The Global Community

Orkut is all about community, and we sure do have lots of them: more than 45 million, covering all imaginable topic areas (and a few that defy the imagination). Owners can specify languages and countries for their communities, and I'm pleased to see that all of orkut's many languages and countries are represented.

The most common community language is Portuguese, with more than 10 times as many communities as the next most common language, English. Third most common is UK English, which was introduced in spring 2006 to distinguish between people who call the World Cup sport "football" and those who call it "soccer." Spanish and Hindi take fourth and fifth place, as shown in this table:

language	communities	largest community	members
Portuguese	40,460,878	Eu amo a minha MÃE! [I love my MOTHER!]	3,903,588
English	3,738,534	Nike	624,095
English (UK)	469,538	David Beckham	118,657
Spanish	186,323	Pra que serve o Orkut? [What's Orkut for?]	79,734
Hindi	43,837	Cafe Coffee Day	55,492
Estonian	37,199	Estonia	63,505
All	34,294	Caipirnhas [a cocktail]	311,487
French	25,118	Paris	21,772
Telugu	23,925	అబ్బా!!! ఛా!!! [Yeah, right!]	15,665

(Fine print: Afrikaans would have come in sixth, but none of the top communities were actually in that language. Similarly, none of the top "Hindi" communities had names or most of their messages in Hindi, and the top two "French" communities aren't really in French.)

In response to a suggestion, I also looked at which of the 28 community categories are most popular. We were curious about which countries are most represented in each category relative to their size, some of which are shown below. For example, Indians have far more communities in the Alumni & Schools category than even their large numbers would predict.

category	% of communities	some top countries
Individuals	23%	Madagascar, Brazil
Other	21%	Benin
Alumni & Schools	6.8%	India
Music	6.5%	Norway, Canada
Recreation & Sports	4.2%	Argentina
Romance & Relationships	3.8%	French Polynesia, Monaco
Family & Home	3.6%	Mexico, United States
Activities	3.3%	Paraguay, Pakistan
Fashion & Beauty	3.2%	Monaco

All other categories are below 3% of the total. The least popular category is Science & History (.4%), to the dismay of this orkut historian.

Until next time, enjoy community wherever you find it!

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orkut trends: The State of orkuters

A question came up in the orkut trends community: What is the distribution of orkut users among the different states in the US? Here's a peek into where US orkuters come from.

All 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico are represented. The #1 state is my adopted home (and that of so many other US Googlers), California, with 20% of US orkuters. Next comes the great state of New York (11%), and then two southern states, Florida (8%) and Texas (7%).

In fifth place was Massachusetts, the home of my alma mater, MIT. This state's name had the distinction of being spelled the most incorrect ways by our users. Misspellings including: massachussets, massachussetts, massachusets, massachusettes, massachustes and even massachuster. (I confess to using spell-check to get the right spelling although I resided there for ten years. I guess what they say about engineers and their lack of English skills may be true.)

Rounding out the top ten were New Jersey -- referred to by some as "Joisey" -- at 6%, my home state of Illinois (4%), Georgia (2.5%), Pennsylvania (2.5%) and Virginia (2.4%). Other states making up more than 1% of our US user base were Washington (2.3%), Michigan (2%), Ohio (2%), Connecticut (1.9%), Maryland (1.7%), North Carolina (1.6%), Arizona (1.4%), Minnesota (1.1%), and Colorado (1%). Least represented were the sparsely populated states of North Dakota (.07%), South Dakota (.07%), and Wyoming (.06%).

I was intrigued by the number of US orkuteers residing in "states" which I had never heard of. One such state is Fakelandia (4555 residents) and its presumed capital Fakecity (158). I was disappointed that there were more residents of Hell (367) and Inferno (356) than of Heaven (135). I would enjoy visiting the residents of the magical states of Disney (346) and Hogwarts (247), or the neighbors of the fictional Simpsons in Springfield (175). While I have spent many happy hours observing Sim City, unlike 107 orkut users, I do not reside there.

Until next time, may your state be a happy one!

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Orkut User Happiness Survey - Tell Them What You Think of Orkut?

Orkut User Happiness Survey - Tell Them What You Think of Orkut?

Orkut is requesting your valuable feedback. They are now conducting an orkut user happiness survey . You can participate in the survey by navigating to this link and tell them what you think of orkut.

Participate - Orkut User Happiness Survey

This Article Was Published At Orkut Plus

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orkut trends: Who sends scraps?

When orkut launched, we had no idea that scrapbooks would be the primary way members would interact. Billions of scraps later, we've learned that scraps are a huge hit, and have added ways to make them even more fun by enabling you to add videos, photos and HTML.

We've been wondering (and perhaps you have too): Which orkut users are scrappiest? In our recent sample, members from the island nation of Grenada had the highest scrap counts at an average of 1877 scraps. Of the biggest orkut nations, Pakistanis came in first, followed by Americans, Indians, and Brazilians. (All of these statistics are based on current scraps that have not been deleted by the recipients.)

Women receive just under half (48%) of all scraps. Women from the Cayman Islands receive the most, followed by those from the British Virgin Islands, Trinidad and Tobago, San Marino, and the Northern Mariana Islands. (What is it about those islanders?) Albanian women had the fewest scraps (81) -- still a pretty substantial number when you think about it.

On the male side, islanders still rule: men from Grenada averaged a whopping 2569 scraps each. Here's the full chart:

Country (gender)	Scraps received	Scraps received (women)	Scraps received (men)
Grenada	1877	557	2569
Cayman Islands	861	1093	715
Pakistan	758	717	779
United States	423	249	578
India	345	443	301
Brazil	267	272	263

Who's sending these scraps? The scrappiest users hail from Pakistan, followed immediately by Madagascar and the Central African Republic. Among women, the most scraps come from Jamaica, then Madagascar, followed by the nation of St. Pierre and Miquelon. Among men, Pakistanis sent the most, then Qatar.

And what are people saying in scraps? Some messages occurred again and again. Out of a sample of 1,000,000 short scraps, the following were among the most common:

scrap	# of occurrences
hi	1131
oi [hi]	689
ok	298
parabens [congratulations]	273
.	187
hello	184
=]	146
vlw [thx]	135
^^	133
blz [ok]	132
=)	124
:)	117
[:p]	115
=D	115

Not only was the word "hi" common, it also appeared frequently followed by extra "i"s. For example, "hiiiiiiiii", "hiiiiiiiiiiiii", and "hiiiiiiiiiii" each occurred more than 90 times in our 1,000,000 scrap sample.

Until next time, our 46th most popular scrap: "bye"!

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News: Mobiles linked to disturbed sleep

The evidence on mobile phone safety has been contradictory

Using a mobile phone before going to bed could stop you getting a decent night's sleep, research suggests.

The study, funded by mobile phone companies, suggests radiation from the handset can cause insomnia, headaches and confusion.

It may also cut our amount of deep sleep - interfering with the body's ability to refresh itself.

The study was carried out by Sweden's Karolinska Institute and Wayne State University in the US.

Funded by the Mobile Manufacturers Forum, the scientists studied 35 men and 36 women aged between 18 and 45.

Some were exposed to radiation equivalent to that received when using a mobile phone, others were placed in the same conditions, but given only "sham" exposure.

Those exposed to radiation took longer to enter the first of the deeper stages of sleep, and spent less time in the deepest one.

The scientists concluded: "The study indicates that during laboratory exposure to 884 MHz wireless signals components of sleep believed to be important for recovery from daily wear and tear are adversely affected."

Researcher Professor Bengt Arnetz said: "The study strongly suggests that mobile phone use is associated with specific changes in the areas of the brain responsible for activating and coordinating the stress system."

Another theory is that radiation may disrupt production of the hormone melatonin, which controls the body's internal rhythms.

Electrosensitivity

About half the people in the study believed themselves to be "electrosensitive", reporting symptoms such as headaches and impaired cognitive function from mobile phone use.

But they proved to be unable to tell if they had been exposed to the radiation in the test.

Alasdair Philips is director of Powerwatch, which researches the effects of electromagnetic fields on health.

He said: "The evidence is getting stronger that we should treat these things in a precautionary way.

"This research suggests that if you need to make a phone call in the evening it is much better to use a land line, and don't have your mobile by your bedside table."

Mike Dolan, executive director of the Mobile Operators Association, said the study was inconsistent with other research.

He said: "It is really one small piece in a very large scientific jigsaw. It is a very small effect, one researcher likened it to less than the effect you would see from a cup of coffee."

Last September a major six-year study by the UK Mobile Telecommunications and Health Research Programme (MTHRP) concluded that mobile phone use posed no short-term risk to the brain.

However, the researchers said they could not rule out the possibility that long-term use may raise the risk of cancer.

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News: UK 'keener on online networking'

The UK benefits from cheap broadband deals

More adults in the UK use social networking sites such as Facebook than in other European countries, a report by communications watchdog Ofcom says.

Four out of 10 UK adults with internet access use social networking sites compared to 17% in France, 12% in Germany and 22% in Italy.

The UK is eclipsed only by Canada where 53% of internet users go on social networking sites.

In Japan and the US the percentage is 32% and 34% respectively.

International comparisons

The Ofcom report into the £873bn telecoms, radio and television sectors compared the UK with 11 other countries, including Canada and the US.

It also looked at emerging giants Brazil, Russia, India and China, where mobile phone growth is particularly strong.

The report found that the US and UK are the only places where men do not use the internet more than women.

In the UK, the split is equal, while in the US 52% of internet users are women.

Cheap deals

The watchdog also said that the UK enjoys some of the cheapest deals for telephone, pay-TV and broadband.

In the UK, about 40% of households already take a bundled service, where they pay a monthly fee for a telephone landline, pay-TV and the internet.

This can be as low as £25 in the UK for a typical family household including two parents and two children.

This compares with £27.22 in France, £39.77 in Germany and £69.54 in the US.

COST OF PHONE, INTERNET & TV UK: £25 France: £27.22 Germany: £39.77 US: £69.54 Price for triple play deals Source: Ofcom

Price may be one of the reasons the UK has the highest take-up of digital television in the 12 countries surveyed.

At the end of 2006, about 76% of UK households were digital.

But it is still Japanese and US consumers who spend the most time watching television, averaging 4.5 hours a day.

This is one hour more than people spend in front of television in the UK.

Revenue boost

Internet advertising revenues are also on the rise, particularly in the UK.

At £33, advertisers in the UK spend more money per person on internet advertising than any other country, twice as much as that spent in France, Germany and Italy combined.

Overall, the money to be made from telecom services is increasing, reflecting the growing importance of the sector.

Telecom services revenue per head increased by 20% - from £288m in 2001 to £345m in 2006 - across the countries surveyed, the report found.

Global take up

Globally, mobiles are driving growth in the communications sector, now accounting for 53% of total telecoms revenues.

By the end of 2006, there were 402 million landlines and 634 million mobile connections in the 12 countries surveyed.

Brazil, Russia, China and India are driving much of this growth.

Since 2001, more than 660 million subscriptions were added in these four countries, accounting for 40% of total new mobile subscriptions globally.

Last year, mobile phone users in China sent 429 billion text messages, or 967 text messages per user, compared with 621 per mobile user in the UK.

New subscriptions in India doubled to 150 million, more than twice the number of UK subscribers.

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News: Games content 'concerns parents'

Many games are designed for children More than 75% of parents are concerned about the content of video games played by their children, a survey suggests. Almost half of the 4,000 parents surveyed in the UK, France, Italy and Germany said that one hour of gaming each day should be the limit. Some 43% of the surveyed parents said they were not aware of ratings systems for games to determine suitability. The survey comes as Dr Tanya Byron conducts a separate review of games and their impact on UK children. Dr Byron, who is conducting the review on behalf of the UK government, will publish her findings in March 2008 and recently closed her submissions for evidence. One of her areas of focus will be the ratings systems in the UK - which currently involves a pan-European system and a UK-only rating from the British Board of Film Classification. The games industry has gone to great lengths to stress the educational and social aspects of gaming, while emphasising that games are regulated and appeal to all ages, with mature titles for mature gamers. A spokesperson for Elspa, the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers' Association, said videogame playing was "part of a balanced mix of leisure activities for all ages". Elspa added: "We welcome the opportunity to highlight the range of devises such as age content suitability ratings and parental controls that support parents in exercising their responsibilities." The association said it was committed to educating parents "around sensible and appropriate game play". It has established a website - www.askaboutgames.com - to help parents become better informed about games. The survey was carried on behalf of Microsoft. Games writer and consultant Margaret Robertson said the findings around ratings were not a surprise. "This is a well-known issue in the UK that while the ratings system is quite good, both parental awareness and understanding of it is quite poor. "The industry has tried a number of initiatives and game specific retailers tend to be fairly responsible about trying to enforce these things." The survey found that more than half of children played games on consoles, 32% on PCs, 9% played games online and 4% played on a mobile phone. It also revealed that for the majority of children, playing games was a solitary activity. Sixty four percent of children played games alone, less than 1 in 10 children play video games with family members and 12% played with friends, the survey found. The online space is a growing sector of the games industry but the survey found only 5% played mainly online. Parents saw themselves as the key decision makers for which games should be played by their children, rather than regulators or the video games industry, according to the survey. "There should be parental concern about some games," said Margaret Robertson. "The survey shows that there is parental curiosity about content and a desire for the ability to have more control and insight into what their children are doing. "There are games that not suitable, games which are sinister, dark and thought-provoking; parents instincts to be concerned are right. "There are games that should be out of the hands of the children. The industry needs to be telling people that and giving them the information they need."

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News: More orkut trends

In our first column, we reported how orkut users rated their beauty by continent. In a poll in the orkut trends community, 69% of you said that you'd like to see the per-country ratings (while 21% said they already know their country has the most beauties). Interestingly, almost all of the comments about beauty were by men commenting on women. We aim to please, so here are the results.

Women from Mexico are most likely (29%) to describe themselves as "beauty contest winners" and the least likely (2%) to describe themselves as "mirror-cracking material". Men from Tonga tend to extremes, with the most (23%) claiming to be pageant winners and an equal number (23%) claiming to be mirror crackers. Uruguayan women are most likely (58%) to consider themselves average, as are 58% of Paraguayan men.

If we assign a numerical weight to each rating (1 for beauty contest winner, 2 for very attractive, etc.), we can get a single "beauty index" for each country's women or men, with lower scores meaning greater (self-rated) beauty, and female Mexicans and male Equatorial Guineans taking the lead. Here are how orkut's leading countries stack up:

country	female beauty index	male beauty index
Brazil	2.95	3.13
United States	2.82	3.15
United Kingdom	3	3.29
Pakistan	3.05	3.25
India	3.23	3.38

The complete data is available here.

Of course, anyone can claim to be beautiful, especially online, so the above rankings may say more about conceit and humility than about looks. As one user wrote, "Orkut can make a lot of money if they put tax on how beautiful people declare themselves to be."

What if you want to judge people's beauty yourself? Just a week after we announced that you can store up to 100 photos in your orkut album, more than 10,000 of you had already gone to the limit. Iranians averaged the fewest photos per person: only 4.1. At the other extreme were Myanmar (12.8) and the island nations of the Cook Islands (12.6), Jamaica (12.7), the Northern Mariana Islands (13.6), and Madagascar (13.8). Of the most popular orkut countries, Indians averaged 6.5 photos each, Pakistanis 6.7, Americans 7.9, Brits 9.3, and Brazilians 9.4, so most of you can increase your albums tenfold! Of course, as Cesar JB expressed, "The concept of beauty varies from one country [to] another". In any case, statistics can give us information but not wisdom, such as that expressed 2500 years ago by Confucius: "Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it."

Until next time, stay beautiful, each in your own wonderful way.

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