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Anita Bora
What's common among telephones, chat rooms, instant messengers and email?
Love, romance and flirting, I would hazard.
Two 'paid' dating services are now pushing SMS and Web cams to cash in on the online love boom.
Last week, textandmeet.com put a bet on the 'txtin' revolution: Will those of quick thumbs be quicker with their money?
Datecam.com is wondering if the bandwidth endowed will pay to look before they leap. After all they are moving beyond pictures and profiles to real-time video chats.
Let's check them out…
Text is a four-letter word
Says textandmeet.com Managing Director Lawrence Pryor: "The concept is to use 3G technology to bring users together from anywhere in the world in literally minutes over traditional online dating sites. Our programme will send a message to the user in seconds directly to the mobile handset."
This is how:
- Register your cell phone number.
- Provide basic details about yourself.
- Find a partner you want to exchange messages with. (Your cell number is protected).
The Quick Start menu on the home page allows you to set preferences for a partner by age, location and sex. Users worldwide can connect to others linked on 300 networks in 118 countries and the list is growing.
The user buys a membership starting from $19.95 per month. This allows her to browse a database of suitors. She can then send a message directly to anyone she picks from the profiles. When you send a message to a prospective partner you use up credits that come with the textandmeet.com membership. The basic membership offers 100 SMS credits and it costs 3 credits to send a message anywhere in the world.
Currently, profile matches are sent using email. But the programme is being developed further to send via the cell phone directly.
Textandmeet.com is hoping that the 'instant gratification' of their service will pay off. Says Pryor, "With this technology users can get together quicker than the traditional sites that send email only. SMS is accepted as a viable means of communication and using it as a dating medium to connect to others is surely a benefit to all due to its speed."
Users will remain anonymous when sending messages assures Pryor, "If they wish to reveal their identities, we cannot do anything about it, but we will not reveal it. The user is protected at our end at all times." There is also an option to block off annoying or persistent suitors.
Currently, registrations are coming in from all over the world but Europe and Asia dominate.
With the rise of 3G technology and multimedia services, Pryor envisions that users will eventually be able to send a photo or a video file directly to the handset "thus creating and developing the flirtation experience".
As the use of this technology becomes more widespread, these multimedia features will be incorporated into the site. "For now the critical level of mass users (for multimedia) is not there. However, we are ready when they are," assures Pryor.
I am seeing her!
Remember Jennicam? The site that brings home to you Jenni, the woman who lives out her life under a Web cam!
Using the same concept is datecam.com. Launched in the first week of October, the dating service lets you watch videos of other members and chat with them before you take the next step.
On the site, a Quick Search helps you zero in on a shortlist of prospective suitors by age, sex and location.
Chat categories include the Lounge, Culture and Lifestyles. The Fresh Faces section displays new members and those who have recently updated their picture profiles.
A datecam.com representative explains, "After users register, they post profiles, pictures and recorded videos. They are given access to the live video chat for 10 minutes to see how it works and check out the quality. This also enables direct connectivity."
Registration to the service is free. You can then upgrade your membership to 15 hours of video time in 1 month for $14.95. A three-month membership and free Web cam costs $39.95.
The live video chat is different from the regular real-time chats because it runs on Flash and there are no downloads to be made.
More links
Cosmic Cupid
Get the most out of your phone and become a mobile flirt.
MTV Amour
Have fun with the SMS dating game.
Yahoo! India
Dating via SMS.
Dating Desis
Partner search for Indians abroad.
India Dating
Matchmaking engine, especially for Indians.
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