Remember the days when social media was about connecting with friends, sharing updates and joining communities built around common interests? Orkut, once a popular social networking platform in India and Brazil, may soon make a comeback.

Its founder, Orkut Buyukkokten, is asking users to support a new initiative aimed at bringing people closer online.

Buyukkokten took to X to invite users to visit orkut.com, add their names and share their supporter cards with friends. The campaign centres on friendship, community and creating a place where people feel they belong.

“The internet should help us find our people. Friendship. Community. A place to belong. Help me bring Orkut back in that spirit,” he wrote in his post.

The internet should help us find our people. Friendship. Community. A place to belong.

In an open letter on the website, Buyukkokten reflects on how social media has changed over the years. He argues that platforms have increasingly focused on engagement and users’ attention rather than meaningful relationships.

“Do you remember when the internet was human? When a message from a stranger on another continent felt like magic? Maybe the connection lasted only a moment, but it was thrilling because it was real,” he wrote.

He also raises concerns about algorithm-driven feeds, online loneliness and the growing presence of AI-generated content, which can make it harder to know whether interactions involve real people.

The founder wants to create a social network that prioritises "authentic people, real connection, and genuine belonging."

For Buyukkokten, online communities were among the features that made Orkut special.

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