying connected with friends, I am sure Celebrating Friendship is going to be fun going forward!

Be careful, you might land in trouble!

I have been on orkut since 2004, own blog since 2007, on linkedin since 2008, On facebook since 2009 and on twitter since 2009. Things have changed drastically from the orkut days to the now twitter days. I joined orkut purely out of excitment. I really didnt know what it was. What profile meant, how to use scrap book, etc. Things like album, photo comments, tagging evolved with time. I primarily used orkut to increase my friends count, write testimonials and get more testimonials! Human beings! They want to hear good about themselves everytime, all the time.

Now things have drastically changed. People express themselves more often. The status messages and tweets are the in thing. "What's on your mind?" is new phenomenon! I doubt if people actually write whats on their mind when they are writing it. It is more to suit and appeal and make a statement within the community.

The point of focus here is the headline "Inappropriate messages on social sites could get you arrested, fired, or even divorced." The statement immediately caught my attention and I rather decided not to publish my post which was on the gundagiri happening in politics and precisely Maharashtra politics. Valentine's day is around the corner and yes politicians are all charging up, to express their love towards Archies and Hallmark outlets, the CCDs, the shopping malls and innocent couples.

India’s IT Act, notified in October 2009, make status messages and Tweets admissible as electronic evidence and the onus of the posts on these accounts now rests solely on users, say cyber lawyers. Most users are blissfully ignorant that whatever they write in public domain can be produced as a proof of copy. A printout or screen shot is all that is required. Hmmm, I need to be more politically correct now.

A Gurgaon IT profesional was arrested in 2008 for posting an obscene message against Congress president Sonia Gandhi on his Orkut account. UK-based Divorce-online said in Dec09 20% of all its divorce petitions contain references to Facebook status messages. Now I dont want to make a political statement by commenting on the message on Sonia Gandhi, but how do you justify it.

fOoD fOr ThOuGhT: On one hand, you say that it is a democratic country and there is "freedom of speech". And this freedom is extensively used by our politicians openly in the media and their newspapers but when comman man tries to use it, he is suppressed. Agreed that you should avoid provoking statements but the right to express should not be suppressed. You almost made me ignore my post from posting which was on politics. Any takers?