I'd only just been glad that people had finally realized how hard it is to launch a sex videochat in the current climate, and that the near-monthly flood of new launches had dried up — and then the situation flipped completely. As I already mentioned, two new chats launched in December 2011 (here and here), and over the past two-plus months of 2012 two more new services have started up.
The most recent one, just the other day (March 9th), was the erotic videochat Runetki.com. I figured the site's name was a heavy-handed nod to a well-known girl-group's name, but it turns out things are a bit more clever than that, judging by the new webcam project's slogan: "on Mars — Martian girls, in Japan — Japanese girls, on the Runet — Runetki."
Why am I talking about the second project launched this year instead of the first? Because there's one important difference between Runetki and the vast majority of new chats of all time (including the first chat of 2012). Most webcam chats launch with one or two models online (showing up mostly at night), stay that way for a few months, and then reliably die off. Runetki, on the other hand, keeps more than five models online at once even during the unpopular daytime hours, and in the evening this erotic videochat genuinely looks like a normal, long-established service. At least that's how things look right now — time will tell what happens next.
How did the new project pull this off? I'd guess it's down to a well-thought-out strategy for recruiting models. Even though the payout percentage isn't jaw-dropping (65%), from the very first days the girls are offered pay for free chat at two dollars an hour with no restrictions, billed by the second. On top of that, there's a "TOP-Runetki" promotion running: "twice a month, the 11 models who stayed online the longest (chat type doesn't matter) and the 11 models who earned the most over the period get bonuses of up to $300 in each category. One model can place in both categories." If the site's management has the funds to keep this up long enough and manages not to mess up its relationship with the models, this new videochat, in my view, has a bright future ahead of it.
So what does Runetki offer regular users? Round-the-clock chatting with cute girls, a nice (if minimalist) design, a sensible interface. Some of the girls stream in high quality video. Overall you can tell the creators built the site and chat with care and know-how, but it hasn't shipped without rough edges: the service is clearly still raw and unpolished. Personally I noticed some sluggishness performing certain actions, had to rack my brain to figure out how to open a model's profile, never did find a way to view the girls' photos at full resolution instead of a tiny thumbnail, and couldn't find any pricing info at all before registering.
Unregistered users can hang out in the free chat for as long as they like (at least I didn't find any limits), but actually talking to the girls requires registering. The site's policy doesn't forbid models from getting naked in free chat, but the girls aren't in any hurry to do so, especially for free. So to reliably enjoy the sight of naked girls, you'll need to register and spend a bit of money.
Those who register can chat with models in the free rooms, or top up their balance (Webmoney, Yandex.Money, SMS payment and more are supported) and go into a model's paid chat (where the girls voluntarily get naked) or invite her to a private. Or you can try tipping a girl you like in the free room to ask her to strip. Prices are the same for everyone for now (just like on Video-Girl):
- private — 4 credits per minute;
- paid chat — 2 credits per minute;
- voyeur — 1 credit per minute.
Well, for us webcam users it's always nice when alternative videochats show up and real competition kicks in. This is the second project in a short span of time that genuinely has the potential to knock the flagships of Russian webcam (Ruscams and Video-Girl) off their comfortable perch. Whether the Runetki.com team makes the most of that potential is entirely up to them, and we'll be keeping a close eye on them.
Visit the erotic videochat Runetki.com
Register for free on Runetki
Become a model on the Runetki.com videochat (girls only)
Video-Girl sex videochat: model FavoriteAnya
Video-Girl porn videochat: model Surprise
Did not take off
Naked girls in porn video chats