Orkut.. First Impressions

I recently got a invite for orkut. I know, better late than never right. I always wanted to try Orkut. There is some kind of mystique about having a service as invite only. I guess it is the same marketing ploy of being exclusive thus some kind of luxury service. Like bouncers turning you away from clubs, "You think you can sign up with Orkut looking like that?!"

Well... Orkut is like finally getting into the Ritz and finding a McDonald's.

The first 10 minutes found the following major problems with Orkut.

1. Friends list does not update, I have added 2 friends on Orkut but my friends list still lists zero.
   
2. Communities categories do not work. Choose any category and the same communities display.
3. UI lacks the polish and usability of gmail, google search, etc.

My first impression of Orkut.. Disappointed. The deal breakers are my points 1 and 2 above. Friends list not updating and community categories that don't work shows a site that is just broken.

Since Orkut has been around since 2004 you would think that these crippling bugs would have been fixed by now. Since they are not, I can only ascertain that the development team for Orkut is nonexistent.

If you are still wanting to try orkut try the Orkut Invitation Pool

I recommend MySpace or Friendster. As those are higher quality sites than Orkut.