Omegle

Omegle

URL	Omegle.com
Slogan	Talk to strangers!
Type of site	Instant messaging, video chat, stranger chat
Registration	None
Available language(s)	English
Created by	Leif K-Brooks
Launched	March 25, 2009
Alexa rank	4,743 (world) 3,619 (U.S.) (as of 3 August 2011 (2011 -08-03)[update])[1]
Current status	Active

Omegle is an online chat website that allows users to communicate with strangers without registering. The service randomly pairs users up into one-on-one chat sessions where they chat anonymously using the handles "You" and "Stranger". The site was created by 18-year-old Leif K-Brooks of Brattleboro, Vermont, and was launched on March 25, 2009.^[2][3] The name "Omegle" is an alteration of the word omega. The blue part of the logo contains an omega (Ω) turned diagonally. On March 14, 2010, Omegle introduced a video conferencing feature in addition to text chatting.

Less than a month after its March 2009 launch, Omegle garnered around 150,000 page views a day.^[4] The use of the mandatory chatnames "You" and "Stranger", the "Talk to Strangers!" slogan of the site, and prompts such as "Your conversational partner has disconnected" at the end of a chat appeared to fuel the popularity of the site.^[5]

The kind of chat that Omegle popularized is called anonymous chat, stranger chat, or 1-on-1 chat. Comparisons have been made to early-1990s AOL.^[6] The site now provides an Omegle mobile application that lets users chat with strangers from an Android, iPhone, iPod Touch, or Palm webOS device.^[7]

The site uses anti-spam software, known as reCAPTCHA, which periodically challenges users in order to prevent spam messages being sent by automated bots.^{[citation needed]}

Omegle now features the add-on, "Spy Mode", which connects three strangers. One stranger asks a question for the other two to answer or discuss with one another. The stranger who asks the question, however, cannot participate in the discussion; they play the part of a third-party observer. Spy Mode is still in beta, which leads users to believe there may be some adjustments made to it.^{[citation needed]} Currently, the script on the page of Spy Mode can be abused, which has resulted in some users displaying offensive and obscene pictures and videos.^{[citation needed]}

Recently, Omegle has added a feature letting users connect through Facebook Connect, in order to meet strangers with common interests. The feature accomplishes this by observing which pages the users have "liked" on Facebook. When the feature is enabled, strangers are still connected to completely random strangers and not always those who share common interests, which is generally the result of the search for those with similar likes timing out.

Controversy

There are no restrictions on age or any other user characteristic. The site never censors contributions through a profanity filter, and a user may encounter nudity or sexual content on camera.^[8] K-Brooks has acknowledged the questionable content of the site, at one time expressing "disappointment" at the way in which the site has been used.^[8]

See also

Internet portal

• Online chat
• Web chat
• Chatroulette, a similar site
• Chat room
• Tinychat
• Woo Media

References

1. ^ Alexa Internet (03 August 2011). "Site Info from Alexa: Omegle.com: Traffic Stats". www.alexa.com. http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/omegle.com. Retrieved 03 August 2011. 
2. ^ Brooks, Leif (March 30, 2009). "Welcome to the Omegle blog!". http://omegler.blogspot.com/2009/03/welcome-to-omegle-blog.html. ^{[dead link]}
3. ^ "Omegle chat program can help you find love anonymously". April 14th, 2009. http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/health/omegle-chat-program-can-help-you-find-love-anonymously_100179374.html. 
4. ^ Quenqua, Douglas (April 26, 2009). "Tired of Old Web Friends? A New Site Promises Strangers". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/27/technology/internet/27omegle.html. 
5. ^ Thomas, Owen (March 31 2009). "Omegle! This Teenager Wants You to Chat with a Stranger". Gawker. http://gawker.com/5192447/omegle-this-teenager-wants-you-to-chat-with-a-stranger. 
6. ^ O'Brien, Terrence (2009-04-02). "Omegle.com Lets You Anonymously Mess With Complete Strangers". Switched.com. http://www.switched.com/2009/04/02/omegle-com-lets-you-anonymously-mess-with-complete-strangers?icid=sphere_blogsmith_inpage_engadget. Retrieved 2010-03-17. 
7. ^ "Anonymity taken to the next level – Omegle". Articlesbase.com. http://www.articlesbase.com/art-and-entertainment-articles/anonymity-taken-to-the-next-level-omegle-1179359.html. Retrieved 2010-03-17. 
8. ^ ^{a b} "Chatroulette and Omegle: chat rooms with a twist". BBC News. 2010-03-24. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8539701.stm. Retrieved 2010-06-06. 

External links

• Omegle