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LiveJasmin (which I used to confuse with "JasminLive")
is fast becoming one of the major cam sites. The video used to
be done using the
FireCracker video
system but with their own look and feel but now it is Flash based. The overall design is heavy
on the red and could get a bit intense, but luckily they have another site
called JoYourself which is much lighter if you are not a red-fan.
LivePrivates.com is
exactly the same site same girls but with different colors. So if you
don't like all red then this may be better for you.
 Can you see the difference?
As to the chat - Livejasmin has free live video chat, both the video and
text chatting are entirely free without any registration at all.
You don't even have to specify a nickname for your chat and you are straight into the room with the
host as a "guest", or select your own nick.
Even free chat now has double and full size videos. The full size
is particularly nice -- it isn't full screen but it is big and with the chat
text over laid over the video -- but only if your mouse is in that area.
It's hard to describe; best to see it yourself but it's something like this:
Normal LiveJasmin chat
Double size LiveJasmin chat Free chat also has sound by default, so
mute those speakers if you are in the office! But the fee chat will
timeout eventually and prompt you to join, which will get rid of those
prompts and let you stay in free as long as you want. This site just gets bigger and bigger -- first time I looked at (probably
two years ago) it had 6 performs online. In June 2004 they had 50.
Today I can see 334 online on a Friday night, though mid week it might be a
hundred less. There is a good spread of different types -- over 20
male hosts online which is nice for a change. In the main chat site there is a section for LiveJasmin
Performer Awards -- no prize to you to recognize this as a successful
concept seen elsewhere notably at imlive and
ifriends. The difference here is that the performers are not just
getting recognition and stars to put on their bio page, they are getting
cash as well. The #1 place gets a $500 bonus -- and that's out of LiveJasmin's pocket, not the viewers -- at least not directly!
There are also "TopMember" awards for members who the girls vote for --
but to be eligible you the viewer have to pay a $30/month membership fee.
This allows you to then vote for the best Performers. Prizes are up to
$500 again for #1, though even #15 gets almost two hundred dollars.
You have to send in photo ID and everything -- now members will have to go
through all that hassle just like hosts!
Voting as always is very controversial -- and I'm not talking about Iraq
-- so vote with care, but be sure that though the top voted performs are
going to be great there will also be great hosts who are not in that list.
"BlondeGirl19" aka Dana is the #1 as I speak and has a very kinky
tartan-skirt-and-white-thigh-high-socks outfit in her profile pic.
If you want to go beyond free chat into a private show then you have to
buy credits, Visa and Mastercard both accepted. Prices start at
$1.50/minute which is pretty good, but of course it varies with the model so
some will have premium pricing as well.
There are a small range of sections to choose from: Girls, Couples,
Lesbians, -SM, Matures and Boys. The boys make up the
Livejasmin gay webcam section, which is smaller than the girls but still
bigger than some sites. At peak times 20-30 guys are online though
offpeak might have only 5. Some of them look like girls to me too -- anyway if you
want a large range of guys you still have to go to a site like
flirt4free or
stroke4u.AKA: "liveprivates" (but not the
same as liveprivates.tv which is part of dxlive)
You should check out also JOYourSelf which is
the same company and technology, but very slightly different design. You can sign up to
be a performer on either site -- wow sounds so professional. As of 1
Sep 2005 they announced their payout schedule for performers would be:
40% Free video
and Chat
33% No free video (Members Only)
39% Pre-recorded Video
This is a reduction from what they used to pay and I suspect addresses
the reality of the expenses in the cam area. At 40% it's still less
than the industry leader -- ifriends which pays
50% -- but it is still more than some sites, and it really comes down to how
much traffic you get. There's no point in getting 50% or 100% if you
are not getting the paying chatters.
Strangely JOYourSelf offers a higher percentage -- up to 60% -- I
say strangely because it's the same company so why the different scheme?
Anyway you know where I'd work!
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