Posted on by McKenzieLyn - Follow me on Twitter

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Move over Facebook and Twitter, there’s a new kid on the block. Chatroulette is a social Web site, created a couple of months ago by a 17-year-old Russian named Andrey Ternovskiy. This site is far from ordinary as it places you into the unknown where webcams connect you to strangers from around the world. Gaining thousands of users each day, this internet phenomenon has an eerie yet trendy feel.

The home page is bare, sporting two empty boxes — one tagged ‘Stranger’, the other, ‘You’… how creative, not! How to use the site is simple: You press the New Game button and instantly your webcam is activated. Chatroulette lets you know that it is “Looking for a random stranger,” and moments later up pops a live video where you can chat with the person on the other end, hopefully it’s a person that is. If the person you’re chatting with doesn’t spark your interest simply hit Next and you are directed to a new stranger.

Its name is spot on; you’re truly in a game of roulette. Recently a classmate suggested we try out the site to see what everyone was talking about.

I really don’t like the idea that Chatroulette allows you to navigate anonymously. There’s no log in for the site, no registration. This concept is foreign to Facebook and Twitter where your real persona is exposed and tied to you inevitably. But how anonymous is this site, really? Screen shots of people using the site are everywhere, is one of them of you? I myself took over a hundred screen shots during the encounters I had… all rated PG-13 of course. But how do I know someone didn’t take a photo of me nonchalantly sitting at my desk in my aviators, I don’t know that they didn’t. That’s a scary thought.

Don’t get me wrong, I think this site has potential, in the sense that you’re meeting people from around the world and getting a glimpse at someone’s else’s life. As soon as it get’s some regulations, and you at least attempt to eliminate the perverts, Chatroulette can be a really fun experience.

There’s no doubt about it that parents need to educate their children on the dangers of the site—so get on it! Although the majority of the people I spoke to were genuinely there for random conversation, others without a doubt had corruption on their minds.

Whether Chatroulette moves into the mainstream or if it ends up as yet another home for pornography is ultimately up to its users. But for now, people around the Globe continue to venture the mean streets of Chatroulette, hopefully getting a taste of true randomocity.

This post is by Social Tech Zone Writer, McKenzie Lyn.

Further reading:

Interview With Steve Heywood – Will Google TV Be Successful?

Skype – The Technology With So Much Potential

10 Reasons You Shouldn’t Say No To Technology

5 Tips For Keeping Up With Technology

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