Today my partner got invited to Orkut. And it has raised some interesting questions in our blog-filled home.
Of all the first-generation social software knocking around web, Orkut has received the most flack. From Danah Boyd to Cory Doctorow, Orkut has been much maligned and bashed. But why?
I think the main flaw is that membership to Orkut is by invitation only.
Like the star-bellied Sneetches of Dr. Seuss?s short story, Orkut is dividing the blogosphere beach into two camps: those who are ?in? and those who are ?out?.
Invitation only clubs, like Orkut are, by their very nature, built upon an agreement of exlusivity. As long as everybody who is “in” agrees to believe in the value of being “in”, being “in” remains valuable. It all fails when people like anti-mega get “in” and offers to pass on an invitation to anyone who asks for it. When the door is jammed open, the agreement is broken and the party starts looking pretty stale.
What happens when everyone gets a star on their belly and can proudly claim membership to Orkut? Will not belonging Orkut be cool? Maybe not, but I?m sure its e-bay value will plummet.
I?m not writing off all social networks ? I can see their purpose. I?m LinkedIn and I think it?s a good service because it’s honest in what it’s about: networking for business creation (whether that?s selling art or selling homes.) I know the others have business possibilities, but they wrap it up in that “meet cool people, be cool people” hype, which is as juvenile as the software’s first-gen status.
Personally, I think my RSS feed is a great social software tool. I think Dave Pollard’s vision of the second-gen social software will operate closer to that model. In the short time I?ve been blogging, I?ve met some pretty interesting people and read some great writing via my blog. Already a few familiar names pop up in my comments box, and mine in theirs, and I feel a connection growing. Isn?t sharing ideas and contacts the essential goal of social software?
I?m very proud of my star-bellied Orkut partner and I don?t resent her invitation in the least. From the day I met her, I knew she was smart, sharp, cultured, activated, turned on, jacked in, linked up, kind, warm, fun, one of a kind and my favourite person on the planet. And her invitation to Orkut is not surprising.
With her signed up, Orkut doesn?t know how lucky it is.
Star-bellied or not, she?ll always be the heart of my social software. Hers is the only exclusive club to which I want to belong.