Facebook has recently included an official video chat option on their users’ profile pages. But don’t limit yourself to just this option. There are plenty of app developers that have created exciting video chatting software which can be downloaded or used directly from your browser.

First, the bad.

Because Facebook took too long to implement a primary chat feature through their site, traffic has become scattered throughout numerous competing chat sites. This make the ideal situation of having an effective Chatroulette alternative not likely. So if you’re looking to just shoot the breeze with some random strangers, you might just stick with Chatroulette.

But for users with more unique chatting needs, Facebook chat sites are ideal.

Following are some of the most popular Facebook chat sites:

Facebook Chat
This is the official Facebook chat. From the profile page, users can interact with other friends and family members. It’s unfortunate that this chat feature did not make a bigger impression with Facebook users. In fact, if you read the comment sections on the Facebook chat forum, many users were outright hostile to the very minimal design.

http://www.facebook.com/sitetour/chat.php

Rounds.com
This Facebook chat app is unique because it allows for random chatting. Users have the option to communicate with family and friends, or take a walk on the wild side and chat with complete strangers. Additionally, with this chat app, users are able to engage in social activities with other Facebook users.

http://www.rounds.com/

ChitChat.com
ChatChat is an Facebook chat instant messenger (IM), which means that users will need to download the software onto their PC and communicate through the IM. Unlike other browser based chatting software, this software will take up some room on your desktop and require more CPU power. The benefit to using a an IM is that the software usually provides a clearer and more stable video stream.

They boast of having over 10,000 downloads everyday.

http://www.chitchat.org.uk/english/

If you’re just looking for text chat, Facebook also has this option.