Rounds (website)

Rounds Webcam Chat Platform

Company| GixOO LTD.
Type| Subsidiary of Kik Messenger
Launched| July 2009
Slogan| See You Around
Headquarters| Tel Aviv, Israel
Key People| Dany Fishel, CEO
Ilan Leibovich, COO
Dmitry Shestak, CTO
Website| www.rounds.com
Platform| Cross-platform

Rounds (formally known as 6rounds) is a video-enabled real-time social network with collaborative browsing, chat, multi-player gaming and built-in social recommendation features that can be expanded through an open API.[1][2][3] Rounds was founded by Israeli entrepreneurs Dany Fishel, Ilan Leibovich and Dimitry Shestek in February 2008.[4] Fishel is Rounds' CEO and Ilan Leibovich is the company COO.[4][5] The company is based in Tel Aviv, Israel.[6]

Rounds is the first product released using the GixOO software platform, which was created in April 2008.[7][8]

## Contents

* 1 History
* 2 Features and uses
* 3 External features
* 4 References

## History

Rounds launched in July 2009.[9]

Rounds released an API for game, entertainment and collaboration-based applications in April 2010.[9][10] The company changed its name from 6rounds to Rounds in August 2010.[6] Rounds also released its application that allows users to video chat, exchange pictures, surf the internet and play games via Facebook in August.[6]

Rounds released Android and iOS applications in December 2012.[11]

The company discontinued the "Meet New People" feature of its platform in February 2013.[12][13][14] Rounds retired the feature out of concerns about security and privacy of its users, most of whom are under the age of 25.[12][13][14] In December 2013, company also announced its integration with Vidyo’s technology that allows video chat capabilities to Google Hangouts.[15]

In January 2017, Rounds has been acquired by the Canadian messaging service, Kik Messenger, for a reported $60-$80 million. Kik will acquire all 35 employees of Rounds and turn its Tel Aviv office into a Kik product and engineering center, which will be its first international base.[5]

## Features and uses

Rounds users create their own (embeddable) personal slide show to inform other users about themselves.[16] Users connect through messaging and video chats (referred to as rounds). They initiate rounds either by inviting a specific person or by joining a specified room based on activity, game or topic. Once users join a specified round they are systematically matched with another user interested in the same type of round.

As of 2013, Rounds requires a pre-existing Facebook friendship before users can begin video chatting one another.[13]

While chatting, users can share in various activities, including watching videos on YouTube, co-browsing on Facebook, and playing games such as chess, backgammon, checkers, and truth or dare.

## External features

The Rounds platform offers an open API which allows third party integrations, from small scaled modifications to white-label solutions. Rounds was one of the first Google Wave extensions to be featured and the only video chat to be launched at the Google Wave beta launch.[17]

## References

1. ↑ Wauters, Robin. "6rounds Launches Video Communication Platform With Several Layers Of Fun". TechCrunch. https://techcrunch.com/2009/06/30/6rounds-launches-video-communication-platform-with-several-layers-of-fun/. Retrieved 2009-06-30.
2. ↑ Rottmann, Ralf. "You have to try this: 6rounds launches amazing new social video communication site! (invites inside)". TheNextWeb. Archived from the original on 3 August 2009. https://web.archive.org/web/20090803133557/http://thenextweb.com/2009/07/10/6rounds/. Retrieved 2009-07-10.
3. ↑ Alpheus. "6rounds: The Live Meeting Point!". Walyou. http://www.walyou.com/blog/2009/08/15/6rounds-live-meeting/. Retrieved 2009-08-15.
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Social video chat co Rounds raises $5m". Globes. 19 December 2013. http://www.globes.co.il/serveen/globes/docview.asp?did=1000902950. Retrieved 25 January 2014.
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Robin Wauters (20 June 2009). "6rounds Launches Video Communication Platform With Several Layers Of Fun". Tech Crunch. https://techcrunch.com/2009/06/30/6rounds-launches-video-communication-platform-with-several-layers-of-fun/. Retrieved 25 January 2014. Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; name "techcrunch" defined multiple times with different content
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Robin Wauters (17 August 2010). "6rounds Changes Name To Rounds, Brings Its Video Chat Goodness To Facebook". Tech Crunch. https://techcrunch.com/2010/08/17/6rounds-rounds-facebook/. Retrieved 25 January 2014.
7. ↑ Nahid. "6Rounds – A live Meeting Point". AntsMagazine. http://www.antsmagazine.com/2009/07/6rounds-a-live-meeting-point/. Retrieved 25 January 2014.
8. ↑ Ralf (10 July 2009). "You have to try this: 6rounds launches amazing new social video communication site! (invites inside)". The Next Web. https://thenextweb.com/2009/07/10/6rounds/#!rKwxX. Retrieved 25 January 2014.
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Video Chatting Platform for Collaborative Games and Activities: 6rounds Developers API Released". Huffington Post. 20 May 2010. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ilan-leibovich/video-chatting-platform-f_b_583031.html. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
10. ↑ Roi Carthy (25 May 2010). "A Taste of Startup Alley". Tech Crunch. https://techcrunch.com/2010/05/25/startup-alley/. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
11. ↑ Tova Cohen (8 January 2013). "Rounds video-chat service expects millions of users from mobile". Chicago Tribune. http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-01-08/business/sns-rt-us-rounds-mobilebre9070gb-20130108_1_video-chat-service-new-users-rounds. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Devon Glenn (6 February 2014). "Rounds No Longer Lets Teens ‘Meet New People’ via Video Chat". Social Times. http://socialtimes.com/rounds-video-chat-meet-new-people-teens_b118367. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 "Video chat site tightens requirements". United Press International. 6 February 2013. http://www.upi.com/Science_News/Technology/2013/02/06/Video-chat-site-tightens-requirements/UPI-75441360185308/. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 "Privacy and safety concerns led Rounds to retire 'Meet New People' feature". Silicon Republic. 25 February 2013. http://www.siliconrepublic.com/new-media/item/31608-privacy-and-safety-concerns. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
15. ↑ "Israel's Rounds to integrate Vidyo's video chat technology". Reuters. 17 December 2013. https://www.reuters.com/article/2013/12/17/us-rounds-vidyo-idUSBRE9BG0XN20131217. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
16. ↑ Ha, Anthony. "6rounds wants to add video to all your web activity (invites)". VentureBeat. https://venturebeat.com/2009/08/28/6rounds-wants-to-add-video-to-all-your-web-activity-invites/. Retrieved 2009-08-28.
17. ↑ Zee. "6rounds brings video conversation to Google Wave". TheNextWeb. Archived from the original on 2 October 2009. https://web.archive.org/web/20091002205202/http://thenextweb.com/2009/09/29/6rounds-brings-video-conversation-google-wave/. Retrieved 2009-09-29.

0.00

(0 votes)

|

Retrieved from "https://handwiki.org/wiki/index.php?title=Rounds_(website)&oldid=318404"