MySpace Logo

MySpace was founded in 2003 by Chris DeWolfe and Tom Anderson, and was later acquired by News Corporation in July 2005 for $580 million. From 2005 until early 2008, MySpace was the most visited social networking site in the world, and in June 2006 surpassed Google as the most visited website in the United States.

 In April 2008, MySpace was overtaken by Facebook in the number of unique worldwide visitors, and was surpassed in the number of unique U.S. visitors in May 2009. MySpace generated $800 million in revenue during the 2008 fiscal year. Since then, the number of MySpace users has declined steadily in spite of several redesigns.

Chris DeWolfe and Tom Anderson

A recent survey of 18-30 year olds has revealed that six percent STILL use MySpace, once the most popular social networking site in the world.

The music discovery site had 50 million users, and was relaunched by Justin Timberlake in the year 2013. Meanwhile, Bebo (where you can post blogs, photograph, music and videos), a 10-million strong website once loved by UK teens, has recently announced its own relaunch.

After years in the shadow Facebook, which now has a whopping 1.2 billion user base, is retro social networking on its way back into fashion?

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We open the antique treasure chest of the Internet, and take a look back at the sparkle-covered highs and lows of the MySpace era.

• Use all the sparkles!

Like it or not, it was seemingly impossible to spend time stalking MySpace, circa 2005, without a heav dose of blinding screen glare from all those sparkly stars and love hearts. The more blinding unicorns and rainbows, the better, it seemed. And who was going to prove s wrong?

• Chain mail had us genuinely worried

I <3 BEER

‘If u send this message to all ur contacts, then press F7 and your crush’s name will appear on the screen!! If you don’t you will have 7 years bad luck!’ the arrival of these chain messages in one’s hotmail inbox invariably sparked dilemma and mild panic. We couldn’t be entirely sure, though –so we sent them on anyway.

• Customize, customize, customize

Sites like MySpace and Bebo were gloriously customizable, be it glittery pink fairies or boy bands with more hair gel than a Hollister advert. Particularly memorable was my ‘I <3 BEER’ theme, which brought instant street cred –despite the fact that I’d never drunk in my life.

•  The birth of over sharing: all those questionnaires

Back in the 00s, we were happy, for some reason, to share everything and anything on the Internet. Whether it was allowing people you’d never met to find out your deepest fears and dreams with ’10 truths about me’, or finding new and inventive ways to waste time with silly band names, the Internet and procrastination went hand in hand before any of us could even spell the word.

• MySpace’s ‘current mood’

Current mood

For all those times when you were ‘pissed off’ or ‘moody’ and wanted everyone to know it and wonder why: because everyone liked being a little mysterious sometimes.

• The internet had its own language

For anyone who grew up with the web, words that are now ridiculed then seemed the height of kl. Lol’ing at a gr8 PJ with our bffes was, like, super jks bbz. So was iNserTing RandOM caps. ROFLMAO. The English Language was played, cracked and broken but we loved it.

• The internet could be stressful

Particularly when it came to deciding on your ‘top 8’ MySpace followers, or which of your 4,000 friends would be your ‘other half’ on Bebo.

• The all-important email username

Myspace Page

Nothing summed p existence quite like one’s email username, in an era when addresses like couch_potato118 or the_edster (joyfully, still in use) were de rigueur. Try applying for jobs with one of those.

• Share the luv

On Bebo the hardest daily decision was who to ‘Share the Luv’ with. Because nothing spells insecurity like the lack of Internet luv.

• That 400-photo sleepover album

Because nothing says ‘here are two best friends having a super awesome time’ like 400 near-identical shots that commit every crime against photography ever. Particular classics included: the beard stroke, the peace sign, the bathroom mirror selfie (with or without flash), and the overhead shot. Hours spent editing the brightness, writing captions, and uploading to MySpace was time well spent.

---

At some point we were addicted to Myspace, then the most popular social networking site. But is now been overshadowed by Facbook and Twitter, just like Orkut and Bebo. This shows that no social network lasta forever. In this article we discussed the things we love when we were a fan of Myspace… which no social network can offer.

If you have any suggestions for this list or the blog , please feel free to drop comments.

Technology

MySpace: 10 things we loved about the MySpace Era

MySpace Logo

MySpace was founded in 2003 by Chris DeWolfe and Tom Anderson, and was later acquired by News Corporation in July 2005 for $580 million. From 2005 until early 2008, MySpace was the most visited social networking site in the world, and in June 2006 surpassed Google as the most visited website in the United States.

 In April 2008, MySpace was overtaken by Facebook in the number of unique worldwide visitors, and was surpassed in the number of unique U.S. visitors in May 2009. MySpace generated $800 million in revenue during the 2008 fiscal year. Since then, the number of MySpace users has declined steadily in spite of several redesigns.

Chris DeWolfe and Tom Anderson

A recent survey of 18-30 year olds has revealed that six percent STILL use MySpace, once the most popular social networking site in the world.

The music discovery site had 50 million users, and was relaunched by Justin Timberlake in the year 2013. Meanwhile, Bebo (where you can post blogs, photograph, music and videos), a 10-million strong website once loved by UK teens, has recently announced its own relaunch.

After years in the shadow Facebook, which now has a whopping 1.2 billion user base, is retro social networking on its way back into fashion?

---

We open the antique treasure chest of the Internet, and take a look back at the sparkle-covered highs and lows of the MySpace era.

• Use all the sparkles!

Like it or not, it was seemingly impossible to spend time stalking MySpace, circa 2005, without a heav dose of blinding screen glare from all those sparkly stars and love hearts. The more blinding unicorns and rainbows, the better, it seemed. And who was going to prove s wrong?

• Chain mail had us genuinely worried

I <3 BEER

‘If u send this message to all ur contacts, then press F7 and your crush’s name will appear on the screen!! If you don’t you will have 7 years bad luck!’ the arrival of these chain messages in one’s hotmail inbox invariably sparked dilemma and mild panic. We couldn’t be entirely sure, though –so we sent them on anyway.

• Customize, customize, customize

Sites like MySpace and Bebo were gloriously customizable, be it glittery pink fairies or boy bands with more hair gel than a Hollister advert. Particularly memorable was my ‘I <3 BEER’ theme, which brought instant street cred –despite the fact that I’d never drunk in my life.

•  The birth of over sharing: all those questionnaires

Back in the 00s, we were happy, for some reason, to share everything and anything on the Internet. Whether it was allowing people you’d never met to find out your deepest fears and dreams with ’10 truths about me’, or finding new and inventive ways to waste time with silly band names, the Internet and procrastination went hand in hand before any of us could even spell the word.

• MySpace’s ‘current mood’

Current mood

For all those times when you were ‘pissed off’ or ‘moody’ and wanted everyone to know it and wonder why: because everyone liked being a little mysterious sometimes.

• The internet had its own language

For anyone who grew up with the web, words that are now ridiculed then seemed the height of kl. Lol’ing at a gr8 PJ with our bffes was, like, super jks bbz. So was iNserTing RandOM caps. ROFLMAO. The English Language was played, cracked and broken but we loved it.

• The internet could be stressful

Particularly when it came to deciding on your ‘top 8’ MySpace followers, or which of your 4,000 friends would be your ‘other half’ on Bebo.

• The all-important email username

Myspace Page

Nothing summed p existence quite like one’s email username, in an era when addresses like couch_potato118 or the_edster (joyfully, still in use) were de rigueur. Try applying for jobs with one of those.

• Share the luv

On Bebo the hardest daily decision was who to ‘Share the Luv’ with. Because nothing spells insecurity like the lack of Internet luv.

• That 400-photo sleepover album

Because nothing says ‘here are two best friends having a super awesome time’ like 400 near-identical shots that commit every crime against photography ever. Particular classics included: the beard stroke, the peace sign, the bathroom mirror selfie (with or without flash), and the overhead shot. Hours spent editing the brightness, writing captions, and uploading to MySpace was time well spent.

---

At some point we were addicted to Myspace, then the most popular social networking site. But is now been overshadowed by Facbook and Twitter, just like Orkut and Bebo. This shows that no social network lasta forever. In this article we discussed the things we love when we were a fan of Myspace… which no social network can offer.

If you have any suggestions for this list or the blog , please feel free to drop comments.

Online safety and privacy is as important as your physical safety. There are some unethical and intelligent people, known as hackers, who could crack your passwords as easily like opening a bottle. They have some tools which enhance their powers but the most used logic of theirs is: Guessing. Yes, first they study their target and then proceed with their plans. In this post you will learn how to create perfect-unbreakable passwords.

Now day’s people don’t really try to understand the priority of online safety. Hackers can crack your online bank account and can make you broke!! Or they can get hold of your Facebook account and just disrupt your personal life.

But people without understanding the priority choose some common used words. In a survey it has been proved that the most used words as passwords are “password” or they occupation like “chrisanalyst” and believe me the hackers can crack these. People many times use names of their relatives like wife, kids or girlfriend. 

Remember: Longer passwords doesn't mean that you are safe. Unique passwords prove that.

For example, once while my brother was away I tried opening his laptop which was password-protected. I knew his girlfriend’s name, Catherine. I tried cracking the password with various combinations and finally I SUCCEEDED!! And the password was…wait for it… “catherinedarling”. 

---

So, in this article you will learn how to create perfect-unbreakable passwords:

First before starting make an easy-to-remember sentence like: My favorite footballers are Cristiano Ronaldo, David Beckham and Lionel Messi.

It is better if you create a sentence with about 10-12 words. For making a password and remembering it you just have to remember this sentence.

1.   

•  Then take one letter from each word, it can be the first letter, last letter or first vowel. You can even create your own combinations like the third letter etc. But I am going to choose the first letter from each word, which are: mffacrdbalm.

                                           Password: mffacrdbalm

•   Then change some lower-case letters into upper-case letters. I t will make your password more difficult to crack. It’s easier to remember if you choose some pattern for it, like the first two letters and then the fifth and sixth letter. I usually choose this method.

                                            Password: MFfaCRdbALm

•       Then add some numbers in between. These too in a particular pattern and somewhat related to the words. For example: Cristiano Ronaldo wears a jersey of #7 whereas Messi wears one of #10. Adding these numbers will make the passwords more unique.

                                             Password: MFfaCR7dbALm10

•      Then add some punctuation marks or some special signs Like: @ # $ %  & *. These are just some more techniques for making invulnerable passwords. You can add these marks in the original sentence if you find it hard to remember. Again following a pattern makes it easier but yet it is difficult to guess a password like this one.

                                              Password: MFfaCR@7dbALm@10

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Do you think any of your friends or relatives can crack a password like this one.

Write the initial sentence somewhere personal so that you don’t forget it. Now this password looks difficult, you can add your own techniques to them. You can make more sentences like ‘Manchester United was the best club in the word, 11 but now it is Real Madrid. So, the password I get from this sentence is: $MUwtcithw11bnii$RM. 
                                                

If you have any suggestions to improve this list please leave a comment and help save many people form being hijacked online.

See, it is so easy to make strong passwords. Passwords are an integral part of our online as well as our offline life. You should know how to make strong- uncrackable pass words. Remember; never make your “Facebook” password as “Facebook”. Being safe online is what is more important than being popular online.

---

Technology

Denied: How to make Uncrackable Passwords

Online safety and privacy is as important as your physical safety. There are some unethical and intelligent people, known as hackers, who could crack your passwords as easily like opening a bottle. They have some tools which enhance their powers but the most used logic of theirs is: Guessing. Yes, first they study their target and then proceed with their plans. In this post you will learn how to create perfect-unbreakable passwords.

Now day’s people don’t really try to understand the priority of online safety. Hackers can crack your online bank account and can make you broke!! Or they can get hold of your Facebook account and just disrupt your personal life.

But people without understanding the priority choose some common used words. In a survey it has been proved that the most used words as passwords are “password” or they occupation like “chrisanalyst” and believe me the hackers can crack these. People many times use names of their relatives like wife, kids or girlfriend. 

Remember: Longer passwords doesn't mean that you are safe. Unique passwords prove that.

For example, once while my brother was away I tried opening his laptop which was password-protected. I knew his girlfriend’s name, Catherine. I tried cracking the password with various combinations and finally I SUCCEEDED!! And the password was…wait for it… “catherinedarling”. 

---

So, in this article you will learn how to create perfect-unbreakable passwords:

First before starting make an easy-to-remember sentence like: My favorite footballers are Cristiano Ronaldo, David Beckham and Lionel Messi.

It is better if you create a sentence with about 10-12 words. For making a password and remembering it you just have to remember this sentence.

1.   

•  Then take one letter from each word, it can be the first letter, last letter or first vowel. You can even create your own combinations like the third letter etc. But I am going to choose the first letter from each word, which are: mffacrdbalm.

                                           Password: mffacrdbalm

•   Then change some lower-case letters into upper-case letters. I t will make your password more difficult to crack. It’s easier to remember if you choose some pattern for it, like the first two letters and then the fifth and sixth letter. I usually choose this method.

                                            Password: MFfaCRdbALm

•       Then add some numbers in between. These too in a particular pattern and somewhat related to the words. For example: Cristiano Ronaldo wears a jersey of #7 whereas Messi wears one of #10. Adding these numbers will make the passwords more unique.

                                             Password: MFfaCR7dbALm10

•      Then add some punctuation marks or some special signs Like: @ # $ %  & *. These are just some more techniques for making invulnerable passwords. You can add these marks in the original sentence if you find it hard to remember. Again following a pattern makes it easier but yet it is difficult to guess a password like this one.

                                              Password: MFfaCR@7dbALm@10

---

Do you think any of your friends or relatives can crack a password like this one.

Write the initial sentence somewhere personal so that you don’t forget it. Now this password looks difficult, you can add your own techniques to them. You can make more sentences like ‘Manchester United was the best club in the word, 11 but now it is Real Madrid. So, the password I get from this sentence is: $MUwtcithw11bnii$RM. 
                                                

If you have any suggestions to improve this list please leave a comment and help save many people form being hijacked online.

See, it is so easy to make strong passwords. Passwords are an integral part of our online as well as our offline life. You should know how to make strong- uncrackable pass words. Remember; never make your “Facebook” password as “Facebook”. Being safe online is what is more important than being popular online.

---

Orkut was the first ever social-network I ever registered to. The feeling was amazing to make new friends and chat with long distance friend. It was a king among soldiers in the social-networking market. Though I haven’t used it for years, I simply love it and everybody does. Recently Google has gone on record by deciding to shut it down. Let’s Read more about Orkut and reasons why it’s shutting down:

What is Orkut?

Named after its creator Orkut Buyukkokten, it’s a social networking site that’s owned and operated by Google. The idea was to rediscover old friends, make new ones and speak up about anything and everything and anytime. The journey started on January 24, 2004 and will end on 30 September, 2014.

Was it popular?

Extremely; till 2007-08 Orkut was ruling the world then, especially Brazil and India.

 In 2008 Google announced that Orkut would be fully managed and operated in Brazil, by Google Brazil, in the city of Belo Horizonte. This was decided due to the large Brazilian user base and growth of legal issues.

Although Orkut is less popular in the United States than competitors Facebook and MySpace, it is one of the most visited websites in India and Brazil. In fact, as of December 2009, 51.09% of Orkut's users are from Brazil, followed by India with 20.02% and United States with 17.28%.

Though FB was rolled out in 2005 (2004 in the US), it took two-three years for people to fall in love with the features FB had to offer. In fact, such was the popularity of Orkut in Brazil that only in 2012 did FB finally eclipse the Google product. The other market where Orkut worked well was India. Orkut had almost 120 million users in 2008.

But with Facebook making it so much easier to discover friends and allowing users to set their privacy level, it was just a matter of time, that the king (Orkut) had to make way for the emperor (Facebook)  leaving the throne for him.

Why is it shutting down?

Politely put, Orkut got overpaced by Facebook and twitter. Though Google is known for killing many of its products, all now in the  “Google Graveyard” ;A note was sent out by Google on June 30 studiously avoiding the F-word –and by that we mean Facebook –as it read:”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 focus our energy and resources on making these social platforms as amazing as possible for everyone who uses them.” Truth be told, FB killed Orkut, and Google+ (the “successor” of Orkut) is still far behind FB.

Can I still access Orkut?

Yes, you can till September 30. All you have to do is login with your Google username and password. You can also export your posts and photos to Google+ using Google Takeout (a Google project that allows user to retain their data and download them). After Orkut shuts down, its public communities and pages will be archived and preserved. If you don’t want your name or posts to be a part of this archive, delete your Orkut account.

Is there anything that Facebook can learn from Orkut?

Facebook should have something like Orkut’s theme feature using which ones page looks beautiful and colorful. Facebook is the same wherever you go –blue, blue, blue. The theme feature allowed you to rate a friend’s crush-worthy quotient.

The death of Orkut tells us that…

No social network is forever, today is the FB and twitter era tomorrow will be something else. And, 2014 is not Brazil’s year. The lost their Facebook days long before they lost the World cup.

Why Orkut didn’t work out:

These are the reasons why it is being shut down:

No social-sharing plug-ins: For Buzzfeed and Cracked.com addicts like us, it makes things so much easier if there are plug-ins to help share articles, photos or videos on social media platforms. Unfortunately, Orkut doesn’t provide any.

Limited business promotion: Ads are allowed on Orkut. However, one cannot share them outside the website, which basically beats the point of having advertisements n the first place.

No privacy: The only privacy you get on Orkut is in the chat box. Everything else you post is available for the world to see. For instance, if you checked somebody’s profile the person will about it, let alone the world.

No entertainment: No in-programme apps or games available for fun.

No searchability on Google:  Orkut profiles do not come up on Google Search. One can only access a profile if he/she has an account on Orkut.

It’s based on two types of web-development languages: ASP on the front-end and Javascript, OpenSocial at the back-end. Application for such combination is not easy, unlike Facebook, which is programmed on PHP. This leads to a lagging interface and repeated messages, which read: “No cookie for you!” Aargh!

Popular products of which are now in the Google Graveyard:

Google Wave (2009-2012): A real-time messaging platform.

Google Health (2008-2012): A system where users could bring together all their health records.

Knol (2008-2012): Something on the lines of Wikipedia.

Google Reader (2005-2013): RSS reader, which kept track of content on new sites, blogs and so on.

iGoogle (2005-2013): An option to personalize one’s page.

 If you have something to add to this article please drop a comment or contact me. Lots of love and enjoy reading.

Technology

Reasons for Orkut's Death: Why is Google shutting down Orkut

Orkut was the first ever social-network I ever registered to. The feeling was amazing to make new friends and chat with long distance friend. It was a king among soldiers in the social-networking market. Though I haven’t used it for years, I simply love it and everybody does. Recently Google has gone on record by deciding to shut it down. Let’s Read more about Orkut and reasons why it’s shutting down:

What is Orkut?

Named after its creator Orkut Buyukkokten, it’s a social networking site that’s owned and operated by Google. The idea was to rediscover old friends, make new ones and speak up about anything and everything and anytime. The journey started on January 24, 2004 and will end on 30 September, 2014.

Was it popular?

Extremely; till 2007-08 Orkut was ruling the world then, especially Brazil and India.

 In 2008 Google announced that Orkut would be fully managed and operated in Brazil, by Google Brazil, in the city of Belo Horizonte. This was decided due to the large Brazilian user base and growth of legal issues.

Although Orkut is less popular in the United States than competitors Facebook and MySpace, it is one of the most visited websites in India and Brazil. In fact, as of December 2009, 51.09% of Orkut's users are from Brazil, followed by India with 20.02% and United States with 17.28%.

Though FB was rolled out in 2005 (2004 in the US), it took two-three years for people to fall in love with the features FB had to offer. In fact, such was the popularity of Orkut in Brazil that only in 2012 did FB finally eclipse the Google product. The other market where Orkut worked well was India. Orkut had almost 120 million users in 2008.

But with Facebook making it so much easier to discover friends and allowing users to set their privacy level, it was just a matter of time, that the king (Orkut) had to make way for the emperor (Facebook)  leaving the throne for him.

Why is it shutting down?

Politely put, Orkut got overpaced by Facebook and twitter. Though Google is known for killing many of its products, all now in the  “Google Graveyard” ;A note was sent out by Google on June 30 studiously avoiding the F-word –and by that we mean Facebook –as it read:”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 focus our energy and resources on making these social platforms as amazing as possible for everyone who uses them.” Truth be told, FB killed Orkut, and Google+ (the “successor” of Orkut) is still far behind FB.

Can I still access Orkut?

Yes, you can till September 30. All you have to do is login with your Google username and password. You can also export your posts and photos to Google+ using Google Takeout (a Google project that allows user to retain their data and download them). After Orkut shuts down, its public communities and pages will be archived and preserved. If you don’t want your name or posts to be a part of this archive, delete your Orkut account.

Is there anything that Facebook can learn from Orkut?

Facebook should have something like Orkut’s theme feature using which ones page looks beautiful and colorful. Facebook is the same wherever you go –blue, blue, blue. The theme feature allowed you to rate a friend’s crush-worthy quotient.

The death of Orkut tells us that…

No social network is forever, today is the FB and twitter era tomorrow will be something else. And, 2014 is not Brazil’s year. The lost their Facebook days long before they lost the World cup.

Why Orkut didn’t work out:

These are the reasons why it is being shut down:

No social-sharing plug-ins: For Buzzfeed and Cracked.com addicts like us, it makes things so much easier if there are plug-ins to help share articles, photos or videos on social media platforms. Unfortunately, Orkut doesn’t provide any.

Limited business promotion: Ads are allowed on Orkut. However, one cannot share them outside the website, which basically beats the point of having advertisements n the first place.

No privacy: The only privacy you get on Orkut is in the chat box. Everything else you post is available for the world to see. For instance, if you checked somebody’s profile the person will about it, let alone the world.

No entertainment: No in-programme apps or games available for fun.

No searchability on Google:  Orkut profiles do not come up on Google Search. One can only access a profile if he/she has an account on Orkut.

It’s based on two types of web-development languages: ASP on the front-end and Javascript, OpenSocial at the back-end. Application for such combination is not easy, unlike Facebook, which is programmed on PHP. This leads to a lagging interface and repeated messages, which read: “No cookie for you!” Aargh!

Popular products of which are now in the Google Graveyard:

Google Wave (2009-2012): A real-time messaging platform.

Google Health (2008-2012): A system where users could bring together all their health records.

Knol (2008-2012): Something on the lines of Wikipedia.

Google Reader (2005-2013): RSS reader, which kept track of content on new sites, blogs and so on.

iGoogle (2005-2013): An option to personalize one’s page.

 If you have something to add to this article please drop a comment or contact me. Lots of love and enjoy reading.