For those who wish there were yet another way to connect with friends on computer screens, a new start-up called SocialEyes now offers video chatting through Facebook.
SocialEyes, which made its public debut on Monday, was founded by Rob Glaser and Rob Williams, who know a thing or two about digital video from their days as executives at RealNetworks. Glaser started RealNetworks in 1995 and stepped down as its chief executive last year after a stormy tenure. He remains chairman.
People log in to SocialEyes using Facebook Connect. They see their Facebook friends and can begin chats with several of them at once, individually or in a group. If someone isn t online, users can leave a video message.
Users can leave the windows open so the friends can see and hear one another even when they re not chatting. They can mute or pause certain conversations if they don t want their friend to see or hear them, but it can be a little creepy, especially if someone forgets that a chat is still going on.
Williams compares it to a physical office, where someone might walk by and start a conversation with a colleague, another might join-in and then two might go into a private room to continue talking.
Several services including Skype, Apple's FaceTime and Google's video chat in Gmail let people communicate via video. SocialEyes differs in that it offers a social element, Williams said. Most of the value is building a community around my friends, he said.
SocialEyes users can create chat groups, so a family planning a reunion could create a permanent group, or strangers with shared interests could find one another and video chat.
In that way, SocialEyes brings to mind Chatroulette, the controversial service that randomly connects Webcam users who don t know one another.
Its sudden, global popularity proved that many people had front-facing video cameras on their computers and were interested in casual chats, Williams said. But Chatroulette sessions, which could get repulsive, also proved that people didn t necessarily want to chat with random strangers, he said.
We found that really exciting, but you really need identity in order to make it work, Williams said. That s why SocialEyes connects users by making use of their Facebook IDs.
The founders say they want to wait until SocialEyes has a significant number of users to figure out how to make money. But advertisers could use it to recruit customers to evangelize about their product in SocialEyes videos, they said. Or if people start using it in the workplace, they could eventually sell a premium version to businesses.
I ve had experience with both of those, and the common denominator of either is building a huge user base and making sure it has a viral element, Glaser said.
People can log in to SocialEyes at its Web site or on Facebook, and the company is building a mobile app. SocialEyes, which is based in San Francisco, has raised $5.1 million, including a $4.5 million investment led by Ignition Partners.