Desi Orkut Fever

I am addicted to net surfing for last 10 years or so. Two years back somehow I got invitation from my friend to join Orkut. Initially I joined it just to find my old school friends but slowly I start using Orkut regularly. I am sure you've been invited by someone to Orkut, and if you have not yet, believe me, it's going to happen soon!

After being launched quietly in late January 2004, orkut managed to rack up over 2 million members in about 10 months. I don’t have info on latest statistics but from what I see and conclude the membership has gone into orbit!

Here are some characteristics that I found at majority of the desi Orkut profiles (note: - you would understand and relate to the following stuff much better if you have been to Orkut before)

• Profile Status: - You have to tell about your status in your profile name. For instance, I am on vacation so my profile name becomes “Prabodh-in-Goa” or if you got placed at Infosys your profile name becomes “Got-job@Infy....Yippeeee” Luckily, I never saw a profile with “I-went-to-loooooooooooooo”.

• Photo Album:- Your photo album has to have a minimum of 6 pictures:- one depicting your graduation so that people know you are educated; one showing you in western clothes at a dance bar or pub (which shows the western side of you, the “modern” you); one with you wearing traditional clothes at some temple you visited so that people know you still have some of Indian-ness somewhere inside you, one with a large group of the same gender (which shows that you are extrovert and get along with people really well), one with somebody of the opposite gender (so that people get an impression that you are.. you know.. straight), and last but not the least the one with Firang around you (which certifies that you are indeed in USA). If you don’t believe me, check any random desi profile, and let me know.

• By mistake, Orkut has a section asking you about your favorite movies, or how your perfect date should be… and people keep going on and on till their keyboards break down or Orkut’s servers crash.

• There are more communities on Orkut than the number of trees all over the earth. There are diverse communities ranging from “I love Kareena Kapoor ” to “I hate Ekta Kapoor”, from “Pappu pass ho gaya ” (its there.. true) to “Kokanastha Brahmins with 4 eyes, curly hair and a Master’s degree staying at Sinhagad Road”. You name it, they have it. Ok, the last one was made up. But hey, I could create one!

• Scrapbook: Graham Bell would have committed suicide if he was alive today. People communicate via a scrapbook mechanism instead of using phone, IM or E-mail. Somebody calls me and says, “dude, I left a scrapbook entry but you didn’t respond?”. If you are curious as to how I reacted, please send me a scrap @ Orkut.

• Orkut has another section where they ask you about your my ideal match. I was laughing at after reading one profile which says: Decent looking (I mean presentable) woman. It would be nice if she is a little funny. She needn’t be extremely polite and respectful. Just that she should love ONLY ME.

On a serious note, the things I mentioned above are true. I have been noticing the influence of online (virtual) life over the real life (in a social context). It is interesting. Any thoughts?

With member profiles that range from the cool ones to the socially awkward; to the grammatically impaired; to the overtly religious to ones who can’t talk about anything but their genitals.

Although, I do think a large number is just out there to find friends and maintain existing relationships in virtuality. Yet there’s something addictive about it. An urge to know if you have been “scrapped” or your profile been viewed. An urge to seek connection. An urge to be accepted.

The virtual world does have a fantastic appeal. We are interested in updating our profiles with every mood swing, every betrayed emotion and every change in our life.
And there are many that prefer the online interaction to the normal physical interaction in the real world. The potential of this virtual world is just that it can boost you confidence to a great extend. You can’t kiss someone you like but there is so much you can do within the virtual boundaries!
This is why I feel that while these online sites transcend time and geographical boundaries, they seem to tie us down to computer terminals. Our leisure activities now include staring into our computer screens, instead of the old-fashioned hanging out with people in the offline world.
With the hundreds of online friends that we boast of, how many do we go to when we are sick or stressed? With whom do we share our joys and sorrows? Isn’t that what friendship is all about?
In the name of social networking... are we just drifting apart?