Google finally shuts down its first social network, Orkut (updated)

Update September 30: Google is set to complete its shut down of Orkut today, ten years after the social network first launched.

Today Google announced the demise of its “first foray into social networking,” Orkut.

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In a blog post, the firm shared today that Orkut will shut down on September 30. Users will not be allowed to create new Orkut accounts starting today, and Google will offer existing users the ability to export their data until September 2016.

According to Google engineer Paulo Golgher:

Ten years ago, Orkut was Google’s first foray into social networking. Built as a “20 percent” project, Orkut communities started conversations, and forged connections, that had never existed before. Orkut helped shape life online before people really knew what “social networking” was …

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

Although Orkut never took off in the U.S., the social network was once one of the most popular sites in Brazil. It took Facebook until January 2012 to outgrow Orkut in Brazil.

With Orkut out of the picture, Golgher shares that Google plans to focus its “energy and resources” on YouTube, Blogger, and Google+.