The idea of the site is simple: you log on, hit a few buttons, and you're communicating with another random Chatrouletter via video, audio, and text. This was created by a 17-year-old Russian boy who wanted to make videochatting a more interesting experience for himself and his friends.
He could not have forseen the ways people would use this site: from broadcasting live porn to live concerts, college kids thousands of miles apart putting off homework together or smoking weed together, or Americans and Canadians arguing over certain things Americans and Canadians like to argue over.
My friends and I decided to check out this site and we met Rafa, a 19-year-old Spanish insomniac, waiting for morning to come so he could take an exam. He spoke to us in broken English and we typed to him in elementary Spanish, using hand signs and drawing pictures to fill in the gaps between our words. He described his view of Americans and our culture; we told him about typical American perceptions of Spain & Europe.
This is not a conversation I'd normally be able to have at 2 a.m. at UAlbany.
We met other characters that night: a guy pretending to be a cat, another who performed original rap songs for us, someone who rated us on a 1-10 scale of how entertaining we were.
Every "next" button is taking a chance. You might run into a naked creep, or a group of students hanging out, or Ben Folds live in concert with 2,000 people.
1 comment:
i am ADDICTED to chattoulette! and i compulsively watch that ben folds video. have you seen the piano improv guy? he's amazing!
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