Google Orkut: The Latest Social Networking Website

So we all know that social networking sites seem to be taking the world by storm. Large social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook are great places to connect with people and market a business. Millions of users are on both and companies around the world have been taking full advantage of these sites. Everywhere you go, you hear people asking others, “Are you on Facebook?” It’s like 6 degrees from Kevin Bacon, only it’s 6 degrees from Kevin from your 9th grade math class.

Just when you thought that the social networking thing might have reached its maximum threshold, Google steps in with its latest project – Orkut. It’s a strange word, but it seems to be a serious contender for the other social networking websites. Orkut gained huge popularity in Latin America and Asia and will now cause a sensation in the United States. Google wants to make sure it becomes a giant on the social media scene. They want their piece of the pie. Orkut’s followers in China and Japan have nearly tripled in the past year to more than 11 million visitors per month.

Time will tell if Google’s Orkut can become as big as MySpace and Facebook in the United States. Google knows what it’s doing and has proven to be a strong player in many of the big markets. If Google can find a way to offer more than the other social networking sites, a “better mousetrap” per se, they may get in on the act.