Google Disbands Another Service, ORKUT

Over the last few years Google has been discontinuing services left and right. Some obscure, some very popular. They've smite things like Google Answers (2006), Google Page Creator ('08), Google Wave ('10), Labs ('11), Buzz ('11), iGoogle ('13) and most recently and most popular, was Google Reader. That one shocked millions of folks. But some of us suspect its all part of a bigger plan on Google's part.

Many folks are expecting Google to drop other existent services some day, like the popular Blogger platform while they continue to focus on other up and coming technologies, like their Facebook competitor, Google Plus. (They've pu a lot into getting folks "attracted" to Google Plus, aka, G+)

But be it as it may, you can count one more service out of action.

Google will be turning off the lights to ORKUT on September 30, 2014. To me that seems to be an obscure service that I've never used and some may not have heard of, but for those who do, this will strike a devastating blow.

Check out the Google press release:

After ten years of sparking conversations and forging connections, we have decided it's time for us to start saying goodbye to Orkut. Over the past decade, YouTube, Blogger and Google+ have taken off, with communities springing up in every corner of the world. Because the growth of these communities has outpaced Orkut's growth, we've decided to focus our energy and resources on making these other social platforms as amazing as possible for everyone who uses them.

We will shut down Orkut on September 30, 2014. Until then, there will be no impact on you, so you may have time to manage the transition. You can export your profile data, community posts and photos using Google Takeout (available until September 2016). We are preserving an archive of all public communities, which will be available online starting September 30, 2014. If you don't want your posts or name to be included in the community archive, you can remove Orkut permanently from your Google account. Please visit our Help Center for any further details.

It's been a great 10 years, and we apologize to those of you still actively using the service. We hope you will find other online communities to spark more conversations and build even more connections for the next decade and beyond.

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