While we wait for society and dating sites to figure out how to do video profiles and videochat, the dating industry has had one option when it comes to getting past static profiles.
OmniDate, which many readers will remember from iDates past, was the only pure-play avatar-based dating system. When I first tried Omnidate I sketched out exactly what they had to do to get to the point where they could comfortably say they had a minimum viable product for the dating industry. The problem was throwing up a background jpeg and some cutesy avatar gestures wasn’t enough to catch the eye of the dating industry. It turns out that you get just about as much emotive bandwidth out of IMVU or Yahoo Messenger. Try as they might, the founders ended up selling the company.
With 50 million registered users, 10+ million unique visitors per month and a $50+ million annualized revenue run rate, IMVU has long been a leader in the avatar chat space. But there is always room for improvement, because its all about increasing emotive bandwidth. I just wish these apps were built in HTML5 and not Flash.
Developer Rocket Ninja has created a Facebook app called Be3D. The app will “Transform yourself into your ultimate 3D persona and express your personality, humor, and style while developing relationships, old and new.”
Inside Social Games says:
The present build ofBe3D allows users to engage in pre-scripted actions, such as dancing or high five-ing with members of their 3D networks and gift virtual goods to one another. Pelled explains that users will be able to find and add new friends to their network via search parameters like gender, age and location — as one might with an online dating service. Pelled explains Be3D will monetize through a combination of video ads, hard currency, virtual goods — like clothing and the aforementioned facial customization — and product placement. Pelled also says there are plans for an affiliate referral program in the works, but the system isn’t in place yet.
Be3D is in beta, and missing serious social or dating features. Rocket Ninja raised $7.5 million in funding last November, and promises to deliver custom avatars, games and chat.
The bigger picture here is that more companies are bringing deeper immersive experiences to Facebook. Mostly in the casual chat category, expect new dating-focused chat apps to emerge this year. All I want to do is record a 2-minute video and attach it to my dating profile. Is that so much to ask?
