Skin updates in Activity Streams

With all of the new orkut skins that we've launched recently, we recognize that trying to keep up with the latest additions can be a little overwhelming. To help make sure that none of you have to worry about missing out on a skin that you might like to add, we've decided to add skin updates to your activity streams.

Now you should start seeing updates whenever your friends change the background of their profiles. If you want to check out the skin that they're using, just click on your friend's name. As always, whenever you feel inspired to change the look of your own orkut profile (whether it is to one of the skins your friend is using or any of the others available), just click on the 'change skins' link in your orkut header.

Posted by Rafael, Software Engineer.

[UPDATE: All of you guys in India can feel free to start using this feature right away. Everyone else should keep an eye out for this the next time we launch a skin on orkut. We hope you enjoy it!]

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Introducing inline photo comments in your activity streams

Reading the latest comments on your friend's photos in your activity stream, but not sure how to reply? We've just made this easier for you do by letting you make comments directly in your activity stream.

Now, whenever a friend's comment on a photo pops up in your activity stream, you can quickly reply by simply selecting "add comment." Hope this helps keep the comments flowing!

Posted by Robson, Software Engineer.

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Never miss a birthday again with orkut birthdays on Google Calendar

Upcoming Birthdays is one of the most popular features we've added to orkut, but we recognize that it doesn't always give you all the information you need. It's great to know about birthdays coming up in the next couple weeks, but sometimes it's also important to see the birthdays that have already passed and the ones coming further down the line.

Now, in conjunction with Google Calendar, you can see all of your orkut friend's birthdays for the whole year.

If you've already used Google Calendar before, you will shortly see a link (right below the "upcoming birthdays" section) where you can add your orkut friends' birthdays to your Google calendar.



Once you've added your orkut birthday calendar to Google Calendar, you can navigate forward and backwards through time to see whose birthday is coming up and any birthdays you might have missed.



Just be sure to pay extra attention to your friends with birthdays on holidays on weekends- they tend not to get as many 'happy birthday' scraps as everyone else :-(.

Not using Google Calendar yet? Check out the Google Calendar website to learn more about what it offers and to get started.

Posted by Scott Kirkwood, Software Engineer.

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Happy Holi on orkut!

Whoa, I just got hit by a handful of blue powder and a water balloon! This can only mean one thing- it must be time for this year's Holi festival.

For those of you who don't know, Holi, also known as the Festival of Colors, is one of the most popular (and most fun, in my unbiased opinion), festivals in India. On Holi Eve, the night before the festival begins, friends and family get together to light bonfires which represent the destruction of everything evil.

Things really start to get exciting on the day of Holi itself. Today, people all across India (as well as Suriname, Guyana, Trinidad, Nepal and even the UK), are celebrating by playfully throwing colorful liquids and powders at their friends and loved ones.

While there are few things better than spraying a good friend with brightly colored water, sometimes you can't always see all of your friends in person during Holi. That's where orkut comes in! Now you can use the Superscrap or the Fun Scraps applications to splash some color onto the scrapbooks of all of your friends, no matter where they are.

If you want some more info about the Holi festival itself, or want to chat with other Holi enthusiasts, visit this Holi community.

We've even made sure to include the orkut logo in these Holi festivities. Check out this year's Holi doodle:



For those of you who are celebrating, we hope you have a happy Holi!

Posted by Rahul Kulkarni, Product Manager.

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New orkut Help Forum

The orkut Help Forum has long served as a hub for all of you who want to share your opinions, experiences and challenges. We've always counted on the help of those of you who have been vocal about orkut and willing to share your "orkutise". People like the orkuteers helped shape our forum into a one-stop shop for questions, suggestions, bug reporting, tips and tricks.

To improve this channel and streamline communication, the orkut Help Forum has been recently converted into a new platform that shortens the trail between questions and answers and rewards useful and helpful participation.

Here are some of the features you'll find in the new orkut Help Forum:

• The option to add references to your answers, such as Help Center articles, web pages, pictures or YouTube videos
• Seamless access to Help Center pages
• Improved search results, including posts from the old and the new forum
• Recognition of helpful members as "Top Contributors"
• An automated reputation and ranking system
• The ability to mark questions as answered
  

You're welcome to stop by our forum anytime. Google employees will continue to check in from time to time, but first and foremost, this is the place for you all to help one another.

We hope you enjoy it!

Posted by Vitória, orkut Guide

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