Orkut founder says 'Hello' to India with new social network app

While people all over clamour to delete Facebook following the massive leaks of personal data, a former Google employee launched a new social network in India. Orkut Buyukkokten had founded the erstwhile social network called Orkut, which went on to become a trendsetter. Though Orkut was later pulled down by Google, it set the stage for social networking sites. The new social network launched by Orkut is named Hello.

Designed for the new generation, Hello brings people together with their interests to create positive, meaningful, authentic connections and sustained social engagement, said a statement from the company.

 

"We designed 'Hello' to help you make connections in the real world. It's a social network built on loves not likes, and I'm delighted to say 'Hello' to India once again," said Buyukkokten, now the CEO of San Francisco-based Hello Network Inc.

 

According to Buyukkokten, social media has isolated people instead of bringing them closer. Since it has become more of “broadcasting and sharing”, Buyukkokten believes there needs to be a new start. Hello is designed around communities that are interest based where users having the same interests can connect. Buyukkokten mentioned that no user information is shared with third-party apps. After India, the app will be moving to the US as well as France and Germany.

So excited to meet the bloggers and @iradubey at tomorrow’s event! @thehellonetwork #helloappindia #helloindia

A post shared by Orkut Buyukkokten (@orkutb) on Apr 12, 2018 at 1:01am PDT

ready to launch 🚀

A post shared by Orkut Buyukkokten (@orkutb) on Apr 10, 2018 at 5:05am PDT

Hello had stared in Brazil in July 2016, with about 35,000 users being a part of its testing in the Indian market. Hello is currently available for download for Android as well as iOS. Orkut was owned and operated by Google and was named after Buyukkokten. The social network was shut down on September 30, 2014.