Web Whore Whippersnappers!

I tested out the private one on one chat system iFriends last night & have to say, even as a webmaster & self-proclaimed geek, that site is confusing as fuck. It's got all of these awesome features, like my very own Fan Club that I can add all sorts of replay clips & images to that costs $20 per month or free if the member spends $20 per month in private cam shows. Very cool & a great bonus for regular chatters. I knew about that part, but I didn't realize how many other features these clubs offer that get shoved down the list in the description, like a phone system so my members can call me whenever they want & leave voice messages if I'm not available or scheduling a wake-up call so certain days of the week you can wake up to your phone & my voice. OK, maybe that one is a little weird, but still totally original. I'm blown away by the features they offer & equally blown away by how bad the functionality is. As a chathost, I log in to start broadcasting & it asks me which software I'm going to be broadcasting from. There are FIVE choices, all of which cite the great features of that particular program. How the hell do I know which program I should broadcast from? Searching the message boards, I've figured out that some programs mean you'll get more viewers in your chat room (good thing), but that when you're doing a private show, some surfers on other websites can still see me (huh? that's not private!!). It took me 10 tries & an email to support to finally get my damn profile pic to show up!

Since it's one of the oldest cam systems on-line, it seems like they just kept building on & building on & now they have this ramshackle site with incredible features - a mansion built on a trailer pad. I'd give up & chuck the whole thing, but some of the stuff they're doing is just too neat. 3D cam shows? Gimmicky as fuck, but who doesn't want to try it once? Being able to send an email or ICQ to my favorite chatters to let them know when I go on-line? Very handy. So, I think I'll stick with it & try to figure out what all these 18 year olds seem to have no problem doing. And then I'll figure out how to customize my MySpace. And then I'll call my mom & tell her I now understand her hatred for those young whippersnappers. =P