GoKawiilOrkut founder Büyükkökten calls for users to help revive the defunct network
Orkut Büyükkökten, who created Orkut in 2004 and saw Google shut it down in 2014, has posted on X and on Orkut.com asking former users to sign up and invite others to support reviving the platform. In an accompanying letter he criticized how algorithms and AI-generated content have degraded modern social media, arguing for a return to networks built on authentic human connection.
GoKawiil's interpretation of the reporting above, not reported fact.
The appeal suggests Büyükkökten is testing whether nostalgia and dissatisfaction with AI-driven feeds can generate enough grassroots interest to justify relaunching a platform that once had 300 million users. His past attempt to revive social networking with Hello, which drew only 2 million downloads before closing in 2020, indicates reviving Orkut's scale could be difficult despite the sentimental appeal.
- Orkut founder is soliciting public support via X and Orkut.com for a possible revival.
- He frames the effort as a reaction against algorithm- and AI-driven social media.
- His prior post-Orkut venture, Hello, failed to match Orkut's original scale before shutting down in 2020.
Source: techcrunch.com — Jagmeet Singh, 2026-10-09
Published there as: “Remember Orkut? Its founder wants to bring it back”
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