Remember Orkut? Its founder wants to bring it back

Orkut's founder is now taking aim at algorithms and AI-generated content. Orkut, the once-popular social networking platform that shut down more than a decade ago, may finally be making a comeback, as its founder has called on users to help revive it with a renewed focus on friendship, community, and human connection. In a post on X on Thursday, Orkut Büyükkökten, the founder of the eponymous social network, urged users to visit Orkut.com and add their names in support of bringing it back, as well as invite others to join. Orkut first debuted in 2004 as a side project by Büyükkökten, 51, while he was at Google. The social network went on to become hugely popular in India and Brazil but later lost ground to Facebook.

Google eventually shut it down in September 2014, shifting its focus to other platforms, including Google+ and YouTube. In a letter published on Orkut.com, Büyükkökten criticized how social media has evolved over the past two decades, particularly the growing influence of algorithms and AI-generated content. “Artificial intelligence is extraordinary technology, but it’s dissolving the one premise that made social networking special and worth building: that there was a person on the other side,” he wrote. “I know how to get there: we rebuild the internet we first loved. The one with authentic people, real