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710,000 thumbs and holding

July 27, 2005

One of our guilty pleasures, the Rīga-based social network draugiem.lv, has hit its share of bumps in recent weeks. At times users have not been able to update their profiles, at other times users’ photographs have not appeared.

But today we couldn’t even log on. Instead we—and the 355,000-plus other members who have registered with the service since its start in early 2004—were greeted by this message: “Mēs joprojām cīnāmies. Iet kā pa celmiem, bet gaisma tuneļa galā jau redzama. Jūsu īkšķi mums ļoti palīdz. Paldies!” Translation: “We continue to struggle. It is rough going, but the light at the end of the tunnel is in sight. Your thumbs help us a lot. Thank you!”

For those unfamiliar with Latvian lore, turēt īkšķi or “to hold one’s thumb” is the equivalent of crossing one’s fingers for good luck.

And for those unfamiliar with draugiem.lv, the Internet service has rocketed in popularity. Its members total well more than 10 percent of Latvia’s population and its use has even been restricted by some employers, according to a Diena article reproduced by Apollo.

To become a new user, you have to receive an invitation from a current user.

In April, draugiem.lv began a similar service in Italy called vostriamici.it.

By the way, in case vostriamici.it runs into similar problems, it may want to tell its users, “Facciamo le corna!” That, according to the Embassy of Italy in Washington, D.C., is a common way of wishing for good luck in Italian. It means “to make the symbol of the horns,” involving bending down the middle three fingers of your right hand and leaving the thumb and pinkie (little finger) up.

— Andris Straumanis