English: Orkut logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Social media site Orkut will soon be a thing of the past. Functioning for a decade, Orkut will officially close at the end of September 2014.
Last week, Google held a developer's conference but gave no hint of this news. Earlier rumors had circulated, however, about Google downsizing Google+. The rumors began when Senior Vice-president of Social Network, Vic Gundotra, left the company.
In his own blog, Google Engineering Director, Paulo Golgher, said that YouTube, Google+ and Blogger prospered over the past 10 years with web communities growing all over the world. They all fared better than Orkut, and so came the decision to cut Orkut.
Beginning in 2004, Orkut was the brainchild of Google's Orkut Buyukkokten. It stemmed from the "20% project," and it was popular in Brazil and in India. In 2012, though, Facebook surged ahead. One of the telltale signs of Orkut's demise was the fact that few people blogged about it in the months since September 2012.
While the site will cease most activity on September 30, pictures, data and community posts will continue for another 4 years until September 2016. Paulo Golgher says individuals who use Orkut can portage their data using a Google service called Takeout.
It is, however, not straight forward to move data from Orkut to Google+ because while users can put profiles on Google+, other Orkut data will not change over to Google+. Photos may be exported to Google+Photos. This should assure users that Google+ should stay around for quite a while.
In addition, the Orkut mobile app will no longer be available through Apple's App Store or from Google Play. The service will shut down in 3 months, but until then, people who have the Orkut app can use it.
Regarding games and Orkut, Google says people should communicate with the publishers of the games. Those games that are not on other websites will probably just disappear.
Another app for Android and iOS, Quickoffice, will also cease. This app helped individuals work with Excel spreadsheets, Word files and PowerPoint presentations on their smart phones and tablets.
Google Shutting Down Orkut After 10 Years