Many of you might remember how at the beginning of the 2000s the simplest text chats and emails were the main formats for communication on the web. But today dozens of completely different online communication formats are available to the Internet user — from video calls with the highest image and sound quality to more extraordinary developments: virtual concerts, casual acquaintances with people from all over the world and blind dates.
Let’s look at several of the most relevant trends in Internet communication, which are already arousing intense interest among users and will peak in 2021-2022.
Online streams
Twitch has long been one of the most high profile video streaming services in the world. Platform traffic has often reached 450-500 million users per month. Twitch still remains popular, but due to the large number of alternatives, users have diffused onto other platforms: GoodGame, Mixer, Bigo Live, Facebook Live, YouTube, and so on.
During the coronavirus pandemic interest in streaming skyrocketed — people spent a lot more time at home looking for entertainment. Streams of musicians, bloggers and famous media personalities have become a real escape from boredom for many. A lot of world-renowned musicians have conducted and continue to conduct live concerts. Among them are Metallica, Billie Eilish, Avril Lavigne, AWOLNATION, Trivium and others. It’s noteworthy that many of these online concerts have been held to raise funds for charity. Let’s not forget about game streams, which were and remain very popular.
Instagram stories
Instagram is one of the most popular social platforms in the world. It is in sixth place behind only Facebook, Youtube, WhatsApp, FB Messenger and WeChat.
According to official statistics, over 400 million Stories are published on Instagram every day. In some ways this format has become even more relevant than classic posts for the social network. Stories give you more freedom, and don’t force you to care so much about the quality of your published content. In addition, due to the nature of the Stories format, they’re almost impossible to miss, unlike regular posts. There is no doubt that in the future Instagram Stories will only become more popular, and their number will grow steadily.
Omegle video chat and its alternatives
Surprisingly, in 2020-2021 the format of anonymous video chats is experiencing a real rebirth. First of all it’s worth talking about Omegle. This anonymous chat service has been around since 2009, but it was during the pandemic that it became extremely popular. However, despite its age (relatively speaking), this is far from the most convenient anonymous video chat service. Moderation is rather mediocre, there are no settings for searching for potential partners by gender or location, and the design of the site is a bit outdated. As a result, users often prefer Omegle alternatives. There are more than enough of them around, after all
One of the main competitors to Omegle at one time was Chatroulette but due to terrible moderation, the site very quickly lost its audience. Now, however, a lot of work has been done to improve Chatroulette, and users are gradually returning to the site.
Another interesting analogue of Omegle is Chatspin, which has the advantage of offering a gender filter. Here you can indicate if you are a man, woman, couple, or even transgender. The site will try to find the most suitable chat partner for you. In Chatspin you can also use the inbuilt country filter to narrow your search.
Of the newer alternatives to Omegle, Emeraldchat is worth a look. One of its main features is a karma rating for each user. The higher your karma, the higher the priority you get to connect with chat partners. Conversely, bad karma makes communication much more difficult. Among other features, in Emeraldchat you can send photos and media files to your chat partner, as well as visit group chats.
The most unique site on our list is CooMeet, thanks to its special gender filter. This Omegle alternative is special because it is focused primarily on men and connects them exclusively with girls. Additionally, each girl, upon registration goes through an identity verification process. This means there are absolutely no fakes, bots, advertising profiles and similar on the site. If you’ve previously used other video chat services, you know that on most sites this is a serious problem. CooMeet also has very convenient and functional applications for iOS and Android — it’s even easier to get acquainted and chat on your smartphone (Omegle is still yet to launch a smartphone app).
The last anonymous video chat service we’d like to consider is Chathub. It doesn’t really differ too much from Omegle, but there’s a gender filter, and moderation is of a higher level. Chathub also has no apps for smartphones and tablets, but the mobile version of the site works quite well.
What’s the best Internet communication format in 2021-2022?
There is no single perfect answer to this question. Each format has important advantages and critical disadvantages. In addition, a lot depends on what your goals are — to have a good time, chat with like-minded people, find new friends, or have a romantic relationship.
Experiment with different formats, look for the best one for you, compare the capabilities of different services and make your communication varied and exciting. Don’t forget to keep an eye on the latest trends, because now they’ve become unusually fleeting. This is very clearly shown by the example of the Clubhouse app, which immediately became ubiquitous across the entire developed world, and then everyone forgot about it just as quickly. But who knows, perhaps very soon we will see a new alternative to Instagram or Facebook, which will forever change the very principles of communication on the Internet once again. Stay on trend and find the online platforms where you’ll be most comfortable!