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danah explains Brazil

danah boyd just gave a wonderful answer to a question that’s fascinated me for a while: why are there so many Brazilians on Orkut? danah’s speaking on a panel on social networking software at SXSW and just told the following story, based on interviews she did with Brazilian Orkut users:

Because the Orkut statistics page features country flags to represent membership, it looks a bit like the results page for the World Cup. Given Brazilian love for soccer, their response to the page was to take it as a challenge – let’s kick everyone’s asses. So people asked their friends to come online and show the Brazilian flag.

Orkut has also helped a mobile Brazilian population keep up social connections despite people moving to new cities and countries. But danah’s story is just wonderful…

Home » Blog » Just for fun » danah explains Brazil

danah explains Brazil

danah boyd just gave a wonderful answer to a question that’s fascinated me for a while: why are there so many Brazilians on Orkut? danah’s speaking on a panel on social networking software at SXSW and just told the following story, based on interviews she did with Brazilian Orkut users:

Because the Orkut statistics page features country flags to represent membership, it looks a bit like the results page for the World Cup. Given Brazilian love for soccer, their response to the page was to take it as a challenge – let’s kick everyone’s asses. So people asked their friends to come online and show the Brazilian flag.

Orkut has also helped a mobile Brazilian population keep up social connections despite people moving to new cities and countries. But danah’s story is just wonderful…

4 thoughts on “danah explains Brazil”

  1. Nathan Verber Narcae

    That’s just preposterous! I’ve never heard any one here in Brazil talking about this flag stuff. It must be, for sure, an american theory and totally out of reality by the way.

  2. That’s just stupid.
    Nothing to do with that, AT ALL.
    I’m a brazilian. I know that. We don’t care about kissing everybody’s asses. We just like to socialize! lol… That’s it.

    Danah explains Brazil? lol…
    explains anything.

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