Blogging Roller

Orkut is a new brand of web-based social software, similar to Friendster and LinkedIn. Here's how it works. You enter personal information about yourself, build a network of friends, forget about the whole thing for a couple of months until some other service is introduced, rinse and repeat.

Everybody seems to be blogging about Orkut these days and presenting lots of viewpoints, but two of today's posts were interesting studies in contrast - at least for me. You have the <a href= "http://www.zephoria.org/thoughts/archives/2004/01/30/venting_my_contempt_for_orkut.html#004004"> idealistic view and the realistic view. I'm an idealistic realist, so I find lots to agree with in both posts. I agree with Danah about fans vs. friends. Being a fan of somebody is less of a relationship than being a friend. Fans observe, follow (and in the worse case, stalk) from afar. If you notice that somebody is a fan of yours, you might be inspired to get to know them and perhaps become friends.