Have you heard the news? Today, while attending Google I/O, we announced the launch of our developers API, giving developers the opportunity to integrate multi-user applications and fun new activities into 6rounds in a mere 15 minutes.

For those of you who don’t know, a developers API is a set of commands that exposes the platform’s services to external developers. In other words, it shows external developers the commands we use in our video experience, and offers them the functionality to then create their own applications within our platform.
 

So why would we open our API?

Since we launched our platform in July, we’ve received many requests and queries asking if, and when, we’ll be opening our developers API. In the spirit of collaboration, and as part of our ongoing efforts to offer the richest video chat environment possible, we decided that now is a good time to open the doors for developers across the world. Therefore, we are allowing developers in all arenas to create different and unique applications on the 6rounds platform.

So what does this mean for our users? Currently, we have five different games and two different activities available in the video chat experience. As soon as developers begin creating new applications to integrate into 6rounds, they will be offered to our users free of charge. Rounders will have more games to play, and more activities to keep them entertained.

Since the opportunities are endless, we don’t know how many new applications will be created and what specific applications they will be. What we can promise though, is that it’s going to be an exciting year and they’ll be a lot of fun additions to the video chat experience.
 

What does our API entail?

The developers API entails many aspects. Here are a few of them:

• Displays the developed application as part of the 6rounds video page experience
• Enables developers to develop multi-user functionality such as messaging
• Enables developers to interact with 6rounds platform and get friends lists and user data
• Enables developers to store user specific application data in our system
• Enables developers to interact with the video experience such as send gifts, change skins and set effects

Using 6rounds simple API, developers can quickly and easily transform their existing social activities and games into 6rounds video chat experience, or create new inspiring applications, both of which can leverage the platform’s inherent ability to deploy gifts, effects, and background themes into the video chat environment. Furthermore, the developers will soon have the opportunity to embed their activities in a stand-alone widget, anywhere across the web, which will allow even faster distribution of their products.

“As developers ourselves, our focus was to create something that will speed up the development process and concentrate on game functionality instead of platform boundaries” says Gadi Srebnik, VP Product Director of 6rounds. “Typical social activities are focused primarily on an asynchronous experience. 6rounds finally changes this”, states Co-Founder and COO, Ilan Leibovich.

Developers are invited to create real-time multi-user rich activities through 6rounds API. They can incorporate their activities with video streaming and text chatting, sync users’ events and mouse movements, customize the user backgrounds and webcam effects, as well as use visual gifts to enhance the video chat experience. These features create a breathtaking experience for the users and prolong their interaction within the platform.

Why would Developer want to use it?

There are many reasons why developers would want to develop application to implement into 6rounds. Here are just a few:

• It’s great exposure for them. It’s a way for them to get their name out there and display their skills, craft and creativity.
• The first few submitted application will get the chance of being a default application in the video experience that will be spread throughout our cross platform environment through leading social networks and ISP providers.
• The video experience will be a personalized embeddable environment in the sense that a developer will be able to embed the environment with a default application, skin and capabilities.
• Studio – our future app store, with free and premium apps, will allow revenue sharing opportunities and an affiliation program for our developers and will leverage their existing revenue streams.
• Our unique API allow developers to make a great, real-time collaboration or game idea come true in an interactive video environment!
• Transforming any multi user game to work in a rich video chat arena takes as little as 20 minutes.

For developers to create very simple applications, like pong or Google translate, it can take less than 15 minutes. From our testing, developers without prior knowledge of the system can use our API and create something in a very short amount of time. Of course, making more in-depth applications such as those that include complex game logic will take longer.

Furthermore, when a developer starts on an application and registers on 6rounds, he gets a kit of information which includes a readymade application that serves as a template that he can tweak and adjust accordingly.

We’re excited to see the many different applications and activities that developers can create and we welcome developers to join us in creating a live, real-time, face to face, streamed web.

Now that you know about our exciting news, go to the developer API page on 6rounds and check it out!
 

____________________________________________________
Hey! Have you tried Rounds Facebook application already?

Related Posts

1. Getting Started with rounds Developers API
2. Tutorial 1 – Register as a developer
3. 6rounds Update!

Rounds is the ultimate interactive playground!

If you haven’t heard of Video Chat Rounds Facebook application, an exciting and innovative new video chat platform run by Rounds, now is the time to check out this awesome application!

The innovative team here at Rounds is now happy to announce our newest exciting feature:

By adding Random Rounds to our already existing interactive layers, instead of just calling a friend, members can now pick any game or activity and decide whether to enjoy it by themselves, with a friend, or with someone totally new.

Along with having fun, privacy and security are main priorities when it comes to the Rounds platform.
Many measures have been taken to ensure that members enjoy a secure and safe experience. The
following precautions have been put in place to prevent any inappropriate behavior on Random Rounds:

• Only members with more than 100 friends may use the Random Rounds feature (Anyone can
  enjoy the classic Video Chat Rounds platform without the Random Rounds Service)
• Members will only be connected to users within their age group
• Members real Facebook account information is displayed so there is no anonymity
• A powerful reporting mechanism singles out “bad” users. Users who abuse the platform will be
  blocked permanently and will be reported to Facebook at the risk of losing their Facebook
  account.

Rounds has over 350,000 satisfied monthly active members…

Tons of fun and addictive multi-user games, like…

Battleship

Foosball

Pick Up Stix

Sky Blocks War

as well as tons of other fabulous two player games. Check ‘em out!

Lots of amazing activities, like…

Facebook

Youtube

Google Maps

Whiteboard

as well as several other unique co-browsing options. Check ‘em out!

And Rounds users have taken more than 2 million snapshots (like the ones you saw above) using the sweet photo-booth feature!

“We believe that Random Rounds offers users a unique fun experience, by allowing members of any age, from any country, to play, share and create memorable photo booth snapshots while meeting someone new. Whether it be through the different activities, the interactive features, or the social matching mechanism that we’ve created, Video Chat Rounds bridges the gap between the offline and online worlds and continues to connect users in a more personal, emotional and memorable way” states Dany Fishel, Rounds Co-Founder and CEO.

Check out Video Chat Rounds today! Video Chat, As It Should Be.

Try it out and let us know what you think!

For questions and comments you can reach us at support@rounds.com

____________________________________________________
Hey! Have you tried Rounds Facebook application already?

Related Posts

1. Rounds Press Release – Tuesday, August 16 2011
2. Rounds Press Release – Thursday, December 1, 2011
3. Rounds Press Release – Wednesday, November 2, 2011

With this video chat Google Chrome extension you can take photo booth snapshots with funny webcam effects and animations, play real-time games, watch YouTube videos, share pictures, browse Google Maps and much more. Everything is available for you on your own or while video chatting with a friend! So go ahead, check it out now!

____________________________________________________
Hey! Have you tried Rounds Facebook application already?

Related Posts

1. Google Wave launches and 6rounds is its only video chat extension
2. 20 must have Google Chrome extensions
3. How to use 6rounds Google Wave extension

How do I get coins?

To get coins just do one of the following things:

1. Register = 100 coins
2. Take a snapshot and publish it = 20 coins (per publish)
3. Share your unique Round link = 10 coins (per share)
4. Bring your friends = 5 coins (per each invite)
 

What can I buy with my coins?

Gifts

Effects

Skins

Games

Activities

How do I purchase things using my coins?

When you are in the video chat environment you can enter into the interactive menu (by putting your mouse over the right hand side of the video chat) and see the various items mentioned above. As you know, some of them are free while other have a price tag on them which indicates they need to be purchased using coins.

Once clicking on an item with a price tag, a box will open on the left that indicates what type of item it is, the name of the item, as well as the amount of coins needed to purchase it. Once you click on the “add button” you will here a “ch-ching” sound which indicates the item has been purchased successfully.

You will notice that the number of coins you have, has now decreased and the item no longer has a price tag on it.

If you have any questions, or if you are having any technical problems, please contact support@rounds.com

This post will be updated as more gifts, effects, skins, games and activities become available.

If you are a developer, get more information about our developers API.

*Rounds reserves the right to change the coins system without warning.
 

____________________________________________________
Hey! Have you tried Rounds Facebook application already?

Related Posts

1. Video Chat Rounds – Our New Facebook Application
2. Video Chat Rounds – FAQ
3. Take a video chat snapshot and share it with your friends!

1. Click on “Bring Your Friends”

2. Choose Which Way

3. Connect and Invite

From facebook:

Press the connect with facebook button, select which friends you want to invite and press send.
 

From E-mail

Select your e-mail provider, enter in your information, select which friends you want to invite and press invite friends.
 

So come on, bring your friends to 6rounds!
 

____________________________________________________
Hey! Have you tried Rounds Facebook application already?

Related Posts

1. Make friends online in 2010
2. Take a video chat snapshot and share it with your friends!
3. Why should I make friends online?

Try out the one player version below and let us know what you think.
 

For the full multi-player experience, start a round and begin to play.
 

____________________________________________________
Hey! Have you tried Rounds Facebook application already?

Related Posts

1. The Easiest Way to Play Online Games
2. New Multi-player Real-time shooter game!
3. Online Chatting Builds Online Friendships

In a Galaxy far far away, on a small and cute planet lives the Qwertys!

The Qwertys used to be peaceful and fuzzy creatures, who spent most of their time taking photos of each other and playing games.

Each Qwerty had a unique ability and used it to spread love and joy around the universe.
 

Humans

Last year, we humans arrived to their planet, searching for a cure for loneliness.
When we found out about the qwertys, we soon discovered, that by capturing them, they could
cure all of our lonely, boring nights and bring back happiness to our lives.

The Accident

When we first met the qwertys we lived in peace and harmony. We even had fun together. But one day we accidentally gave them some chocolate, not knowing that the chocolate would make the qwertys go gaga and start eating everything around them, including us.
Since that tragic day we have been in war with the qwertys in attempt to save both our lives and our chocolates.

The Game:

Mission: You and your teammate will be placed in the qwertys planet for 60 sec (after that time your air will run out).
Objective: Kill as many qwertys as possiable.
Winner: The player who will kill the most qwertys will be the winner

Infected Qwertied key features:

- Multiplayer
- Real time, see your teammate’s weapon move and fire in real time
- VideoChat, see your friends get mad in live video chat
- 5 different qwertys to love and kill, more qwertys every day

Wanna Try It Out?

Try out the one-player version above and let us know what you think. For the full experience, start a round and begin to play the new multi-player real-time shooter game.

____________________________________________________
Hey! Have you tried Rounds Facebook application already?

Related Posts

1. Bored and Wanna Play a Fun Game Online?
2. It’s about time we’ll write something here
3. Surviving Thanksgiving: A Drinking Game

Peer-to-Peer, otherwise known as P2P, is not a new means of communication, but it is new in the world of web applications. Some platforms are now using this form of communication for their media streaming, and in fact, only a handful of video chat platforms have moved to P2P. In it’s latest version, 6rounds have implemented a P2P video chat into their experience, now offering both a regular version and a higher quality (P2P) chat as well. So what does this mean? Well let’s break it down below…
 

So What is P2P?

Just like in any other form of communication, information travels from one participant to another. The differentation factors between those forms of communication, are the routes that the communication takes in order to make its journey, and the type of participant at each end.

If you think of it in this way, then it makes sense that for sending information between computers or networks, the differentation factor would be whether the information goes directly, or is run through a server. The route of that information defines the communication either as standard or P2P.

So in short, P2P means that the information no longer goes through a server, and in fact, goes directly to the other “peer”. There are positive and negative aspects to this form of communication which we’ll discuss a little bit later on.
 

Why The Move?

Although P2P communication has been around for quite some time, it wasn’t until last December that Adobe launched the commercial version of Real Time Media Flow Protocol (RTMFP) and enabled “client to client” (C2C) streaming. The choice to move to P2P is a no-brainer for most companies. However, when choosing to go with Adobe’s P2P, a change in communication protocol has to take place from TCP to UDP. For all of us that aren’t tech/computer geeks, let me explain:

TCP is a very strict protocol that sends the packages of information and ensures that the other side receives, it by sending it multiple times if need be. UDP is a much looser means of sending data. Here the data is sent without the concern of the other sides receival of it. The information is sent, and whatever happens, happens.

Although P2P can in fact be used with TCP as well, Adobe’s Flash Player version (RTMFP) is a UDP-based protocol so in order to implement it, the switch must be made.
 

The P2P Video Chat Experience

UDP is a lot less reliable than TCP. However, because the information sent through UDP isn’t double checked, the information is a lot lighter and therefore can move faster through the system. When using UDP in a video chat experience, the strictness of TCP isn’t necessarily needed. Think about it this way, if you send a media file with 250 kilobytes per second but you end up not receiving 1 or 2 kilobytes it doesn’t make a drastic difference. The file is transferred faster, and the image is still crisp and clear, even though it is not in it’s completed form.

There is one downside of P2P, and that is that due to technological limitations, some of the features are disabled during the P2P version of the video chats. That’s just a small downer though.

P2P is better for the user. Since there is no validation process, the communication is faster. It gives a better image, higher quality and less delay. All in all, P2P enables us to improve the quality of the video and audio in the video chat experience.

It’s an exciting change and we’re sure you’ll notice the difference. Start a round, try it out, and share you thoughts with us below.

____________________________________________________
Hey! Have you tried Rounds Facebook application already?

Related Posts

No related posts.

Check out the new gifts below:
 

Batman

 

Robin

 

Wonder Women

 

Spooky

 

Trio

 

Superman

So what did you think about the new gifts? Share your thoughts with us in the comment section below.

To try any of the new gifts, start a video chat and go to your menu.

____________________________________________________
Hey! Have you tried Rounds Facebook application already?

Related Posts

1. Check out our redesigned blog!
2. Using Chrome? Check out our new extension!
3. Check out our new Concept Video!

I’m sure you’ve thought to yourself at some point or another how good your profile looks on 6rounds. So good, that you’d like to see it on your other personal pages, such as your blog, your Facebook account, your Myspace page and so forth. I know this for a fact, because I’ve been getting tons of messages and e-mails from users asking me how to do exactly that.

Well, guess what? Your prayers have been answered and you can now embed your personal profile slide show anywhere you would like! Yes, the PSS is now embeddable!

All you have to do is go to your profile and underneath it you will see an embed button – all you need to do is press the button and copy the code. Then, paste the code into the page you want to embed it in.

Here’s an example of my PSS embedded in this blog post:
 

 
If you have any problems whatsoever, remember we’re always here to help. Share your comments with us below.
 

____________________________________________________
Hey! Have you tried Rounds Facebook application already?

Related Posts

1. Add your favorite links to your personal profile
2. How to embed your PSS into Facebook

1. Go to the “Profile” page:

2. Click “Edit Profile” and go the “Links” tab:

3. Start entering your links – URLs and Titles:

4. Save and press “View Profile” to see how it looks:

Very soon, you’ll be able to embed your personal profile anywhere on the web, so make sure to keep it shiny and add all your favorite music, TV shows, movies, books, and your personal links. If you’re missing anything in the personal profile slideshow, please let us know about it!

____________________________________________________
Hey! Have you tried Rounds Facebook application already?

Related Posts

1. Embed your personal profile slideshow anywhere!
2. 25 Favorite Celebrity Santas
3. Our 13 Favorite Pet Peeves

Check out the picture below for a glimpse of how it looks like on the video experience:

In case you’re not familiar with our other gifts, here are some of them:

                            

If you have a great idea for a gift we should make, don’t hesitate to tell me about it in the comments section below.

____________________________________________________
Hey! Have you tried Rounds Facebook application already?

Related Posts

1. 15 Cute, Creative Cupcakes
2. Top 29 Cute Cake Pops
3. Cute Christmas Cats and Dogs

You can now take a snapshot during your round, save them and send them to your friends!

Now that you’ve had the chance to round a bit and enjoy the video experience, I’m sure there have been times that the person you’ve chatted with has made a funny face while using one of the cool effects. I’m even sure that at that moment you thought to yourself, wow I wish I could have captured that moment and shared it with my friends. Well now, thanks to our new handy snapshot feature you can do just that. During any round or one-on-one you can take a snapshot and savor your precious moments and even share them with your friends.

I’m assuming your next question is, but what if someone took a not so flattering snapshot and you don’t want it shared? Well don’t worry; both you and the person you’re rounding with must approve the snapshot, avoiding the chance of any embarrassing pictures of you being posted online. You can see below and example of how it looks like once you’ve taken a snapshot:

So where can you share your great snapshots? Upon approving them, you’ll get the option to post your snapshot on any of your favorite social networks including facebook, myspace, twitter, flickr and many many more (just see below).

For those of you who are using our Google Wave extension you will be able to enjoy the same sharing features very soon and you’ll even be able to share your snapshot with the other members of your wave.

So what are you waiting for? Start snapping your memorable moments during your rounds and share them with your friends, let them share the fun!

If you have created any cool snapshots that you’d like to share, feel free to post the link to them below or just send me the link to natasha at 6rounds dot com.

I’ll be really happy to see them :)

____________________________________________________
Hey! Have you tried Rounds Facebook application already?

Related Posts

1. Friends chat and YouTube together
2. Video Chat Rounds – Coins
3. Video Chat Rounds – Our New Facebook Application

Firstly, I want to thank you for your patience. You all know that 6rounds is still in beta and therefore we are constantly updating and improving our offerings. Do note though that every request I received until now, I have sorted out and processed as fast as humanly possible :)

So without further ado, I’d like to introduce you to your new settings options:

As you will notice, the new settings page allows you to change all of your account details. It does not however, allow you to delete your account, for those type of requests you need to send me a message or e-mail me at natasha (at) 6rounds (dot) com.

Like always, I’m here if you need me so don’t hesitate to drop me a line.
Let us know what you think of the new settings page by leaving your comments below.

____________________________________________________
Hey! Have you tried Rounds Facebook application already?

Related Posts

No related posts.