Noodle is a voIP application that allows anyone to create a room and chat. Very simple user proposition. You can have rooms in the most remote parts of the planet... imagine walking in to a room full of people talking vietnameese :-) There is a voyeur in all of us.
Initially the service was totally voice-based, but you can't really compete with Skype at that level without adding more value to the user experience. I proposed we empowered the user with some kind of meaningful embodiment, the avatars that when speaking look straight up at us.
User definition also needs to go beyond the avatar, historical data is of extreme importance when sustaining context. The ability to record conversations, tag parts of it and easily assess context when walking into a room became crucial.
It is the typical example of a service that is technology lead from the beginning and fails because it lacks a focused user experience layer and a targeted business plan. My initial strategy was never proven correct because noodle evolved/mutated to a service called loober. :-( It may still come back, you never know.