Orkut’s New Look – That’s Right Move On Right Time (developing story)

by zazo on October 29, 2009

orkut11 copy

OrkutPlus.com posted “Rumor- Is Orkut Working on New Interface” few days before….No Its not a rumor! WooHoo!! It true, Orkut’s official blog announced it and I am among the few lucky people on orkut who got official invitation to check out the new orkut interface which is improved, fast, classy and added with more interesting features than before. I was missing this from long and finally they (orkut developers) did it!

Let’s start a review of this new and fresh look of orkut.com

First thing to notice is that recent visitor’s thumbnail photos instead of their names, the other best thing is latest notification or status like facebook which you can post on your profile homepage and expect comments from your friends. The other feature is changing the color of your profile with 5 different color options.

1 copy

Going down you will notice orkut friend suggests, hey where are your three profiles? Professional, Personal and general? General profile is on home page but if you are searching for the other two than just see the corner of the profile bar and click more, there you will get your additional profile information, testimonials, fans etc . Then comes Birthday and at last updates of your friends and your notifications.

2 copy

Now on the right side of your profile where you can see your friends, all friends in one just by scrolling that block, same with the communities.

3 copy4th copy

In Addition to all this, if you are a community owner/moderator and you have some 10-20 members waiting to approve than you now don’t need to approve or reject them one by one, you will get notice in your homepage and just approve all members or reject them easily and fast.

How Application page looks like

Application page on new orkut

Application page on new orkut

In communities, I didn’t notice any big change, forums and threads look same.

Again a quick review of my new orkut profile:

  • Manage All friends from homepage
  • Manage all communities from homepage
  • Except or reject community membership request from Homepage
  • Feeds from friends on Homepage
  • Friend’s suggestions
  • Instant Notifications

The change was always needed and highly expected by orkut users, I welcome this great change and I hope that when this new version will be announced publicly every orkut user will be happy. After all, this is the biggest upgraded version of orkut since its launch in 2004.

More Interesting Stories

{ 48 comments }

srivathsan.GK October 29, 2009 at 7:40 pm

Wow .. amazing .. few days back on chrome homepage I saw this new feature screenshot .. but Now its Live .. waiting .. still no updates to my profile ..

Divyansh October 29, 2009 at 7:44 pm

can i request you to put up, bigger and more detailed screenshots ?

being a developer, getting to the bottom of this is very critical for me

zazo October 29, 2009 at 8:00 pm

Divyansh I am doing that

zazo October 29, 2009 at 8:03 pm

I think I am the lucky one to get invitation for using this new interface, I am enjoying till now.Srivathsan, you will get soon too.

Gabriel Barros October 29, 2009 at 11:01 pm

new orkut should be very cool !
i can’t wait to try this !

oh my god !!!

Divyansh October 29, 2009 at 11:32 pm

REQUEST: can we see what ‘using an application’ looks like ?
as in, how much area do they get, any change ?

REQUEST 2: can we see how applications look on profile ?

zazo October 29, 2009 at 11:50 pm

Though I posted screen shot of application page but I think there is no need to panic, all will get this at once.

Igor Fernando October 30, 2009 at 12:40 am

Hey guys… help me to enjoy in the new orkut, give me a invite please!!!

my email is igorfernandomaster@gmail.com

Devdeep Ahuja October 30, 2009 at 1:35 am

Zazo Bhai,

A very nice work in doing this review and thanks for the invitation.
I feel there are some really cool features, like the updates features, with comments, similar to facebook..

Being able to see all the communities and friends on one page and also to approve memberships for all communites from home page is great idea as well.

But I think putting in all the google’s link on top is not a great idea, it takes away the face value. And not being able to remove the friends suggestion is another feature, I would rather not have.. that too in the middle of page..

But overall, better usability and some very nice features… hope this moves from beta to stable version soon..

Luciana October 30, 2009 at 7:38 am

Excellent, I look forward to begin using it!

zazo October 30, 2009 at 9:22 am

@Devdeep,
I agree with you that the friend suggestions option should be optional but I think they didnt find any other useful thing to cover that space :)

The more disappointment is for community owners and moderators because for them this package has no gifts :( except approving and denying community registration from home page. Orkut should make changes in community forums interface and more easy moderation.

If you ask me what did I hate in new orkut, then its that google’s link on top of the page, its unacceptable and very confusing. They should put them to the bottom of the page.

Lazaros October 30, 2009 at 4:48 pm

Hey…
thanks for the invite and well… the new UI is very similar to facebook , a little bit faster to reply scraps and commnts, although I got confused in the first steps on the new orkut… actually i got a little desapointed, i wold expect more from google …

abhishek tiwari October 30, 2009 at 7:29 pm

hiyaaa,
thanks ZAZO BHAIJAN fr inviting me to new orkut and review was awsum…..
loved the new look hope they will make few more changes and make the look more rocking…..

thanks tc…

William October 30, 2009 at 8:35 pm

nice! can i have a invitation? nemetz at linuxmail dot org

Devdeep Ahuja October 31, 2009 at 12:09 am

Another big negative in the new Orkut is that the communities will not be listed according to recent activity, so if you are a member of 100 communities, it will be difficult to keep track…

When we add friends, it was possible to put them in a group, but in new Orkut, it is not possible… that makes it less cool… than i initially thought it was…

zazo October 31, 2009 at 9:40 am

@Devdeep
Regarding the community listing according to the activity is still there, just click the “manage” link near your community window on your home or profile page and it will take you to same old community list.

Regarding the friend’s group, again you need to click “manage” near your friend’s section. Yes, you cannot put new friends in any group while adding and that’s not fine.

After using new orkut for more than 48 hours I realized that there are many things left or ignored by orkut staff. They probably focused on on 2 pages, that is profile and home. Rest, its ok but not very good.

sumit October 31, 2009 at 6:13 pm

heyyyyyyyyy me 2 cant wait………………..i love orkut ……………plzzzzzzzzzz send me an invitation……………………….waitin……..

sumit October 31, 2009 at 6:16 pm

nd mah orkut id is sumit.rinku73@gmail.com ……………….plzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz……………………….waitin

Arun Vijay October 31, 2009 at 7:43 pm

can u plz invite me?? arunnvijay@gmail.com plzz!!

Gustavo Scussel November 1, 2009 at 3:46 am

The first impression that you take, it’s actually good. You immediatly associates this with the new enthusiasm to pass your time there. But after a few clicks, you may be get a little bit confused with the new interface. But is just a question of time.
The new layout is very suggestive, and friendly, by the way. A lot of new things turned default now, like the friends updates. If you are like me and don’t like to see them all the time, you just need to click on the “minus”, and this region will be minimized to a single line. And you can do that with testimonials as well on the first page. After minimize what you want, you will have a more clear page.
The resource of “quick find” is still working. While you are typing the name of the friend you are looking for, the list will begin to taper the number of friends, until the one you want is there. And on this list, you can scroll them down and see all your friends, like Zazo mentioned here as well.
Anyway, a good number of features will only get more interesting when everybody join the new Orkut too. While this doesn’t happen, you will be amazed by the speed and simplicity that the new Orkut offers at the same time that he can even turn complex.

But, I had one single problem until now. The creation of album and consecutively, the upload of yours photos, doesn’t worked properly well on both my computers. One with Linux and Firefox 3, the other with Windows and IE 8. The box show up, you choose your files, but they never are really uploaded. This can be only with me now, but it really disappointed me. I hope that somebody tell me with this is only happening with me. :P

In short, the new experience will be great to everyone like was to me. The new Orkut is clean, fast and totally remodeled and packed with new features. Worth try it! ;)

Neelam SIngh November 1, 2009 at 10:42 am

Orkut has given this trial version to most of the famous and regularly visited profile on orkut. all me 3 owner profile has managed to get new orkut and 30 invitations. i have gifted 20/30 invitations to the moderators of “Neelam’s community” as a another unique feature no discussed by zazo “accept members from home page” will really help them a lot.

Reffer This : http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_xb_ZdGlsv1s/Su0Wc_yVGMI/AAAAAAAAALQ/cLDIZKkINJ0/s1600-h/1.jpg

I have dedicated Largest “I Love My Name” Community To New Orkut and these remaining 10 invitations will be gifted to winners of various contest being conducted by Team ;)

Thanks ZAZO for the snapshots
people who dont have new orkut can see these and get then self ready for new orkut access =)

Chandra November 1, 2009 at 1:46 pm

Nice review.

This new interface is certainly better than the old one. The usability is improved. Scrolling friends list and community list is very useful.

But I think there is still scope for improvement.

Vikas November 1, 2009 at 1:56 pm

Orkut new look is a significant step forward in right direction though I disagree that it came at right time…this should have happened a year ago when Web 2.0 emerged …now when most websites are following this standard and browsing speed is no more novelty factor…it looks like catchup effort…though it still indicates that orkut is not abandoned by Google and it still fits somewhere is larger scheme of things
here are my specific observations on new look

- definitely more user friendly though still poorly designed (ads r obtrusive, less appealing looks, friend dp, general info is taking lot of prime space of profile (this is good for first look on profile but not worth first thing to notice everytime
- no new features for users or community owners
- miss the old interface which used to show general, professional and personal information links on top

some suggestions:
- friends & community lists can be shown at one place using tabs
- would love to have scrap search or some sort of easy browsing of old scraps

vinay November 1, 2009 at 4:44 pm

Hi Zazo Bhai !

I’am Very Excited to See this New Look Of Orkut.I’ve Thinking That Orkut Should Devolop Its Status Bar Just like the Faceboo One…I’am Happy That In This New Package We Got It !

*The Recent Visitor Thumnails is also a good Idea…It improves Its look…But Orkut Say Its Faster than its Older version…Is it Zazo Bhai ? But it does look like that after seeeing All The High Graphic conten !

*There is Not Need of scrolling The Entire friends and communities list in the home page itself…. What say ?

*The Style Looks Amazing as you say…Iam Eager to See it Though

*Yep I agree with you…they(orkut Team) Could Have Have made Some Remarkable Changes In Communities…Hope They Hear This :)

Anyhow…I would be Happy If You Invite Me To The New Orkut Zazo Bhai !

Email – lowhithameister@gmail.com
username – vinay24k (search without spaces)

Thanks For The Info Zazo Bhai !

rocky November 1, 2009 at 10:11 pm

invitaion plzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz plzzzz plzzzzzz
dying hard for it…

praveen November 1, 2009 at 11:21 pm

hey
this new orkut is really cool
cant wait to get my hands on it

plz send me a invite
on
akonrocker@gmail.com
or
akon_Rocker@yahoo.co.in

Vikas November 2, 2009 at 2:08 pm

Join this community to automatically get new interface (without invitation)

http://www.orkut.co.in/Main#Community.aspx?cmm=95114051

farhan November 2, 2009 at 2:41 pm

can i use this new version of orkut how

Gabriel Barros November 2, 2009 at 8:45 pm

I think this new version is very different, and a little bit more difficult to use, maybe because you have to get used to it.

There is no change in navegation speed, just for uploading photos.

And so far I didn’t received invitations to distribute to my friends.

Gabriel Barros November 2, 2009 at 8:51 pm

But I liked it very much, the new look is really cool.

You have the option to change color, that makes the profile more personal!

Muzammil November 3, 2009 at 3:42 pm

muzzo100@gmail.com

send me invitation or new orkut thank you

atulkumar November 4, 2009 at 8:27 am

please send me new orkut invitation ……………..

zazo November 4, 2009 at 8:33 am

Those who requested for new orkut invite, I want to request you all that don't disclose your email id while commenting. Orkut invite is limited and its impossible to give everyone so understand this problem and wait for orkut to announce it “open for all”

arun November 5, 2009 at 11:33 pm

dear frnd. am waiting for the new wave .. could u pls send invitation to my orkut profile..http://www.orkut.co.in/Main#Profile?uid=5908392018523046190&rl=t

Himanshu November 6, 2009 at 9:05 am

plz send me the invitation for new orkut

saurin November 6, 2009 at 10:45 pm

hey i have new verson but how can i invite my frnd..
n how can i put new orkut in ma other id??

pls mail me..

arun November 6, 2009 at 10:57 pm

here u can check out to invite a new frnds if u hav NEW orkut version..

r4 card November 7, 2009 at 12:53 am

Hi,
I am currently using orkut and facebook i always choose orkut as my regular usage..
Because orkut was really nice social site and this article giving me info about orkut so i really like it..

rihsi November 9, 2009 at 3:17 am

am currently using orkut and facebook i always choose orkut as my regular usage..
Because orkut was really nice social site and this article giving me info about orkut so i really like it..

rishi November 9, 2009 at 3:18 am

we wnanaa old orkut nothin new its so diffcult i i really dont knw how 2 create old 2 new orkut version

-= destiny =- November 9, 2009 at 7:17 am

i would like to use d new orkut interface……..but i dont know how to get it……can anyone help me plz…

gokulcorner November 9, 2009 at 7:50 am

hey dude send me one invitation plz
my scrap address is :http://www.orkut.co.in/Main#Profile?uid=12246834531203450420&origin=fsp&fsc=3&sei=CiQIABIUMTIyNDY4MzQ1MzEyMDM0NTA0MjAY_-2iJSD0-bzJzSQSIDZkZDY2NzU0NDIzNTFjZmE2OTJmMmYwOWVlNjliNDBi

kriss November 9, 2009 at 12:06 pm

can any1 send me an invitation plzzz …………my id is kris.prince.luv@gmail.com

zazo November 9, 2009 at 2:28 pm

check http://www.orkutplus.net, there is a new orkut giveaway going on, you will get invite there, for sure.

rishi November 10, 2009 at 5:52 am

hie new orkut version plz send me link of new vwesion

mah id is rishi_kumar666@rediffmail.com

ishan_banga November 11, 2009 at 1:07 pm

new orkut is cool…
if anybodys is left for orkut invitation can contact me at
http://www.orkut.com/Profile?uid=84524206922021...

MR X December 10, 2009 at 8:08 am

IF ANYONE OF U WANT INVITES TO “NEW ORKUT”.SEND A FRIEND REQUEST TO :
->>> http://www.orkut.co.in/Main#Profile?uid=4010400...
and
->>> http://www.orkut.co.in/Main#Profile?uid=1044287...
AND I M AT UR SERVICE!!!!!!
U WILL GET INVITE WITHIN 24 hours (GUARANTEED) after i accept ur request!!!
IF I DON'T ACCEPT UR REQUEST DEN PLZ DON'T LOSE HOPE………I MIGHT NOT HAD VISITED MY PROFILE IT MEANS!!!!

THANK U!!!!

MR X December 10, 2009 at 2:08 pm

IF ANYONE OF U WANT INVITES TO “NEW ORKUT”.SEND A FRIEND REQUEST TO :
->>> http://www.orkut.co.in/Main#Profile?uid=4010400...
and
->>> http://www.orkut.co.in/Main#Profile?uid=1044287...
AND I M AT UR SERVICE!!!!!!
U WILL GET INVITE WITHIN 24 hours (GUARANTEED) after i accept ur request!!!
IF I DON'T ACCEPT UR REQUEST DEN PLZ DON'T LOSE HOPE………I MIGHT NOT HAD VISITED MY PROFILE IT MEANS!!!!

THANK U!!!!

{ 2 trackbacks }

blog comments powered by Disqus

Previous post:

Next post: