Meebo has launched a new feature: chatrooms. It's like Web 1.0 but with gradients, bubbly icons, and stylesheets.

Step 1: Cut a hole in a box

The main difference between Meebo in 2007 and Yahoo in 1997 is that one whores it out on AJAX and the other was an unattractive Java applet. Chatrooms would be the next logical step in browser based javascript chatting for the startup but what makes it any better than the decades of competition?

The single unique feature to Meebo's Rooms is the ability to have pasted links to online video play right within the chat window itself. When I was in the TechCrunch chatroom some dude posted a video of a cop chasing a midget around. It was pretty great. The best part was the ADDness of it: anyone can post a link to a YouTube video at any time and it will just start playing for all of the users. Ladies and gentlemen: I think we've found an even more inventive way to waste time.

The final twist to the new feature offering is that Meebo is *gasp* displaying advertisements. According to Red Herrington: "Any video integrated into chat will include “lull advertising.” 15-30 second video ads will be shown between videos after a few are shown." Yes, REVENUE. MEEBO GONNA BE RICH.

Step 2: Put your junk in that box

If you remember Ted's previous article the message was: Meebo causes global warming. The release of Meebo Rooms will certainly expedite global warming as cpu and server cycles are both wasted at an exponential rate to ruin our children's future. Here's where Web 2.0 has just gone a little too far and I'm not going to let them ruin Kyle Juniors chance to pet a polar bear.

Why AJAX? When I asked a Meebo person about this they responded that they were an AJAX company. Exactly. You people have drunk a bit too much of the Javascript kool-aid. Now if I can be the Kool-Aid man for a moment and burst through your wall I have a few suggestions... OH YEAAAAH!

Put down the AJAX and walk away. Meebo's user experience sucks and its only going to get worse. The rooms definitely bog down more resources and dragging a chat window around makes the browser look like it's having a seizure. Why not use Flash? I know its a shocking recommendation against all of the AJAX crusaders but Flash has got something you folks don't: XMLSocket. Since Flash 7 the plugin has supported full socket capability which is exactly what a chat application really needs. In addition to cycles saved by moving towards a faster and more reliable push model of communication the user interface would perform better and be more responsive.

My suggestion to Meebo: create a "Lite" AJAX version for those hard to configure users and a richer Flash experience that wouldn't kill computing resources for those loyal 24 hour Meeboites. Here's a free new feature that could easily secure you another 10 million in funding: base your shit in Flash so you introduce video chat from within the browser. Now that would actually be something interesting because videochat software is usually a bitch to configure between platforms, chat clients and OSes. Think of it as a two way ustream.tv. I've already said too much...

Step 3: Make her open the box

You have to wonder what the investors are thinking about the $12.5 million venture at this point. Meebo has finally injected advertising into their product but will it be enough? If I remember correctly a lot of people ditched the vanilla AIM client or used DeadAIM to avoid even the little ad box above the buddy list. Do users really want to see advertising while they are chatting?

Most of Meebo's users are refugees in that they use the service because they otherwise cannot administer their own standalone chat client. In my experience people have used Meebo in school lab situations and they apparently have a larger user base of library users. What kind of target market does this represent for advertisers? If your user base is mostly college kids wasting time chatting online in places they shouldn't be or can't afford their own machine then how valuable is that audience?

All things considered Rooms is a step in the right direction for Meebo. They're trying to do what a business does now: make money. They've also found a new fun way to more efficiently waste everyones time with worthless YouTube videos. Bravo.