Introducing the new version of orkut: fun new features, faster browsing, the same great friends

Today is a very special day for the orkut team (and hopefully for you as well). After months of hard work, we are thrilled to announce the launch of a brand spanking new version of orkut. We've been listening carefully to all of the feedback that you've so diligently left us and have rebuilt the site from the bottom up using the Google Web Toolkit (GWT). Doing so has allowed us to create a faster, richer and more intuitive experience for you and continue to increase our pace of innovation. With the new version of orkut you'll find:

• Fewer pages, faster browsing: We've concentrated orkut's principal actions onto your homepage, making it a one-stop-shop for nearly everything that you'd like to do. Now you can chat, watch videos, and browse and search within your full friends and communities lists without ever having to open a new page. See a photo, video, or status message in your activity stream that you'd like to comment on? Just start typing away. After all, fewer pages and a GWT interface mean less time waiting for things to load and more time doing what really matters– hanging out with your friends!

• A clean, simple interface: We've reorganized the most important activites on orkut so that they are easy to find and even easier to use. Look out for larger pictures, easier to access notifications, targeted friend suggestions, and key updates closer to the top of your homepage. Now you can even use your friends' profile pages to keep up with their most recent activities and leave them scraps.
  

• Greater personalization: Make your orkut profile and homepage truly your own by choosing the color that best fits your style. Have a personality that's too unique to be captured by words? We've also made it possible for you to customize your "about me" section, adding video, OpenSocial applications and much more to your array of options.
  

• And much, much more: This is just a taste of all the new things you'll find on orkut. Learn more about all of the different features you'll find on the new interface by visiting this page on the orkut Help Center.
  

Excited about the new version of the site? Then you'll also be excited to know that we're returning to orkut's roots and granting access to it via invitations. Starting today, there are two ways to get invites:

1. Join Poppy and Shashi on the official community (www.orkut.co.in/neworkut) for insights into the new version of orkut and participate in one of the many activities that will be taking place there. Be sure to check back often as the owners will be regularly announcing new ways to get access.
2. Find a friend who's already using the new version of orkut and ask for an invite. You can see who's already gotten access via your activity stream or by this icon that will appear on your friends' profile pages, next to their names.

We'd like to think of this as the beginning of a new evolution for orkut, so please stay posted for even more improvements coming in the near future. If you'd like to leave us a comment just visit the orkut Help Forum.

Hope to see you on the new version of orkut soon!

Posted by the whole orkut team

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Update your browser and stay safe

The orkut team is constantly working to keep orkut a fun and safe place for everyone. We've previously posted some tips on staying secure on orkut — if you haven't seen them yet, take a look! — but I want to share one more security tip with you: this one is about browsers. 

Your Internet browser is one of the most important software programs on your computer because every website you visit runs through it. Right now you're using a browser to read this blog post, just as you use it to access orkut or any other site on the Internet. 

Orkut itself is fully supported by the latest versions of three major browsers: Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and Internet Explorer. For the best experience, you should always access orkut via one of these browsers.

Although most people on orkut do use one of those browsers, not everyone remembers to frequently update their browser versions. This means that many people may be using an older version of Firefox or Internet Explorer. Old browsers are not only slower and sometimes prone to crashing, but they're also unsafe because they lack the latest security features and bug fixes that are included in newer updates. 

So, if you want to stay safe, remember to update your browser to the latest version. It's free, and it only takes a few minutes! The good news is that if you use Google Chrome, you're already up-to-date — Google Chrome automatically installs the newest version when it becomes available. 

To try Google's web browser, click to download Google Chrome. You can also download the latest version of Mozilla Firefox or Internet Explorer 8 optimized for Google.

Browse safely, folks!

Posted by Ariel, orkut operations team

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Keep your finger on the pulse of orkut with www.orkutheroes.com

With it's tens of millions of active users and innumerable communities and Open Social applications, it can sometimes be tough to stay on top of everything that's happening on orkut. While we do our best to keep you posted via the official orkut blog, there are lots of other great resources out there dedicated to exactly that purpose. Today we'd like to highlight orkutheroes.com, a site focused on honoring those users who are helping to bring people together on orkut by creating interesting, creative communities and providing useful information to others. Founded and maintained by Zaheer Abbas (known as Zazo), and Tara, orkutheroes.com offers a tremendous amount of content, including interviews, tips and updates about what's new, reviews of blogs maintained by orkut users, and orkut related graphics and posters.

In just a few minutes of browsing the site I've found everything from an article on a Reiki Grand Master who uses her 15 orkut communities to attempt to heal and educate people about her craft to a peek into the lives of four people who use orkut to share memory exercises and math tricks.

If you're ever looking for a quick diversion, take a few moments to see what quirky, surprising and informative new tidbits the orkutheroes team has posted (like this interview of Sameep Kulkarni, a budding 'software sitarist').

Know of another great resource for people looking to learn more about orkut? Stop by the orkut Help Forum and let us know– you might see it appear on the official orkut blog!

Posted by Swati Rai, operations team

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Break out the fireworks and sweets: Diwali 2009 has arrived!

It's time to turn on the lights, paint the house with fresh colors, wear new clothes and gather with family and friends to share in the festive cheer. Diwali is one of the largest holidays in India and has a simple and very important meaning: celebrate the victory of good over evil, light over darkness and knowledge over ignorance. 

The Diwali fever is upon us, and orkut certainly hasn't been left out of the fun. Communities are doing everything from pushing for a 'pollution free Diwali' to voting on their favorite websites for sending Diwali greetings. Check out the I love Diwali community's active polls on people's favorite things about the holiday (right now, 'crackers' is topping the list with 27% of votes, but it's closely followed by 'holidays', 'new clothes', and 'sweets'). 

A number of Open Social applications have also popped up to celebrate, like the Diwali Wish app. With it, you can create a wishlist of things you'd like this Diwali and see what your friends are hoping for as well. If you want to send special Diwali greeting cards or scraps, you can also try applications like Kaamana- Greetings for U and Fun Scraps.

If you haven't seen it already, take a look at the special Diwali logo we designed to brighten the festive season... Happy Diwali :-) 

Posted by Shaon Roy Chowdhury, orkut operations team 

UPDATE: Beginning with this year's Diwali celebration, the orkut team will be doing special doodles and posts to commemorate festive dates around the world. Keep your eyes peeled for the next one!

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