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New web cam communication---thoughts
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Posted by: Chillidog

I see many sites are now advertising "Web Cam" communication. "Now you can see a that these women are real!"
Have never used it (do not even have a webcam for my computer) just wondering what everyone thinks. To me it seems and feels like this is just another way for the agency to get money out of us, so I am skeptical.
Do you think this is a good way of proving she is real?
Can this help in determining if she truly has interest in us?
Would love to hear what others think, if you have used them, or even if you have not.

Bob

Posted by: GoingToRussia

I'm sure these sights are used for all the reasons you mentioned ... money for the agency, money for the girl (her percentage for showing up), and of course there are real women looking for love.

No it is not a good way to prove she is real. The only way you know she is real is to meet her and get to know her.

I talk to my fiancee on Skype everyday using a web cam ... wouldn't miss it for the world! Even if your girl can't speak English, it's great to hear her voice.

No gaurentee about anything in this process ... even after they arrive.

Posted by: clark

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chillidog

I see many sites are now advertising "Web Cam" communication. "Now you can see a that these women are real!"
Have never used it (do not even have a webcam for my computer) just wondering what everyone thinks. To me it seems and feels like this is just another way for the agency to get money out of us, so I am skeptical.
Do you think this is a good way of proving she is real?
Can this help in determining if she truly has interest in us?
Would love to hear what others think, if you have used them, or even if you have not.

Bob

Regardless of the rumors on the forum, many/some RW actually have computers and web cams of their own. More uncommon in the provincial areas but certainly not unheard of in the bigger cities. The answer to you is yes, it is a way for agencies to extract more money from you. It is also a different medium of introduction and yes you can be scammed on a web cam just as you can by email or telephone.

I have a web cam built in to my computer, other than turning it on once, maybe twice I have never used it. As for help in determining if she has interest I'd say that answer is no. There is no way of knowing that until you meet her. I'd also say it couldn't hurt in that determination either. I haven't seen the prices for agency web cams in quite a while if I ever noticed them at all but I remember the videos were pretty pricey at one of the smaller agencies that I used.

Posted by: goforit

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chillidog

Hey Bob,

Yes web cams by the agencies are just ways to make more money by providing an additional service, which is no big deal if it is reasonably priced and the girl doesn't have her own cam.

I like web cams (and videos!) but will use them only if the lady has her own. I think it is too easy to get scammed by an agency otherwise. I would be more interested if some of the more reputable agencies used them. I think it would be great if Elena's Models for example videotaped the girls they took pictures of and then offered the tape for download.

Whenever I am looking in parts of the world other than the FSU I have a very firm rule, "no cam, no chat," but with the FSU you have to be more flexible, even though the use of personal cams is growing.

Posted by: blucatz

I absolutely must see the woman on web cam early on to be sure that she is the same person that is in the photos I am looking at. I had 2 different women give me BS excuses why thy couldn't get on cam even though they were either at their agency chatting with me or at a cafe. My rule, no cam, no correspondence. I need to be sure they are not "Fat Yuri" and are who they say they are. I even go so far as to call the woman on her cell phone while she is on cam so I can watch her answer it.

Posted by: goforit

Quote:

Originally Posted by blucatz

I absolutely must see the woman on web cam early on to be sure that she is the same person that is in the photos I am looking at. I had 2 different women give me BS excuses why thy couldn't get on cam even though they were either at their agency chatting with me or at a cafe. My rule, no cam, no correspondence. I need to be sure they are not "Fat Yuri" and are who they say they are. I even go so far as to call the woman on her cell phone while she is on cam so I can watch her answer it.

I hear ya!

Posted by: redhawk

bluecatz,great idea!

Posted by: Chillidog

Quote:

Originally Posted by blucatz

Maybe I am going about this FSU women thing all the wrong way???? I started my search end2005/beg2006 found a woman who I was very interested in (we met june 2006) we e-mailed everyday, because she was able to do this at her work, at the end of her work day she would write me a letter before going home, we talked on the phone but only once a week on the weekends if the call went thru and we worked out the time during the week our e-mails, only saw pictures of her prior to meeting (she sent me a whole bunch) but eventually relationship ended. I tried sms (with the girl met and another girl that lives in Perm, back in 2006) but for some reason my cell phone carrier here could not get it to work. I cannot tell you the number of hours spent on the phone with cell company trying to get this to work again this was back in 2006, eventually gave up and have never done this since. Met a differnent woman in July 2007 but knew from day one of this meeting that it was a dead end (for me).

I read so much here on RMP about people calling everyday, e-mailing everyday, send mulitple sms back and forth each day and I will admit most of what I read here I do not have a clue on, like "skype" what the h**l is that?
How do you all find the time to do all of this??? with the time differeneces between countries and all????
In my job I do not have access to a computer while I am working, and also even if my work cell rings I do not answer it 75% of the time, (when your hands are working on 12 Thousand live volts of electricty, your a little more concerned with your life than answering a phone) my daily schedule is getting up at 5 am, leaving for work at 6 am and getting home at 4 pm. It is certainly not a case of lack of funds but I guess I have gotten cynical and feel that these agencies do not want marriage they just want money. and before meeting them in person to me I do not see spending such quanties of money on webcams and such, I exchange e-mails with woman I am interested in at most once a week and if I think there is enough similar interests and values for life and family for a meeting I will try to arrange phone calls but again at most once a week. Probably most of you will say that this lack of correspondence might lead to the woman thinking I am not interested or losing her to someone more aggressive (chasing woman and being aggressive has never been my style) and I can see your point.
I guess what I am trying to say in this post and ask, I would love to learn how all of you do this, like the webcam's???? the one's I have seen from the agencies they could cost you an arm and leg if you are using them everyday or even twice a week ( this is subject to each person's deffinition of expensive) so if you do not use the agencies webcam, does your lady have a computer at home or have you found a way thru the internet for this cost to be reasonable for you and your lady????
Also this "skype" I have read about, is this similar to webcam??? how does a person go about getting this service??? what is the cost???
if any of you have read my other thread "writing 1 woman on Anastasia" this woman, I think 99 out of 100 guys on Anastsia would not even realize she is alive---to me in everything she is fantastic a true lady in every sense of the word, but there are two other women I correspond with thru other sites, and I am looking for better ways and options to learn of these women to see if any one of them can be the "one" I am searching for.
I have taken everyone's suggestion about getting thier phone numbers and have written each for this, just waiting responses from them, any other info or help or just writing me and giving me a good butt kicking and telling me I am completely missing the boat will be greatly appreciated,

Looking for help and options

Bob

Posted by: GoingToRussia

Cell Phones - When I first started out I tried 2 different cell phone companies and neither could connect to Russia. So then someone told me to use Cingular which is now AT&T. In my opinion, they have the best international calling and were the only ones that could connect wth Russia. I'm sure others can now. AT&T even has international packages for your phone to make it even cheaper if you want to call. You can also send SMS/Text messages with your phone.

Your cell phone won't work in the FSU unless you purchase a SIM card and your phone is unlocked. I won't go into this but I just want you to know your cell won't work in the FSU without this card.

Calling Cards - I use a calling card and not my cell phone because it is cheaper. Many cards say they give you a certain rate or number of minutes but I found most of them aren't true. I've only had good experience with http://www.enjoyprepaid.com/ calling cards.

Skype - Skype is software you can download from the Internet for free. It is also free to use if used from computer to computer. You can also buy phone time. Skype is for talking, chating, or using a web cam. When I started the visa process, I bought my fiancee a computer and web cam. This cost about $700. I was spending $200 - $300 a month on calling cards so the computer paid for itself after 3 months, because I had to buy high speed Internet. Skype doesn't work well on dial up.

Time - How do I find the time??? I make time. My life revolves around finding time to talk and see my girl. I admit I am lucky. My girl owns her own business and sets her own hours. When I get home from work we Skype everyday until 1 AM her time. The weekends of course we can talk anytime.

I'm sure you have more questions so fire away!

Posted by: goforit

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chillidog

Maybe I am going about this FSU women thing all the wrong way????

I was at basketball camp one summer and the NBA pro doing the teaching that day was a prolific scoring guard who played for the team now known as the Washington Wizards. He was doing a clinic on shooting, teaching all the basics of how to be a good shooter. During the session someone asked him, "Phil, what do you consider to be the perfect jump shot?" Phil graciously answered, "The perfect jump shot is the one that goes in."

We all got a good laugh out of that but of course he was right, no matter how weird or unorthodox a shooter might look, if it goes in, he/she did it right.

All that to say that we can learn a lot from the experiences of many people who have traveled this road before us, and there will be many different opinions, and some ways in general are probably more effective than others, but I would be slow to say there is a right way or wrong way. In the end, leaving aside the obvious dead ends, it is what works for you that counts.

Quote:

I started my search end2005/beg2006 found a woman who I was very interested in (we met june 2006) we e-mailed everyday, because she was able to do this at her work, at the end of her work day she would write me a letter before going home, we talked on the phone but only once a week on the weekends if the call went thru and we worked out the time during the week our e-mails, only saw pictures of her prior to meeting (she sent me a whole bunch) but eventually relationship ended. I tried sms (with the girl met and another girl that lives in Perm, back in 2006) but for some reason my cell phone carrier here could not get it to work. I cannot tell you the number of hours spent on the phone with cell company trying to get this to work again this was back in 2006, eventually gave up and have never done this since. Met a differnent woman in July 2007 but knew from day one of this meeting that it was a dead end (for me).

I read so much here on RMP about people calling everyday, e-mailing everyday, send mulitple sms back and forth each day and I will admit most of what I read here I do not have a clue on, like "skype" what the h**l is that?
How do you all find the time to do all of this??? with the time differeneces between countries and all????

First I keep a world clock on my computer which is customized to the countries I want to see. That way I always know what time it is in the countries of interest to me.

Second, I think written communication is great in the beginning, but the faster you graduate to phone and web cam the better off you will be. You will learn a lot more about a person via the phone and seeing their body language and facial expressions than you will just through written communication.

Skype is an instant messaging service that allows you to communicate in real time with someone else who has the Skype software (free to download at www.skype.com), be it your next door neighbor or someone living in Belarus. You can do that by texting (like yahoo messenger) but you can also talk via voice through your computer. Skype to Skype calls (i.e. dialing from one computer to another) is free anywhere in the world. I have found the voice quality to be great no matter where in the world I am talking.

The nice thing about Skype is that you can have video calls (if you have a web cam), i.e you can see the person in your chat box while talking to them on the phone. It is a very nice feature and I think Skype does a better job of it than some of the other services.

All the above is easy to do by installing the Skype software and following the directions.

As for time, I personally have some time set aside each evening for this adventure.

Quote:

In my job I do not have access to a computer while I am working, and also even if my work cell rings I do not answer it 75% of the time, (when your hands are working on 12 Thousand live volts of electricty, your a little more concerned with your life than answering a phone) my daily schedule is getting up at 5 am, leaving for work at 6 am and getting home at 4 pm. It is certainly not a case of lack of funds but I guess I have gotten cynical and feel that these agencies do not want marriage they just want money. and before meeting them in person to me I do not see spending such quanties of money on webcams and such, I exchange e-mails with woman I am interested in at most once a week and if I think there is enough similar interests and values for life and family for a meeting I will try to arrange phone calls but again at most once a week.

Purchasing your web cam and head set is not expensive at all. It is just a one time cost. I have personally never used the web cam services any agency offers. Either the girl I am talking with has one on her own computer or can use one at an internet cafe. Some of the cafes have cameras and some don't. But just about anywhere else in the world cameras are at nearly all the cafes.

I think communication should be a spontaneous thing whose frequency will grow if you have anything going with the lady in question. I use email mostly during the week and phone/web cam on the weekends.

Posted by: goforit

Bob,

Here is an older screenshot using instant messaging/video/phone over the web. Skype is a little different but accomplishes the same result.

http://www.russianmeetingplace.com/...o.php?photo=275

Posted by: Chillidog

Quote:

Originally Posted by goforit

Bob,

Here is an older screenshot using instant messaging/video/phone over the web. Skype is a little different but accomplishes the same result.

http://www.russianmeetingplace.com/...o.php?photo=275

Thanks for all of the info GTR and GFI,
GFI, the e-mailing during the week and the voice/cam on weekends makes a lot of sense based on time differences. I also have the world clock set up on my computer. I guess I'm just a slow mover

if I start doing this webcam deal I better start cleaning myself up and bathing on weekends

Posted by: goforit

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chillidog

I instant message a bit during the week as well. Since I work a lot of hours the phone/cam is not such a good idea during the week. Most of the women I have been interacting with don't speak english very well otherwise we would probably talk more on the phone during the week.

Quote:

if I start doing this webcam deal I better start cleaning myself up and bathing on weekends

Yeah, that might be helpful, LOL

Posted by: Chillidog

Quote:

Originally Posted by GoingToRussia

Cell Phones - When I first started out I tried 2 different cell phone companies and neither could connect to Russia. So then someone told me to use Cingular which is now AT&T. In my opinion, they have the best international calling and were the only ones that could connect wth Russia. I'm sure others can now. AT&T even has international packages for your phone to make it even cheaper if you want to call. You can also send SMS/Text messages with your phone.

Your cell phone won't work in the FSU unless you purchase a SIM card and your phone is unlocked. I won't go into this but I just want you to know your cell won't work in the FSU without this card.

Calling Cards - I use a calling card and not my cell phone because it is cheaper. Many cards say they give you a certain rate or number of minutes but I found most of them aren't true. I've only had good experience with http://www.enjoyprepaid.com/ calling cards.

Skype - Skype is software you can download from the Internet for free. It is also free to use if used from computer to computer. You can also buy phone time. Skype is for talking, chating, or using a web cam. When I started the visa process, I bought my fiancee a computer and web cam. This cost about $700. I was spending $200 - $300 a month on calling cards so the computer paid for itself after 3 months, because I had to buy high speed Internet. Skype doesn't work well on dial up.

Time - How do I find the time??? I make time. My life revolves around finding time to talk and see my girl. I admit I am lucky. My girl owns her own business and sets her own hours. When I get home from work we Skype everyday until 1 AM her time. The weekends of course we can talk anytime.

I'm sure you have more questions so fire away!

with cell phones I have US Celluar, very good where I live probably the only one that does not drop calls out in "Corn land" (I live half way between Chicago and the Iowa border) went with them back in 2006 because they had a unlimited sms package and were the only ones (at least at that time around here) that did not charge extra for international sms, but like I said have had no use for it since then, so I actually dropped the sms package.

not sure if I will need the calling cards, I use "Vonage" for phone service and there real cheap even for International but I will double check.

I will look into "Skype" and webcams----do not currently have someone that I could use that with yet (of course working on it) so it will be nice to at least have something already in place on the computer for when that time comes.
might have more questions on all of that once I start looking into them

Thanks again

Posted by: Chillidog

recieved a letter from the woman on Anastasia, said she deffinitly wants to talk by phone, so going to work on setting that up, of course I have first use Anastasia 3-way calling, which is fine the woman said her English is poor has not used it since school, I will make sure to get her home/cell number during this call and if needed on future calls use one of services that "goforit" wrote about in other posts, now to see what the other two say about talking on the phone.

Posted by: blucatz

If you want to use your cell phone to call Russia, here is what I do. I use my long distance carrier - Startec - They have a feature called "cell connect" where you use your cell phone, call a 800 number wait for the lady to tell you to enter your destination number, then your off to Russia via your cell phone while enjoying the same rates as if you were calling from your house phone. I call my Lady from my truck while going down the road (with a head set of course) all the time.

Posted by: goforit

Skype has a similar feature that allows you to get their extremely low rates via your cell phone.

Posted by: LilyNewbie

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chillidog

Webcams are an unvaliable tool for online communication.
I have one on my own and use it every time I can. Even my profile mentions that I look forward to webcam communication.

Not only it could prove someone's reality, if the webcam is on her own, but shows her face in dynamics, her reaction on your words, etc. etc. You can see her room behind her, she can show you the sight out of her window. It is almost like a real time conversation, the only difference is that if someone switches off, either occasionally or voluntary, the dialog is finished.

However I don't think it helps determining a true interest. Having a meeting in real life in a caffee, can you determine whether the woman has a true interest to you? All you can see is how is she different from her photos, how she behaves, how she answers questions. One has to ask a direct question whether she would be interested.

Posted by: nocomfortzone

I communicate with lots of people now with both video and audio but back in late 2005 when my paths crossed with a girl online from Ukraine I did not even have a microphone or know about skype and such things so we both got to know each other only through emails over 8 months.

It certainly is different and I've learnt heaps since then. If I'd known then what I know now I would have, at the very least, found a way of us speaking to each other with voice on phone, but in her case that may have slowed us getting to know each other as quickly as she can be quite shy as she said to me on e-mails and also found she could be that way when I met her in person.

I doubt she would have opened up as much on webcam or mic as she did on e-mail but at the same time I think e-mail communication can be misleading in some ways because people will tend to write in ideals rather than where they really are in life in some respects.

I found when I met her in person she missed crucial ingredients I want in a really good friend , let alone a loving partner for life and some of the ideals she talked about regarding friendships and relationships. I found she did not live up to my expectations. She was very nice and every bit as attractive in person as any photo I saw of her but she just did not give enough considerations to me I just expect in a real thoughtful friend or partner.

I'm not sure how a webcam may have speeded up or helped in that development of friendship but I would say I use anyway becuase eventually you are going to meet in person if you are both genuine so best to find out as soon as possible people's real time strengths and weaknesses in relating both as a listener and expressor. Then you least won't have to wait several months or years in some peoples situations.

Posted by: Chillidog

Thanks LilyNewbie, and NCZ

as you both write, it is difficult no matter what manner you communicate with, they all have there strong points, letters, WebCam, but as you both point out they both also have there weaknesses as well, and that no matter how a person communicates, even with phone converstaions, the true test and only honest way to determine compatiblty, attraction is in an actual meeting.
I am somewhat behind the times in that I do not have a webcam with my computer, and asked this question, because I have twice travelled to Russia in hopes of finding my future beloved without the benifits of using a webcam previously, and was wondering if this use of a webcam could possibly help in determining if an actual personal meeting would be more succesful, and I appreciate both of your inputs and opinions.
It appears it is still much the same even with webcam technology, try and find a person you feel you have a lot of compatibilty with by using every option available to you, letters, telephone and also webcam, but even with all of new technology nothing is guaranted, actual meetings still can go wrong, and a person must continue to have a positive attitude and hope for the best

Posted by: blucatz

Then get with the times Chilli, get a web cam....LOL, if anything, it makes the communication stage of the relationship more fun.

Posted by: disculmawsu

My friend and I love skype and webcam. She and I could spend hours on it (and in fact some cases we do).

Posted by: Chillidog

Quote:

Originally Posted by blucatz

Then get with the times Chilli, get a web cam....LOL, if anything, it makes the communication stage of the relationship more fun.

Yeah, I probably should but right now the 2 women I communicate with, do not have webcam abilities, so at this time there is no hurry to add a webcam on my end