this thing called

orkut- Networking power unleashed.
Ever since I was introduced to orkut, been wondering how much of benefit is reaped from the site. The idea is fantastic, proves six degrees of separation, but need to know how much of professional benefits are achieved. As a user, it is frustrating with the slow servers, the bad Doughnut comment, server errors and given such conditions, it is difficult to imagine business networking over such a community.
In a real world(read Graduate Business Career Center), networking is a more formal event. Personal interaction, gestures, etiquette, language are some key components. It is not half as romantic as chatting with stranger and realizing that we have common likes and interests. There is no room for fumbling, errors, guesses, cheesy tacky comments. Be it small, medium or large business ventures, I think personal interaction is a key component. Thankfully, I look at this as one spot that cannot be 'virtualized'.
Couple of suggestions may be: - to keep the latest comments on the first page in a discussion.
- show lesser number of friends and communities in the home page
- limit the number of photos that can be uploaded