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A few weeks ago there was a flurry of hype in Brazil over the launch of a new Orkut invitation-only interface (Orkut being Google’s social network, recently made available for mobile via Android). Argentine social network Sonico just launched a Brazilian interface (their biggest user base is in Brazil), and an iPhone app and announced the placement of a country manager in São Paulo to take care of operations for this expansion. And Facebook is about to announce the winners of the application challenge announced during founder Mark Zuckerberg’s visit to Brazil.

And the competition doesn’t stop there. There are niche social networks for various interests, all of them seeking to establish themselves as the top choice among social network users. Not to mention Twitter. Although it has an assymetric relationship structure (you don’t have to follow to be followed), it is considered a social network and has announced news for Brazil.

The message is clear: involving users and receiving attention helps position one in the market. Besides providing value to the systems themselves, social networks and their applications involve developers and businesses in technology, media, commerce, products and services.

Emmanual Evita, of Google, demonstrates the new Orkut interface:

A screenshot of Sonico for iPhone (see more here).

See more video from the launch of the new Orkut.
Listen to audio about the new Orkut: part 1 and part 2.
See photos from the launch of the new Orkut.
See what people are saying about the new Orkut on Twitter.
More about iPhone apps on Startupi.