Undoubtedly, the big daddy of social networking back in those days was Orkut, and it inspired the world to connect over common interests. Founded in 2004 by Orkut Büyükkökten and Githin Jose, Orkut, for over a decade, helped millions across the planet to connect and share their interests and create a community of their until Google tragically decided to draw curtains on Orkut. 

For most millennials today, Orkut ushers many a nostalgic memories. Scraps, communities, eagerly stalking your crush, and parents blaming the Orkut menace for poor grades and so on.  For those who knew Orkut, lived in Orkut and for those who didn’t witness  the first social networking phenomenon here’s some good news - Orkut is back, yeah baby, in an all new swanky avatar called Hello! Makers confirm that the app is to be launched in India by the end of this month.

Hello is the social networking site that will enable users to connect over shared interests and passions. Orkut Büyükkökten writes in his blog, “Hello is the first social network built on loves, not likes. I designed Hello to help you connect with people who share your passions. Hello connects us all. Think about it: you can say "hello" in any language and people will understand. "Hello" is probably the most widely spoken word in the world after "Okay." Aló, halo, ʾāllo, alô, hallo, alló, hello. Fear and hatred have no place when you make such a simple and friendly gesture to someone else. So come join me, and make some new friends. Say hello, and love your world.”

How Does It Work?

When you create your profile, you will be required to choose five “personas”, for instance photographer, nature lover etc. Users can choose from over 100 personas but can only choose five. Fret not, in case you want change your persona you can but the limit is five. Maybe we could look out for updates that could increase the number of personas.

The posts you share will be called “jots” and the app only allows image based jots and text only jots is a big no no. Every time you jot something, you will have to tag that to one of your chosen personas. Hello employs a learning algorithm which helps in providing users a more personalised experience. Hence assign every jot to one of your personas.

The app also lets you play games and for every game and jots you can earn points that the makers call “Karma”!! Fascinating!

The app is currently available in eight countries including Brazil, which was one of Orkut’s biggest markets. The app is slated to be launched in Germany, India and Mexico by the end of this month. Users can sign up for an invite.

With Twitter on a damage control mode, Instagram pulling off a Snapchat and Snapchat introducing new filters, Hello could be a refreshing change, although it has been pointed out that it bears a similarity to Pinterest.

Can Hello cruise past giants like Facebook? Let’s wait for it.