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  • ORKUT: From 30 millions Uers To Shutting Down In A Matter Of Years

    Orkut was a huge social media site in the early 2000s that slowly met its demise as social media grew and offered more options than Orkut could offer. Orkut was started in 2004 and operated by Google and was shut down September 2014 (Mahoney, 2024). The site was available around the world, having 30 million users at once point, but users in Brazil garnering 90% of the page views.

    Brazilians loves social media sites and use it for advertising since the government has restrictions set on advertising. Some municipals in Brazil, such as Sao Paulo, put into law in 2006 that prohibits advertising such as outdoor posters to reduce visual pollution (Prates, 2025). Because of these restrictions, Brazilians started to turn to social media to advertise companies and items as well as look for product recommendations.

    Unfortunately for Orkut, as social media sites became in the forefront of marketing, new sites began to offer more options that Orkut could not. Instead of simple post of items and data, videos started taking over advertising which Orkut could not support though the site.

    Videos have taken over social media advertising. They can show what the product can do, explain why it’s beneficial, use famous people in the videos to promote the product, and just simply show customers using products in everyday use. All of these are great ways to promote the products, however, Orkut did not have the ability to publish videos on their sites. Because of this, the 30 million users expanded to newer social media site options that offered the newest options to share videos.

    Some wondered with Orkut being controlled by Google, why didn’t they just upgrade the site to offer video sharing, that would make the most sense right? Orkut did try to keep up, even with a slower speed of their site. It also became increasingly harder to keep up with competing social media platforms such as Facebook, FriendFeed, Myspace, and Instagram (Shapherd, 2024). Orkut eventually began undergoing multiple redesigns to introduce new features, which didn’t seem to engage or enhance the user experience (Shepherd, 2024). Orkut was never able to figure out a way to speed up their site, offer everything consumers found on other social media sites, all while keeping the site easy to navigate.

    People still remember Orkut and understanding it was one of the first in the list of many social media sites we’ve had over the years, it was a favorite of millions of users until the designers could no longer compete with new platforms that started popping up in the last decade. While it is not available, without it being around in the early 2000s, social media sites would not be what they are today.

    References:

    Mahoney, Meghan and Tang, Tang (2025). Strategic Social Media: From Marketing to Social Change. Retrieved January 5, 2025, from https://mbsdirect.vitalsource.com/reader/books/9781118556900/epubcfi/6/32[%3Bvnd.vst.idref%3Dp_03]!/4/2

    Prates, Mariana (2025). Will São Paulo have a “São Paulo Times Square”? Clean City Law may end, with billboards on Avenida Paulista, MASP and Theatro Municipal. Retrieved January 8, 2026, from Clean City Law could end: billboards

    Shepherd, Lashanda (2024). Orkut: Social Media Lost, but Never Forgotten. Retrieved January 6, 2026, from Orkut: Social Media Lost, but Never Forgotten – Lashanda Shepherd

  • Can Weixin be the world’s social media needs???

    So who has heard of Weixin?? I never had until recently and let me tell you, I am kinda jealous of the Chinese for having this company. Everything you want to see on your phone can only be found in a single app. For me, I have probably ten different apps to see the news, weather, what’s going on with family and friends, and shopping possibilities, all this can be handled by one app according to Weixin so let’s take a closer look at the company shall we.

    Weixin has been around since 2011 is a multi-billion-dollar company located in China. It has grown immensely in the few years it’s been up and running. In 2014, Weixin had more than 300 million users in China, Southeast Asia, Europe, and America (Mahoney, 2014). The app claims to guide users to news, weather, social media, shopping, and more. It is built for the ease of use on a mobile device which is what millions of people worldwide rely on for any information.

                    Weixin started on the right road from the beginning, understanding their market and what those users want out of an app.   Weixin targets young, urban smartphone owners and aims to provide an all-in-on-platform app for them (Mahoney, 2025). They lived up to what they aimed for when Weixin app was still in the dream stages. The app creators researched what apps the young, urban people use the most…news, sports, weather, social connections, shopping, and food…and combined all of these into one, simple to use app for its users. The app is specially designed for smart phones which is also what the target audience use daily, everything done on a computer can be done on their smartphones which are always found somewhere on their body.

                    Weixin currently serves in millions of Chinese people’s lives daily. By being able to shop on the app, order food, and even call for a cab, these are all items that are needed in everyday life. Others use it daily just to connect to family and friends, check up on the current news from China and around the world, or simply talk to family that doesn’t live near…all of this is important in a person’s everyday life. By having everything in one app, Chinese people do not have to worry about entering their credit card information on numerous apps giving a bigger risk for their credit card information being stolen.

    People are always wanting to test out the new, innovative apps that will make their lives easier and this is one of those apps I feel like. For myself, the biggest fear in trying new apps is putting my personal information in the app to use it. Weixin does not require you to disclose personal information and can only use a card when purchasing items. I would be more comfortable with only one app having my information compared to 10 or 15 apps all doing something different.

    This is an app I would want to try if it was available in the United States and used with local companies. Let’s hope Weixin realizes the monetary value of growing to the United States soon!

    References: Mahoney, Meghan, Tang, Tang (2014). Strategic Social Media: From Marketing to Social Change. Retrieved December 16, 2025, from MBS Direct: Strategic Social Media: From Marketing to Social Change

  • Do Social Media Memes really raise awareness of causes? Or are they just for fun?

                Breast cancer affects thousands of people a year. Breast cancer does not discriminate, you can be white, black, brown, male or female and be diagnosed. Because of this, raising awareness is important to both men and women and this is done all throughout the year with the biggest surge being in October, breast cancer awareness month. Everywhere you turn in October you will find something pink for awareness, it may be clothes, collectables, food, or social media posts.

                In the recent years cyberactivism has become increasingly popular on social media, but does it truly bring awareness when it excludes men? Private messages are sent between woman as to what to post of Facebook, whether color of their bra or how long it takes to fix their hair, along with order words to make the posts seem more sexualized. These posts are not sent to men and do not really have options for men to post about if they do get the messages. All of this I see to be an issue because simply put, men can and do get breast cancer and can die from it the same as woman. According to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, in 2025, about 2,800 men will be diagnosed with breast cancer and approximately 510 will doe from it (BCRF, 2025). While this is much smaller than the over 300,000 women that will be diagnosed, it does not make them less important.

                Looking at this information, it makes me wonder, what awareness is posting a simply post on Facebook really do for awareness when half the people are unsure of what the post is even for? Do people do this to raise awareness or just because others are doing it? I have a hard time seeing this as raising awareness and think women can find better ways to show awareness that will also include men.

                This all started me thinking about what I could do to bring awareness, I have family that have battled and won breast cancer in the past and an aunt who is currently battling it for the third time, so I understand some of the difficulties. Someone to bring awareness by simply wearing the clothes promoting awareness and going to the rallies, but what about actually volunteering to help? There are breast cancer research institutions in every state, and they can always use volunteers. This may be as simple as preparing mail-out flyers or making phone calls for awareness, this may include helping plan fundraisers to raise money for those battling breast cancer. Another way people can help that is not often thought of is by volunteering at chemotherapy clinics. Simply sitting with employees and visiting while getting treatment can uplift the patients. Some patients have families that go with them, but others have no support systems or support systems so small that they cannot afford to take off to sit with them.

    There are so many ways to help raise awareness and support patients that cyberactivism seems insignificant in the grand scheme of things. Take a minute to imagine yourself or a loved one diagnosed with cancer, do you think posting a silly comment on Facebook truly raises awareness or does getting out and doing something raise more awareness?

    Reference

    BCRF (2025). What to Know About Male Breast Cancer. Retrieved December 4, 2025, from Male Breast Cancer Statistics and Research | BCRF

  • Buying Glasses Online? Trustworthy or Terrifying Option

    So many items are now offered to purchase online rather than going into a store. Clothes. Shoes. Makeup. And now Glasses. How comfortable are people doing this? I know personally sizing can be different in everything; there is no universal size in clothes and shoes. Makeup has so many names of the same color, how do you know if you are buying the correct one by looking at the color on a screen. And glasses, I always must get them adjusted when I buy them. Can this be a trusted purchase? Where do you take them if they break or need adjusting?

    I have been scouring the web looking at places online to buy glasses. I found quite a few options out there but the top one I found information on and reviews about was Warby Parker. Warby Parker has been selling glasses in an online only format since 2010. The company was thought up by four Wharton School students who did not feel like there were enough options to buy glasses. But the question still is, can it be trusted?

    Looking at their website, Warby Parker offers numerous options for glasses for women, men, and children is both prescription glasses, sunglasses, and contacts. With prices starting at $95, this seems to be a good deal for customers without insurance. Another thing to note, they developed a “Home Try-On Campaign”. This campaign ships FIVE pair of glasses for free for you to try on! You can decide which to buy and send the others back, only paying for the one pair you want. Or if you do not like any, you can ship all back free of charge. Sounds like a very good deal! Seeing the reviews and photos from actual customers, it makes me want to try to campaign so I can try styles I would not normally try.

    The website also offers a “virtual” try on, meaning you can pick glasses out online and use the virtual camera to see what they would look like on you! While this may not show you the exact look, it is closer than guessing based on a picture. Kudos for offering options to help customers feel like they are appreciated by the company!

    Another question I had was: Where do you take the glasses if they break or need adjusting? This question made me dig deeper into the research to get some questions answered. I found in recent years, Warby Parker has opened stores in various states across in the United States. While customers can get the glasses shipped easily, they can send them back if they get broken or need adjusted, or they can just stop by the store for same-day assistance! What a great idea by the company to assist customers get the total package from Warby Parker.

    Now, I didn’t just look at what they offer customers, I delved into what they do for others. I learned, for every pair of glasses they sale, they donate one pair to the less fortunate! How amazing is that! There are millions of less fortunate people in the United States and probably a high percentage needs glasses but cannot afford them. This is a way of giving back to the communities that support the company while still offering the care of support of its customers.

    Overall, Warby Parker seems to be the type of company I would try for glasses. The ease of receiving options, the ability to go to a store if necessary, and knowing my purchase helped a person in need. ALL good qualities to have in a company I want to support!

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