The Marquette Journal

In the age of the New Dork where social networking happens online, we all know about using social media to connect with family, friends, coworkers and acquaintances. But what about total strangers?

A combination of instant messaging and Web-cam, Chatroulette is a social media tool that allows anyone over age 16 to chat one-on-one with a random person from anywhere in the world. The benefits lie in its spontaneous nature and forthcoming use of technology. However, as with the game that inspired its namesake, Chatroulette can be sudden death.

The Web site’s only rule is that “Chatroulette does not tolerate broadcasting obscene, offending, pornographic material and will have to block users who violate these rules from using our service.” However, it would seem that the majority of Chatroulette’s userbase is participating in a massive competition to see who can disturb and confound as many people as possible.

“There’s crazy people on Chatroulette,” said Brett Stock, a freshman at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.  “People wearing Halloween masks. Lots of nudity. No one is on there just to chat.”

Chat Roulette Tally for 30 minutes, with 20,000 people online:

Guys who look like your high school English teacher: 1

Topless women: 1

Jersey Shore look-alikes:  1

Blank walls: 4

Confused pre-teens: 3

Finger puppets or masks: 2

People staring apathetically: 7

Men masturbating: 10

Unspeakable acts: 1

Why would someone spend his or her time trying to shock strangers with a Webcam? Shaun Molthop, a 23-year-old from Beech Grove, Ind., says he uses Chatroulette “once or twice a week” for the sole purpose of trolling. “I define (trolling) as getting a reaction out of someone for the sake of amusement,” he said. “The site is almost perfect for it. (Chatroulette) offers constant access to a huge number of people with complete anonymity, and the fact that it’s a visual experience on both ends makes it as good as it is.  Like most people, I use a virtual Webcam to broadcast ’shock’ images and files.”

Molthop says his methods of trolling are more innocent than most. “Mine are usually more comical than disturbing.  They range from a mostly naked fat man jiggling his stomach, to a picture of a humorous face with a textual request that people make the face.  I will also take screencaps of reactions to share with others.”

Competition for hilarious screencaps is a large part of Chatroulette’s appeal. Chatroulette Screenshots allows users to share captured interactions that range from funny to offensive. (Beware: as with Chatroulette itself, this site features some inappropriate content.) Molthop shared a screencap of his own:

Image courtesy Shaun Molthop

Anonymous as Chatroulette may seem, trolls beware: new software called Chatroulette Map uses ISP numbers to plot the locations of users around the world. The loss of anonymity could decrease the creep factor – but the creep factor seems to be Chatroulette’s main appeal.

Tags: cam, chatroulette, Internet, online, social media, web, webcam

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 25th, 2010 at 9:20 am and is filed under Features, March 2010, Online Exclusives. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.