Orkut: community online or goat-sacrificing satanic cult?

i_communities
A few weeks ago i became a part of Orkut, at the invitation of Dan Hughes (theyblinked.com). I am not pushing the idea to anyone since i want to see where it goes (organically), but i should be honest and tell you that since then, about 7 people have asked me to identify them as “friends” which i have, since i know them all as friends.
Well today, i took a look at some of the thousands of communties that have grouped up through this site, and i have to admit, i am a little tempted to jump into a community or two and road test them. Dan, (who has 38 “friends”) is a member of quite a few of these communities, and the Bloggers group has 2345 members – that would make a pretty large Christmas gathering!

Anyway, it could be a really good tool for creating community online. And it could also turn out to be another time waster. And worse case scenario, it could turn out to be a goat-sacrificing satanic cult and my photo will get in the paper ( . . I didn’t know . . . I swear . . i had no idea . . thats not blood, its ketchup!!!), but my sense of hesitation and interest in it tells me that Orkut (does sound like a cult, doesnt it? – ORKULT), or some derivation, will probably be a significant player in the way we conduct communal life on the internet.
i have not yet filled out all the details on myself yet – i am shy – and i am waiting to see how long i can stay in the corner of the room.
Another reason i think it could take off in the Christian/Theoblogian world, is because some of my 7 Orkut friends include big mouths like Jordon (and Wendy) Cooper and Spencer Burke of TheOoze.com, and those guys really dont know how to keep a secret.

[UPDATE: MARCH 25] Check out Kristen Rudd on her 10 reasons “why i refuse to be a part of orkut”

Andrew

Andrew Jones launched his first internet space in 1997 and has been teaching on related issues for the past 20 years. He travels all the time but lives between Wellington, San Francisco and a hobbit home in Prague.

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