Orkut may be super popular in Brazil, but still Google doesn't care
Web 2.0 | 2007/08/25 21:13 | Web 2.0 AsiaSome people derided that Orkut is used by many drug dealers in South America. But then, if a community service sees a lot of uses by drug dealers, doesn't it mean the service is actually quite a secure and effective platform of communication? I mean, drug dealers wouldn't want to trade some sensitive information such as the next trading schedule on a crash-prone, insecure space.
As a (quoted below), it's also quite surprising that Google hasn't done much about Orkut despite the service's ridiculously huge popularity in Brazil. If what he says below is true, then one can't help but conclude Brazil clearly isn't Google's top priority.
As a Brazilian living in Silicon Valley, it is very hard for me to understand why the venture community ignored Orkut’s phenomenon for such a long time. In Brazil (and probably in India too) Orkut is more than a social network: It is a Craigslist, Facebook, MySpace, and Classmates.com ALL COMBINED in one single social network. And I’m talking about demographics and behavior, not software features.
Furthermore, Orkut as a brand is hugely popular: Just go right now (3pm PST) to g1.com.br, the largest news site in Brazil and you will see the “Orkut” word in the front page news. Even those without Internet access know Orkut — there is even a country song called “I Will Delete You From My Orkut” (!!)
And I am not even mentioning the ecosystem that was created around Orkut by third-party developers — without a official API!!
In conclusion, traffic is actually not the most surprising thing about Orkut. More importantly is the fact (ignored so far) that Orkut presents a *huge* untapped opportunity for capitalization beyond simply page views.
