Ork(AP)ut!
Scrap Back. Keep Scrappin. Scrap and lemme know. Buzz words that seem to have swarmed the world wide web. And how. Orkut has arrived. And from the looks of it, it's here to stay. So now, more and more people will spend hours and hours in front of the computer screen surfing the internet looking for old "friends" as they scout friend network after network, community after community writing "scraps". How thoughtful, isn't it that those words you leave behind are called "scraps".(Waste? Anyone?). I might come across as cynical :) which is what you are probably thinking as you read this (and I am to some extent), but I believe my conclusions are more an outcome of logical reasoning than just pure skepticism.
Man is a social animal,and in your lifespan you probably end up 'meeting' at least ten thousand people (could include your sweeper, pizza delivery guy, daily bus travel dude / dudette, someone you met at a college festival,). You end up making somewhere around 1000 to 2000 aquaintences (that would include your batch at School, Junior College, Graduation and Post Graduation, the people on your floor at work, etc). You have say a hundred friends (your 'groups' in School, Junior College, Graduation, Coaching Classes,etc.). And then maybe you'll have around 10, maybe 20, maybe 30 really close friends (the people whom you think you can call at midnight if you were in a soup).
Now, I believe that the people who fall in the last category, you would anyways call or be in touch with over mail on a regular basis. The people who fall in the third category, you would meet online, exchange pleasantries on chat, mail if something of importance comes up, etc. The second category you would bump into at alumni meets, or if you happen to be in the same sphere of work then a freak meeting is somewhere in store. Would you really want a regular update on what each one is doing, how much each one is earning. The occasional bumping into is just fine I say. How much difference would regular knowing about this lot make to your life anyway? And with respect to the first category, I'm sure you wouldn't exchange more than a half smile when you see them a second or a third time.
Nothing will ever change with your really close friends. But now that Orkut is here, the other three categories are going to see some flux. You will start helloing these people with warm smileys, curiously enquire about who is doing what and where and gossip about the relationship status of every Tom,Dick and Harry you ever saw. Nothing makes juicier talk than who was with whom for how long and why they aren't together anymore. Does it? I do not mean to and will never disrespect anyone in the third category. But with regards to the aquaintences and the 'meet' variety, ask me one question thats out of bounds and you'll surely get a WTF from me. In an age when we know for a fact that more than 90% (or is it more than that?) of all information that we process everyday is virtually useless, why add to the garbage dump in our heads? Would you rather not read a book, or for that matter go meet (for real! not a virtual meeting!!) a friend who really matters or do something nice for your mom!! But NO. Its time to go orkutting is what the world on the internet seems to be saying.
The communities are probably the biggest positive (and the biggest negative at the same time) that Orkut offers. I say so from a purely professional/meaningful perspective. Like minded people can have forums to discuss problems and get solutions. Math freaks can share problems with other Math geniuses, Designers can discuss photoshop and corel problems and get help from someone in the community who is experienced and has an answer that you might not have and so on. At the same time these communities can be and are misused by a number of anti-social elements out there. Racist communities are established, communities are established for nation bashing, hate communities are established against individuals or groups and none of these are EVER going to do any good to society.
Maybe if this were started and run as a pure business network, Or at least if people happened to use it with a little more restraint, Or if people had the sense and the etiquette to know whom to ask what, then I would see some sense to it. And despite all the stuff that I've written above, I AM on orkut, with the hope that it will someday serve some purpose that shall make a difference in my professional or personal life. That an orkut 'connection' somehwere either helps crack a business deal or maybe help get someone from a matching blood group for a relative/friend in need. ( I'm an optimist at heart you see. A cynic is what the world has made me :-) )
For now though, I'll just stay put. And if my belief changes over time (i.e when the cynic in me beats the crap out of the optimist in me), then it shall be time to go Ork(AP)ut!!
Man is a social animal,and in your lifespan you probably end up 'meeting' at least ten thousand people (could include your sweeper, pizza delivery guy, daily bus travel dude / dudette, someone you met at a college festival,). You end up making somewhere around 1000 to 2000 aquaintences (that would include your batch at School, Junior College, Graduation and Post Graduation, the people on your floor at work, etc). You have say a hundred friends (your 'groups' in School, Junior College, Graduation, Coaching Classes,etc.). And then maybe you'll have around 10, maybe 20, maybe 30 really close friends (the people whom you think you can call at midnight if you were in a soup).
Now, I believe that the people who fall in the last category, you would anyways call or be in touch with over mail on a regular basis. The people who fall in the third category, you would meet online, exchange pleasantries on chat, mail if something of importance comes up, etc. The second category you would bump into at alumni meets, or if you happen to be in the same sphere of work then a freak meeting is somewhere in store. Would you really want a regular update on what each one is doing, how much each one is earning. The occasional bumping into is just fine I say. How much difference would regular knowing about this lot make to your life anyway? And with respect to the first category, I'm sure you wouldn't exchange more than a half smile when you see them a second or a third time.
Nothing will ever change with your really close friends. But now that Orkut is here, the other three categories are going to see some flux. You will start helloing these people with warm smileys, curiously enquire about who is doing what and where and gossip about the relationship status of every Tom,Dick and Harry you ever saw. Nothing makes juicier talk than who was with whom for how long and why they aren't together anymore. Does it? I do not mean to and will never disrespect anyone in the third category. But with regards to the aquaintences and the 'meet' variety, ask me one question thats out of bounds and you'll surely get a WTF from me. In an age when we know for a fact that more than 90% (or is it more than that?) of all information that we process everyday is virtually useless, why add to the garbage dump in our heads? Would you rather not read a book, or for that matter go meet (for real! not a virtual meeting!!) a friend who really matters or do something nice for your mom!! But NO. Its time to go orkutting is what the world on the internet seems to be saying.
The communities are probably the biggest positive (and the biggest negative at the same time) that Orkut offers. I say so from a purely professional/meaningful perspective. Like minded people can have forums to discuss problems and get solutions. Math freaks can share problems with other Math geniuses, Designers can discuss photoshop and corel problems and get help from someone in the community who is experienced and has an answer that you might not have and so on. At the same time these communities can be and are misused by a number of anti-social elements out there. Racist communities are established, communities are established for nation bashing, hate communities are established against individuals or groups and none of these are EVER going to do any good to society.
Maybe if this were started and run as a pure business network, Or at least if people happened to use it with a little more restraint, Or if people had the sense and the etiquette to know whom to ask what, then I would see some sense to it. And despite all the stuff that I've written above, I AM on orkut, with the hope that it will someday serve some purpose that shall make a difference in my professional or personal life. That an orkut 'connection' somehwere either helps crack a business deal or maybe help get someone from a matching blood group for a relative/friend in need. ( I'm an optimist at heart you see. A cynic is what the world has made me :-) )
For now though, I'll just stay put. And if my belief changes over time (i.e when the cynic in me beats the crap out of the optimist in me), then it shall be time to go Ork(AP)ut!!
posted by Anand at 6:30 AM
2 Comments:
Ahh dude...
The 'scraps' irritate the living whatever out of me too. If you wanna chat, use freaking MSN. What sense does this make?!! If somebody leaves you a scrap, you are supposed to leave back a scrap in 'their' scrapbook. Which does wonders for relating replies to original 'scraps'. Brilliant. Orkut is primarily used btw, to get acquainted with chicks it seems. Cos you couldn't get around to doing that in real life..
A good point, Andy. orkut was meant for social networking (which is blather for keeping in touch with friends).. and more importantly to ensure that google has a foot in this sphere of the WWW. In the long run, they have a profile of everyone of us on orkut - connected to that damned Google account id.. you can see where this is going.
Otherwise, you're pretty right. I've found a lot of people from waaaay back; its always good to be in touch - you never know when someone is going to be CEO :P
Sadly though, orkut is ending up to be a great place for stalkers to find chicks.. you'd be surprised at some of the stuff I've seen happening !
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