Orkut coming back? Founder wants to relaunch the social network with a new purpose

ORKUT was the social network to be on in the 2000s, especially in India, where it became hugely popular before Google shut it down in 2014. Now, more than a decade later, it seems Orkut could be making a comeback.

Founder Orkut Buyukkokten has launched a campaign asking users to support a new social network built around what he describes as authentic people, real connections and a genuine sense of belonging.

The petition is live on orkut.com and is aimed at people who want a more human internet. At the time of writing, the page shows more than 2,70,000 signatures from users across 115 countries.

Buyukkokten has also shared an open letter and a message on X, saying the internet should help people find friendship, community and a place to belong. However, there is no confirmed launch date or announcement that the original Orkut platform is returning.

What is this new Orkut?

In his letter, Buyukkokten says social media has moved away from its original purpose. “Over two decades ago, I created some of the earliest social networks. I have watched with you as social media has gone wrong,” he writes.

Recalling the early days of the internet, he says connecting with strangers across continents once felt exciting because those interactions were real. However, he argues that social media platforms have increasingly focused on engagement rather than meaningful connections.

“Feeds built around engagement, not connection. A generation of kids surrendered to algorithms that addicted them, divided them, and sold them to advertisers,” he writes, adding that many young people have grown up feeling lonely and anxious.

He also warns that artificial intelligence is changing social media by making it harder to know whether there is a real person on the other side of a conversation. Pointing to bots, deepfakes, AI-generated content and autonomous AI agents, Buyukkokten says the technology is weakening trust online.

“Artificial intelligence is extraordinary technology, but it’s dissolving the one premise that made social networking special and worth building: that there was a person on the other side,” he writes.

While the petition is making some users nostalgic and excited about the possibility of Orkut's return, do note that this is not the first time a comeback has been discussed.

In 2022, Buyukkokten reactivated orkut.com and published an open letter talking about building a new social network focused on bringing people together. He spoke about creating a platform that prioritised meaningful connections and communities over the engagement-driven approach of mainstream social media. However, that effort did not result in a confirmed relaunch of the original platform.

Now, Buyukkokten appears to be revisiting that idea with a new campaign asking users to support a more human internet. While nostalgia for Orkut remains strong among users who grew up with the platform, it is not yet clear whether this latest effort will lead to a fully functional social network. For now, the website is gathering public support, with no launch date or confirmed details about the proposed platform.

Who is Orkut Büyükkökten?

He is a Turkish software engineer who developed Orkut while he was working at Google. According to his LinkedIn, he completed his Bachelor of Science from Bilkent University and then a PhD from Stanford University.

He started his career as a research assistant at Stanford University and then joined Google, where he worked for nearly 12 years, from 2002 to 2014. Besides Orkut, he also co-founded Hello Network with John Murphy.

Why does he want to revive Orkut?

“Two decades ago, I helped build some of the earliest social networks. Since then, I've watched us spend twenty years optimising the internet for attention, with feeds that hook us instead of helping us. Now, as AI changes how we connect, I keep coming back to what made all of this worth building: knowing there's a real person on the other side of every message,” he wrote in a recent social media post.

Büyükkökten continued, “I see a different future, built around real people and communities that reward kindness, trust, and belonging. It's the spirit that made Orkut special, and the spirit I want to bring into its next chapter. Help me bring Orkut back.”

He shared a link to a website, asking people to visit it and add their name “in support of a new human social network.” He also posted a letter addressed to social media users.

Evoking nostalgia, he wrote, “Do you remember when the internet was human? When a message from a stranger on another continent felt like magic? Another person had reached across the world to share a small piece of themselves. Maybe the connection lasted only a moment, but it was thrilling because it was real.”

“I still love this industry, but I despair at what it has become. Move fast and break things, so the slogan went. Well, things are broken. And now the machines have arrived. Artificial intelligence is extraordinary technology, but it’s dissolving the one premise that made social networking special and worth building: that there was a person on the other side.” He urged people to “join the movement” to revive the social media platform of the bygone era.

The site also has a “sign the petition” section, which claims over 266,102 people have joined his mission.