Meebo re-launches with Meebo Rooms

Everyones favorite browser based multi-protocol instant messaging client Meebo recently updated with a new feature known as Meebo Rooms. What are Meebo Rooms? Like traditional chat rooms, Meebo Rooms are custom rooms which anyone can create and share on their own personal pages.
Meebo Rooms is reminiscent of Netvibes Universe, which recently partnered with leading content providers (such as CBS) to create ‘branded’ universes. The comparison to Netvibes is apt, because Seth described meebo rooms to me as “like a very very rich widget”. Just as Netvibes and Pageflakes are in one sense a homepage for widgets, including rich media like video, meebo is also attempting to be a distribution hub for rich media. Meebo is using its core strength, providing real-time chat, as the foundation for a multimedia social networking service. Video content is the main feature being touted, but also important is the social angle – because the combo of chat and media gives people a compelling context to gather together, using meebo’s platform. Perhaps this is what TV will be like in the future ;-)
For additional background information on the recently launched Meebo Rooms, check out Read/Write Web. Thanks to the new addition, is there really a reason to use anything else other than what Meebo has to offer?
