Tuesday, July 1, 2014

UNESCO stops Google from shutting down Orkut, declares it a “heritage site”

Paris. Interfering in Google’s decision to shut down the once legendary social networking website Orkut, UNESCO has convinced the tech giant not to shut down the website and instead handover it to them to maintain and preserve it as world’s first heritage website.


This is the first time UNESCO has declared a place in the virtual world as a heritage site. Orkut was chosen for the honor because of the important role it played in shaping social networking civilization and culture, especially between 2004 and 2010.


Old Orkut

Ancient culture.



“We certainly have moved on from Orkut to Facebook and Twitter, but that doesn’t mean that Orkut should be buried. It’s a monument that showcases how human beings became a truly social animal. Now that we have evolved, we can’t simply dump Orkut, it needs our care,” said UNESCO head Irina Bokova, while making the announcement.


UNESCO says that granting the website world heritage status will make it eligible for much-needed restoration funds, which Google is currently spending on Google Plus.


“We have plans to restore Orkut back to the way it used to look in around 2007, as most people have memories of the same look. In a mad race against Facebook, it underwent a lot of changes, which took away its original grandeur,” Irina Bokova revealed the future course of actions.


“People will marvel at this wonder and get instagrams with it, when they visit the heritage website,” she added.


On September 30, a restored and archived Orkut will be officially opened to visitors, who can log in to the site after buying a half dollar ticket at the login page. The tickets will be valid for next four hours from the time of issue, and there will be no concept for half ticket for children.


An UNESCO official told Faking News that a person can only login as visitor after Orkut is transformed into a heritage website. People won’t be able to create new accounts for themselves.


“After logging in, visitors will be allowed to visit different community pages, profiles of others, and their own profile if they had one in those ancient times. Everything will be as it was,” he explained.


Even though it will cost money, the news of Orkut being turned into heritage website has been welcomed by people from across the world, including those from India who prefer freebies.


“I can’t say how upset I was when I heard that Google was going to shut down Orkut. I wanted to pay my last visit but I had forgotten my login credentials. And as they blocked creation of new accounts, I couldn’t do it; my heart ached,” said 28 years old Priyanka, now mother of 2-year-old kid, who met his husband for the first time on Orkut. She was 100% trusty, 100% cool, and 100% sexy in those days.


Priyanka is now willing to show all her “scraps” and “testimonials” she received from her husband when her kids grow up. “Children should be aware of their roots,” Priyanka emphasized.


While everything seems to be going in the right direction, sources tell Faking News that some couples are planning to go on a date to Orkut once it is restarted as a heritage site.


“My dream is to hack into the site and change display pic of the community ‘Heer Ranjha‘ with a new pic saying ‘Bittu loves Pooja‘,” said 21-year-old Bittu, who as per his Twitter bio was an aspiring hacker, serial heritage vandal, and a passionate lover.



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