Omegle is a new little program that lets you “talk to complete stangers”. My mom always taught me to “never talk to strangers”. Oh no! What shall we do!? Well we’ve got some advice for you…
Executive Summary:
Give it a spin and then never go back. How’s that for an executive summary?
Basically Omegle is an anonymous chat program that lets You talk to Strangers (those are your names in the chat window too). Though some would say it is “freeing” I found it to be boring or inflammatory/crass (on my first chat I was offered Crack and then cursed at with plenty of F’s showing up in my chat window from “stranger”.
So my advice? It’s not a good use of your keystrokes to chat with strangers.
Pros:
- Free
- Runs fast in your browser
- Free
Cons:
- Explicate language possible
- Not very “fun”
- It gets boring when you don’t know anything about the “stranger” you’re talking to.
- I didn’t stay long enough to create more cons but I’m sure there are more!
Last links:
- http://omegle.com/ (sure give it a quick spin and then never go back).
- Photo credit
photo credit: ansik
30. March 2009 at 6:50 pm
agreed…completely agreed…
29. August 2009 at 3:30 pm
Some good points. But bear in mind while the site is not for everyone – this is no content filtering or age limits – it does have its benefits. It can be an effective way to let off steam and enjoy meaningless chatter with a fellow human.
17. October 2009 at 10:12 am
“# Explicate language possible”.
Lol. So?
I can say whatever I want with my mouth, so why can’t I do that one the Internet? Americans are so afraid of foul language. You should learn from the Europeans. We can call each other donkey dicks and still be good friends.
Omegle is okay, but there are too many horny boys there. I can’t even talk to them because I’m a boy myself, because they only want to talk to girls with webcam.
“# It gets boring when you don’t know anything about the “stranger” you’re talking to.”
That is the whole point! If you want to know the person better, then talk! Ask questions! Exchange emails!
19. October 2009 at 1:08 pm
You have some good points, but not everyone that you talk to is going to insult you. I’ve been told to go cut myself and sweared at too, but I’ve also met some really nice people who are just really bored.
I agree that giving people too much personal info is bad, but you can learn a lot about different view in the world and different environments from people who live on the oppisite side of the world.
18. November 2009 at 6:44 am
You’re sure there are more cons? Why not so sure there are more pros?
I’ve been using Omegle on my iPhone for a few months now. There is the occasional idiot, but each party is free to disconnect at any time. In addition to those who spoil the experience, though, are those who are wonderful conversational partners. Some one may never speak to again, but a few have translated into other communications – to AIM, a cell number, and even a real-life meeting.
Just because someone is a stranger, they aren’t inherently any more dangerous than those familiar to one. On the internet, especially, the risk of speaking to strangers is absurdly exaggerated, while the benefits are downplayed. I, for one, think Omegle is a wonderful tool.
18. November 2009 at 8:21 am
Clair,
You make some good points about the pros of Omegle. As this site is geared towards parents, I still say Omegle is not a good tool for kids, and most parents.
I do agree though that the news hype about the risk of talking to strangers online is a bit exaggerated. With that said though, I still would never counsel anyone to meet in real-life with someone they met through Omegle or any other anonymous chat program. I know, you don’t just offer your address, I get that. But the fact remains that they started out as strangers with no common thread only “You” and “Stranger” tags… Seems a bit odd to me.
Why not join a common interest group about coffee, wind-power, or the newest tech gadget and meet people that you will probably have more in common with in the first place? The chances of getting to meet someone that you may want to continue a relationship with will go up 1000%.
Thank you for you comments, your insight, and points of view. Above all else, we love a good discussion.
Mark
9. January 2010 at 12:07 am
Omegle is a great site because of the cons you listed, almost. I personally don’t mind “offensive” content, and the best conversational partners are the ones who think quickly and keep up the flow of conversation on any subject imaginable. The site was better when it was new, before all the people simply looking to “cam”/get msn addresses. I must confess I have quite a few emails from people I met there, but I never bothered to follow through on them.
For the kids though? Stay far away.
13. January 2010 at 1:37 am
i agree with Claire and some of the others. although there may be much explicit language, there isn’t actually anything wrong with it. it’s just a different form of expression. of course you mostly get the horny boys desperate for an =cam session, but, one isn’t forced to continue such conversation. the minute i hear a whisper of the word “cam” on there, i simply disconnect. no issue. omegle can be a really good way to connect and vent to those who may be more sympathetic and sensitive about your problems that may sound stupid to those you, simply based on the idea that you talk to a stranger. if somebody is stupid enough to give their name/email address, then that means that they’re stupid people who shouldn’t be going on such websites. but the problem is inherently with the person using it, not the tool itself.
15. January 2010 at 9:53 am
I don’t see what’s so wrong. It’s a great way of communication, and learning communication skills.
For me, it’s totally fun. I go around asking for Harry Potter or Hermione Granger, and the fun bit is when they respond. I had a 2 hour long conversation with Harry Potter on Omegle. We happen to be best friends now.
Of course, it is sometimes packed with randy boys, looking for some form of communication with girls, but I can easily disconnect.
I can’t believe there are so many Harry Potter fans around the world!
17. January 2010 at 4:30 pm
I think you are missing out on a great opportunity to safely interact with strangers. Attitudes like this are a big reason why people fear each other more than ever these days, at a time in our species’ history where we need to trust one another more than ever.
This site can clue you in to many of the weird, odd, and funny moments strangers across the globe have shared with each other. Can you imagine such a thing ever being possible just 20 or 30 years ago? And now you would brush it off as crass and boring?
http://www.omegleconversations.com
9. February 2010 at 3:09 pm
I go on Omegle regularly. And I have to say, despite those who just go on there to mess around with people or to get web cam access, I’ve met some pretty interesting people on there. I met a comic book illustrator on there and we’re friends on Facebook now since we were interested in each other’s job/hobby (art for him, writing for me). I’ve helped teenagers with their homework, believe it or not. I even met my *boyfriend* on there.
Every site has the possibility of having a very long cons list. But that translates into them also having the ability of having a very long pros list. Like N said, this is a great way to interact with strangers without having to worry about ‘Stranger Danger’. Believe me when I say that Omegle is *nothing* compared to other websites.
Yes, there will be one or two people on Omegle that make me start to lose faith in the human race because they lack the ability to type in their own language. But one look at 4chan and I lost it completely. I’ve never gone back to that site because *that* is one of the lowest of lows when it comes to websites. There is also Funnyjunk, which regularly has adult rated material on the *front page*. Those are just two of many websites I can tell you about that are worse than Omegle. Be happy with the fact that, at least with Omegle, the ability to disconnect instantly is available. Other websites don’t have that.