I remain non-plussed about the majority of Chatroulette competitors. Then I heard about RandomDorm.
RandomDorm takes the thrilling serendipity of being paired with an anonymous stranger in a video chat room and limits it to college campuses. Participants need a college e-mail address to access the Web service. Alternatively, they can sign in using Facebook as long as the primary e-mail address tied to that account ends with an .edu.
Josh Weinstein, creator of RandomDorm. “We hope to emulate that simplicity and ensure a degree of community and security.”
I talked to Josh a few weeks ago about his other startup, GoodCrush. Unlike other “missed connections” style sites tied into dating sites, GoodCrush is entirely based on real missed connection a la Craigslist.
However, I had to laugh at “Community and security”. Right, they’ll monetize the heck out of this anyway they can, and they raunchier it is the more money they will make. If I were them I’d look at how Woome pairs up conversations, create a leaderboard and watch the ad revenue pour in.
More at the New York Times.
This is interesting, Chatroulette Clone software starting at $99.
Come to think of it, Userplane could have done this years ago. Sometimes it takes a 17-year old Russian kid to change the world, at least for a few months.
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Didn’t the comscore data show that ChatRt was already overwhelmingly college aged?
http://mashable.com/2010/03/16/chatroulette-demographics-comscore/
Yup.
If you’re looking for someone who you want to spend a lifetime with, and someone who is honest responsible and God-fearing then use http://usasevendayadventistsingles.com just like Myron Brown, Earl Ayers.
One of my Google alerts sent me a craigslist ad hiring female models to direct Chatroulette users to a clone for college students (no idea if its these guys) should work, though could backfire if Chatroulette decides to hire college guys to go on to the clone site and expose themselves.
http://newyork.craigslist.org.nyud.net/mnh/tlg/1648205431.html
It is essential to take some precautions while online dating.
ha. eliot that’s a good idea, perhaps CR should hire you for marketing
Won’t every clone site have male perverts? they should just have an adult section and a non-adult section (where they report you to the authorities for exposure).
now there’s also campus live, which i think has a greater chance at success than randomdorm. what do you think?
http://blog.shufflepeople.com/index.php/2010/03/campuslive-launches-competitor-to-randomdorm/
The Chatroutlette story is similar to HotOrNot’s. Launch, popularity, media attention, a huge growth period, lots of copycats, then traffic and interest levels off. Definitely a sustainable business for a small company but the marketplace cannot support more than one or two large competitors. Can you name any HotorNot competitors?
Colleges are going to have to consider blocking CR sites because they will quickly devolve into p0rn, camgirls and bong hits. There is little indication that college kids want a squeaky-clean CR site.
What about http://www.vtring.com ….