Skyecandy
| Overall Rating | No Ratings | | Cost | No Ratings | | Ease of use | No Ratings | | Pictures | No Ratings | | Search | No Ratings | | Customer Support | No Ratings |
Summary:
Skyecandy is an online dating source powered by the mega-popular Skype video chat program. While Skyecandy is a recently launched function and is far from its final form, its primary function as a video chat speed dating source is up and running. Totally free and powered by the largest video chat entity online today, Skyecandy is a fun way to meet 10 people, face-to-face, in only one hour.
Pros:
- New Site so a lot of innovations
- Video, video, video – just about everyone is on video
Cons:
- Incomplete as of the moment
- No real profile options
- Membership numbers are low… really low
Costs:
Skyecandy is a totally free speed dating source. Sign up through Skype or through Skyecandy.com, get yourself registered then into the speed dating queue. In the near future, Skyecandy promises to offer Chemistry.com-style matches, VIP service, gifts and other options which will each cost members money in all likelihood.
Account Setup:
Creating an account is a basically pain-free process on Skyecandy, although registration takes a little more time than most instantaneous up-and-dating sites. First, you download the Skype and Skyecandy applications – yes, you need software for this puppy. After downloading is complete, you’ll be able to create your account, which is a matter of uploading one picture of yourself and filling out about 10 stock questions (i.e. “How tall are you?” “Where do you live” etc, etc). Following that process, you’ll receive a registration email which usually takes between 30 minutes to an hour to arrive. Once you’ve got that, then you are up and rolling.
Photos:
When we looked at Skyecandy, it was in its Beta infancy. As such, it hadn’t really developed its sea legs so to speak. Consequently, there is but one photo slot. Of course, as everything is geared towards video chat speed dating, pictures are perhaps a bit redundant.
Search:
Paltry search options on Skyecandy, as of right now: you can only filter via age and location. More options are promised for the near future.
Special Features:
In a certain way, the whole thing is a special feature. Skyecandy is video speed dating and not much else. It’s free, which is also wonderful. Skyecandy does have the infrastructure to expand into a major player in the online dating game, with slots on its home page set aside for everything from VIPs to match-making to advanced profile options. As of today, however, it’s just a speed dating site.
Communication:
Obviously you’ve got A/V communication and Facebook-style messaging on profiles. Another very important mode of communication is the sticky option, which allows you to set up meeting times and places… in cyberspace of course.
Support:
A weak FAQs page and a site-generated email address comprise the support team on Skyecandy. We couldn’t find a public phone number.
In their words:
skyecandy introduces the concept of speed dating using the power of Skype and matches you automatically with real people all over the world from the comfort and security of your own home.
Our reviewer’s opinion:
This is an awesome idea – think of it as a gorgeous concept car. For anyone who is familiar with speed dating, one of the biggest problems is that you are physically stuck in a room with all of these people. With no way to get away, speed dating in the physical world can be an intimidating and messy endeavor. Doing it online solves those problems as you are not physically with this other person. At the same time, however, with the audio/visual chat you are able to get a face-to-face impression. Definitely a “have your cake and eat it too” premise. That said, membership numbers are really low at this point: we sat on the site for 1 hour between 10 a.m. PST and 11 a.m. PST and did not get one single person which matched the following criteria: “Woman, located anywhere, between the ages of 18 and 99.” Still, it’s entirely free, it’s been launched for less than 6 months in its Beta version and it’s a good idea. Sign up now and check in every once in a while, once membership numbers start to build (and with the relationship with Skype, you know that they will) Skyecandy is going to be a fun place to actually meet people online.
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2 Customer Reviews of “Skyecandy”
- Not Rated
- Not Rated
- Not Rated
- Not Rated
- Not Rated
- Not Rated
Jameel wrote on June 10, 2009
Hi there,
Thanks for a very objective writeup of Skyecandy.com. We are glad your reviewer thinks it is an awesome idea.
It is very early days at Skyecandy. Its been less than 3 months since Skyecandy became available on Skype. Membership is increasing steadily. One of the biggest challenges for Skyecandy in these early days will be creating a momentum of use globally. This is because members can check-in to speed date at any time of the day.
To help create more matches for everyone, we recommend popular speed dating times using a countdown clock on the homepage at http://www.skyecandy.com.
That is also why matching preferences are so open right now.
Again, thanks for the great write-up.
P.S.
We wanted to call in personally but we also couldn’t find a public phone number on your website
Jameel
Team Skyecandy
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