Adobe Success Story

Project Details

Industry analysts call for the online dating market to generate revenues of more than $300 million in 2002, with more than 60 million singles enrolling in at least one online dating service by the end of 2002. This unprecedented market growth got One World Media president Carolynne Tilga thinking about the possibilities of Internet matchmaking with a twist.

"We believe that the online dating space has huge potential for consumer multimedia on the web," says Tilga. "We wanted to create a new site that would integrate web camera technology to go beyond the picture and profile available on most Internet dating sites and allow singles to interact via real-time video. We knew the site would only work if we could provide the same high quality streaming video to everyone, irrespective of bandwidth, and without requiring large, proprietary downloads."

DateCam began developing the site based on this premise, however it quickly discovered there was no easy way of integrating streaming video with live chat and online user presence detection in a website. "We did a lot of research with Apple's Darwin Streaming Server, QuickTime, MPEG 4, and Java Applet technology and were feeling pretty discouraged until we discovered Macromedia Flash Communication Server MX," says Steve Mason, creative director, DateCam "Instead of trying to cobble together different applications like video conferencing and instant messaging, Macromedia Flash Communication Server MX provided a single set of server software for adding all the communication functions we required to our website."

Solution

Macromedia Flash Communication Server allows developers to quickly create and deploy powerful new communications functionality within Internet applications. As a new addition to the Macromedia MX family of web development and server products, Macromedia Flash Communication Server MX makes it easy to deliver multi-way audio, video, and real-time data, all passed through Macromedia Flash Player. As one of the first companies to create a new commercial application for Macromedia Flash Communication Server MX, DateCam.com easily handles streaming video within the chat environment-regardless of bandwidth connection-to give singles the most realistic online dating experience available today.

Says DateCam media director, Grant Simmons, "Our proprietary DirectDate technology allows users to seek out and meet potential matches in a casual and safe manner. Coupled with Macromedia Flash Communication Server MX, this system creates a more realistic and natural way for people to meet each other."

A Perfect Match

There's no doubt that Macromedia Flash Communication Server MX technology is a perfect match for DateCam.com. One World Media team members jumped at the opportunity to integrate the latest Macromedia product with its DirectDate technology because they could easily author the video functionality in Macromedia Flash MX using ActionScript, with which they were already familiar. "We installed the Communication Server on our Windows NT Server in about five minutes, plus a little bit of configuration time, after which the application was worry free," says Steve Mason.

Macromedia Flash Communication Server MX provides the server-side runtime environment that sends Macromedia Flash applications to Macromedia Flash Player. With more than 493 million downloads, Macromedia Flash Player has quickly become the preferred playback mechanism for streaming video on the web. When used with applications developed with Macromedia Flash Communication Server MX, every Macromedia Flash Player becomes a potential streaming video publishing point via the player's built-in support for webcams. It automatically detects audio and video devices installed on the end user's system and users can allow it to transmit this data to the server for real-time broadcast or recording.

"The ability to run communication features through the tiny client fits perfectly with expectations for our user interface," says Mason. "We wanted the live video experience to happen seamlessly within the browser window, without complex downloads and installation hassles, and that's exactly what Macromedia Flash Communication Server MX gave us."

Making Emoticons Obsolete

Macromedia Flash Communication Server MX has the potential to change the way people communicate online, and there's no better place to showcase its capability of building online community than a dating service. "Face to face communication is the essence of human relationships," says Tilga. "Now, instead of putting a smiley face in your chat and imagining how the other person might react when he/or she reads your message, the Communication Server has made it possible to actually see that person smiling and laughing at what you've written."

Ultimately, this feeds into another differentiator for DateCam.com. Whereas the goal for most online dating sites is for members to meet their match and lapse their membership, Tilga thinks that the enhanced social aspect provided by live video will generate long-term membership. "We believe that our site provides a more engaging social experience where a member could easily develop friendships over time. This is something completely different than sitting down and going through hundreds of profiles. DateCam.com is as close to a realistic experience as you can create in a virtual environment, and we expect to see a difference in our membership revenue as a result."

Return on Investment for DateCam:

Benefits for Developers:

Benefits for End Users:

Project Summary:
Organization's industry:
Professional Services

Macromedia products:
Macromedia Flash MX, Macromedia Flash Communication Server MX

Development team:
1 President, 1 Program Director, 1 Creative Director, 1 Sr. Art Director, 1 Engineer, 1 Lead Programmer, 1 System Administrator