The online grid was announced in 2014 when Orkut was preparing to be disabled.
Buyukkokten is former Google and creator of the old social web connection that bore his name.
Im the guy orkut.com was named after.
In 2014 when Google announced that orkut would be shutting down, it was a sad moment for us.
Nobody wanted to lose what we had created together.
We met amazing new people.
We went on dates.
We found new jobs.
We even got married and had kids because of orkut.
We made it happen, together.
Back in Turkey in middle school, I was the funny guy with the German accent.
I havent always had the easiest journey.
But the truth is, Ive never had trouble making friends because I love people.
I think we all should be a little bit friendlier.
The world needs it.
We are living in a strange time.
We hide behind our devices, ignoring the people around us.
We stay with locals when we travel abroad but we dont even know our neighbors at home.
We click through feeds of updates from our friends from under our covers in the dark.
Our lives are splinters of anonymity and isolation.
Too often, we are lonely.
Too often, we are afraid of what we dont know.
Too often, we are hateful toward what we dont understand.
But Im hopeful about our world.
Im confident the more we connect, the more beautiful it will become.
I created orkut with this in mind.
So to all my friends, thank you for making orkut such a loving community.
Im so blessed to share this world with you.
As a token of gratitude, I am making a new social web link just for you.
Im not so good at goodbyes, so Im calling it hello.
hello is the next generation of orkut.
hello is the first social internet 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 could say hello in any language and people will understand.
Hello is probably the most widely spoken word in the world after Okay.
Alo, halo, allo, alo, hallo, allo, 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.
stay beautiful,signature Orkut
visithello.
