Download Camfrog 5.3.208 Beta (Windows)

Look for a review of the updated Camfrog 5.3 on Video Chat 101 soon

Whilst not in the same league as Paltalk Scene it is well worth checking out.

If your new to video chat or want to expand your video chat experience Paltalk is the largest voice and video chat service. Claim your free trial of Paltalk Scene for video messaging and chat.
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WebcamNow it is fair to say caters primarily for the more adult chat room activities, there is a family friendly area, but the number of users in this area are fairly small (as opposed to the open area, which is bustling with users). Along with other browser based chat environment ( such as ANYwebcam and many others we will be reviewing ) the experience in the past has been a buggy and frustrating one. But WebcamNow is worth a second look (look for the review soon), just be aware this is an experience catered toward a mature audience, visiting the open area will expose you to nudity and adult themes.

We will be looking at more browser based “video chat communities” over coming weeks to give you, the reader, the heads up on what you will find there and help you to choose a place(s) that you may wish to use.

You can check out the new improved WebcamNow Here

Once again wordpressthemedesigner.com brings to you another exciting contest! Get a chance to win the trendiest gadget that has been rocking the blogging world – the Flip Mino Video Camera. This contest is graciously sponsored by the best Affiliate Network in the planet, Market Leverage.

How to Join:

Step 1: Subscribe to the Feed – click here! *compulsory

Step 2: Blog About This Contest *compulsory

(a) Copy and Paste Contest Details >> click here for html code <<

(b) optional: add a paragraph or two containing any of the ff suggested topics: (1) why you think wpthemedesigner.com rocks! (2) why you think marketleverage.com is the best affiliate network in the planet (3) why you want to win this contest.

Total: 10 points

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Bonus: 5 points

Contest Prizes

1st Place – Flip Mino Video Camera
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3rd place – $50 ML Reward

Contest Ends on August 17, 2008. Each point counts as your name being put down once in a randomizer using random.org

Video Chat 101 would like to wish all that enter good luck! and be sure to subscribe to our rss feed here so you can be informed when a new competition is launched!

Whilst chatting online is a fun and rewarding experience, it does have some drawbacks which the user needs to guard against. Safety must be kept in mind at all times, so I thought it would be neglectful of me not to include a online safety guide amongst these articles.

In particular in the realm of online chat, the younger members of our community are at risk.

The main things to keep in mind

• NEVER give out your address online unless the party you are talking to you is some you can trust really REALLY well, even then think twice before giving out your details
• ALWAYS supervise minors, use filters and take an interest in who they are talking to, DO NOT leave them unsupervised
• REMEMBER you can never be sure who or what the intention of the person is you are chatting with.
• DO NOT arrange “Real Life” meets unless you are meeting in a group or in a busy place (ie coffe shop or mall)

It really just comes down to common sense most of the time, just keep in mind that the person you are chatting to, may not be who they appear to be online, always err on the side of caution, if things don’t feel right or your intuition tells you to run, then most chat environments allow you to block / ignore the person.

If they do get a hold of your phone number or address and harass you, DO contact authorities immediately.

Let me reiterate, for kids please make sure you are supervising them, In my household there wouldn’t be computer with internet access in the kids bedroom, if they want to chat online they could do so in an area where a parent could be close by and with the screen positioned that it could be seen at any time, I don’t mean we have to sit there and ruin their time online by looking at everything they are doing, but you can never be too safety conscious when it comes to your kids.

A good site to check out more information on safety for the various instant messaging programs is www.wiredsafety.org, there is a link from the image at the top of this article to the main site, its worth a read as it contains a lot of information re safety online.

Having said all that, don’t let it deter you, online chatting is one of the best ways to meet friends, form relationships, broaden your mind and have a lot of fun! Like most things in life you just have to keep safety in mind.

We will be looking at the various safety features of each program reviewed here at a later date. In the meantime let us know what you do to be safe online…

UPDATE: Check out our review of Camfrog 5.1 here Video Chat Review : Camfrog 5.1

For those of you all ready using Camfrog you can check out the change log here which informs us that Camfrog Client 5.1 new developments include, increased stability, you can now keep track of who you have previously viewed in the chat room (if the users name turns magenta when you mouse over it, it is an indication you have already viewed the user). You can also now choose which language you preferr during installation of the client.

These improvements, in particular the ability to keep track of who you have already view are great additions to Camfrog’s chat community, which we are finding to be a great place to hang out.

As previously stated we are currently reviewing Camfrog, but if you cant wait for the review, head over to Camfrog site and start Camfrogging!

Get Camfrog 5.1 Now! and let us know what you think!

UPDATE: Check out our review of Camfrog 5.1 here Video Chat Review : Camfrog 5.1

Like many I first discovered online chatting through MIRC, but it wasn’t until ICQ emerged that I became addicted to meeting people from all walks of life, from locations all over the world.

Later with the emergence of the now defunct cuseeme video conferencing application I was fascinated to suddenly see the people I had been chatting with for years come alive in front of my eyes, no more lol’s at my jokes I could actually see them laughing (or not),  I could see when they were sick or blue or if they had taken my comments the wrong way etc…

Now I was even more hooked! This lead me to discover online communities in particular a now defunct application called mplayer, I initially used mplayer, like thousands of other people to play online games such as doom. Mplayer then introduced cam rooms, a whole community of people would be chatting in the rooms while appearing on cam. I found myself increasingly neglecting my gaming time to spend it chatting with my fellow players and forming friendships that have lasted many years. With the demise of mplayer (due primarily to the time and expense needed to police the chat room activities) I tried many other programs such as Camera Cafe, See Saw, LivVe to name but a few that never really made it.

This goal of producing this blog is to inform the community of the options out there for video chat, I will be reviewing the many new video chat programs such as Paltalk, Skype and the phenomenon that is Stickam, I will be looking at the controversy surrounding video chat (the more adult nature of it) as well as safety for minors and avoiding pitfalls for new players.

This blog will take an in-depth look at the personal messenger phenomenon, in particular those that incorporate video capabilities, the aforementioned Skype, Yahoo! Messenger, Yahoo Live, msn, aim and others.

We will be reviewing hardware as well as 3rd party add-on programs.

I look forward to getting to know many of you and hope to have the pleasure of seeing you cam to cam soon!

Cheers!