The Inevitable, Obligatory Chatroulette.com Post February 12, 2010
I discovered Chatroulette last weekend, although apparently the site has been around since last November. For those of you familiar with Omegle, Chatroulette basically took that concept (being instantly connected with a random chat partner, with the ability to skip to someone new with the click of a button) and threw webcams into the mix.
If I hadn’t already tried the site out and someone explained the site to me, I would have had no interest. When was the last time I used a webcam… Probably when I was in high school?
When I first went on the site, some of my friends were hanging out, and we ended up spending a good 2 hours on there screwing around. The vast majority of the people on there are either guys with their shirts off, guys trying to get girls to take their shirts off, guys beating it like mad (this happens a lot, need to be quick with the ‘next’ button), dorm rooms full of guys waiting to yell homophobic slurs at you, fake celebrities (although the Jonas Brothers are apparently on the site all the time), or lemonparty/goatse surprises. Sounds awesome, right? I know I’m not doing a very good job at selling this site, but if you can stomach the things I just mentioned, it’s actually pretty fun to go on with some friends. You’ll be clicking ‘next’ a lot, but there are some pretty funny/bizarre things going on that make it all worth it. Oh yeah, and there are actually girls on there too… You know, if you’re into that sort of thing.
I ended up having a few long (10+ minute) conversations with people/groups of people. It’d be very easy to say that this site is for people with no friends or too much time on their hands, but I still think it’s a pretty cool concept, and if nothing else it provides some mindless entertainment on a Friday night while you’re drinking with some friends before going out or whatever.
This site is the sort of thing that reminds me that I’ve spent a lot more time on the internet over the years than my friends have. I click “next” and a guy hanging from a noose pops up. Friends say “holy shit, a dead guy!” I say “relax, it’s from Stile Project” (covered by yours truly here on March 5th, 2000) and then feel like some sort of weird wise old internet grandfather.
People displaying images like the hanging Stile, lemonparty, and other gross/amazingly awesome internet memes are most likely waiting to capture the look of shock/disgust on your face via screen shot and post it on /b/. So yeah, keep in mind that anything you do on here can very easily be saved and posted somewhere else.
If you don’t plan on checking out the site, but want to stay “in the loop”, here’s a good article about Chatroulette from NYMag.
Oh yeah, and if it isn’t implied already… “NSFW”.
randyc Feb 13, 2010
hahahah
I feel like an old internet grandfather sometimes too. InternetGossip and all the cam whore sites. I miss that era sometimes.
Moby Homemaker Feb 14, 2010
Thanks for the posting! I have always wanted to talk to a Jonas Brother!
roadie Feb 18, 2010
Thanks for the chatroulette link, our entire lower half of the barracks now have something to do in the boring hours on duty!
Alyssa Apr 8, 2010
I’m an old internet granny, then. I’ve heard of chatroulette.. although to be honest, I’m way to chicken to go on it!!!
website reviews Jun 25, 2010
Hahaha, yeah, I was hoping that the last link there (“Enjoy”) would have made it clear. If you actually downloaded the album, I apologize.
truancy call Aug 10, 2010
Well, someone was bound to take this next step really. I’ve been on omegle and I think this is the one thing it’s missing. I don’t know if I would use this but it’s going to be a lot more entertaining. But if you want to remain entirely random, Chatroulette is not really the way to go. What if you end up chatting to a future neighbour or relative in law?
Beckie Heizman Sep 7, 2010
Found out about a new chat site called Chat Spasm.
Marlies Oct 17, 2010
Thanks for sharing. I have never heard of chatroulette before, but it sounds interesting. Talking to strange people all over the world and possibly become friends is a great idea. I think this is some kind of “omegle” website.
Webcam Jobs Aug 22, 2011
Chat roulette would be great if not for guys jerking it. Frankly, that ruins it for me. No one wants to see that on webcam, not even the women.