Reggae for autumn

Novelties and good news just keep coming on Orkut. We released a new theme upon the countless requests from those who are more than familiar with Bob Marley, who enjoy reggae music, and who knows, maybe even have dreads themselves. Another novelty is a theme for the autumn season, a time when nature puts on its own spectacular show. Now it's just about experimenting and enjoying these two new themes: reggae and autumn, perhaps to the sound of Roots, Rock and Reggae.

Posted by Koji Pereira, Google designer.

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Themes, now available in your community

With our eyes constantly on Orkut users, we've noticed that they love to customize their profiles. We are always trying to offer new and interesting themes since they are one of the most frequently requested options. We are happy to announce the introduction of theme options in communities.

If you are the owner of a community, you can now click on the "community themes" link and install a theme that best suits your community interface. Experiment with them and post your opinion on our forum!

Posted by Alberto Miranda, Google Engineer

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Here are your fans

Now you can tell your friends how you feel by using Orkut’s recently launched Vibes. We are happy to announce the return of a feature that was highly requested by long-time Orkut users. Yes, your fans are back and better than ever:

• It's easy to become somebody's fan, just go to the person’s profile and click on the star, it will change colors and you will be added to his/her fans list;
• Every time someone becomes your fan, there will be an update on Orkut where your friends can comment on and enjoy;
• Older fans will automatically appear in this updated version, in other words, your fan club can only grow!

Posted by Koji Pereira, Google Designer.

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International Women’s Day

The creation of a specific date to recognize women started in the context of the Industrial Revolution and World War I, period when the female labor was introduced to the industrial field. The harsh and dangerous work conditions were frequently questioned by feminists groups aiming for equal rights.

The biggest and most important manifest was held in Russia when women went out on the streets to demand equality. Their action got traction and got stronger, and ended up anticipating the Russian Revolution in March 8th,1917.

On December of 1977 the International Women’s Day was made official by the United Nations in order to remember the feminine importance in the society, politics and economy.

To celebrate this amazing history, we created a doodle that represents the diversity and the worldwide importance of women from all countries and ethnics. They fought for and conquered fundamental changes for the world as we know it today. Congratulations to all women!

Posted by Maíra Nascimento, Google Engineer

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What is your Vibe?

Do you know that Orkut friend who you always wanted to show how cool you think he is? Now in Orkut you have 11 different ways to show how you feel about a person. To express your Vibe for someone, access your friend’s profile and click “Vibe?” in the left sidebar, under his/her photo. Every time you want to check what they think about you or about your friends, click on the number beside the “Vibe?” link (it will only appear if there is at least one Vibe).

Vibe is how you see a person. If your perception ever change, you will be able to change the Vibe you set for your friends whenever you want. Vibes received by your friends create activities in your home page so you always know about the different Vibes that are happening around you.

Oh, you can set a Vibe for yourself too so you tell your friends your today’s mood :)

Posted by Hermes Freitas, Google Engineer

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