Google is going to shut down its first social-networking service, Orkut on September 30. After that users wont be able to log-in, export photos to Google+ or use any other tools.
Sign-ups to create new accounts on Orkut have already been disabled although existing users will be able to export their information using Google Takeout (available until September 2016. The company said it would preserve an archive of all Orkut "communities" that will be available from September 30.
Google said in a post on the Orkut blog, "Over the past decade, YouTube, Blogger and Google+ have taken off, with communities springing up in every corner of the world. Because the growth of these communities has outpaced Orkut's growth, we've decided to bid Orkut farewell."
Google launched Orkut in January 2004, and gained some traction in Brazil, India and a few other countries but never really picked up in the United States. Facebook went online a month after Orkut was launched and now dominates the social networking space with 1.28 billion users
Orkut is not the only failed social network from Google. The internet giant launched Buzz in 2010 but had to shut it down after just an year. Now Google has been focusing on Google+, which recently celebrated its third birthday. Although the service has been more successful that Google's earlier attempts in the social networking space, but it still has a lower engagement than the rival social networks.
