Chat site spices up Hillsdale party scene
Joel Pavelski
Issue date: 3/11/10 Section: News
Chatroulette.com, the trendy Internet start-up by Russian high school student Andrey Ternovskiy that leaped from 500 users in December 2009 to 1.5 million users today, has become a recognized phenomenon. And now it's come to Hillsdale.
"It's died down, but a month ago it was huge. You can do the most ridiculous things, ask people to do the most ridiculous things, and sometimes it's surprising how far people will go," freshman Tom Pellerito said.
Chatroulette is a video chat Web site that plays like an iPod shuffle of faces. When you click "start," the site activates your Web camera automatically and connects you with a random stranger from anywhere in the world.
You can choose to speak, entertain, or type a message, or just click the "next" button and skip to the next random webcam.
The result is a frenetic competition to be interesting - although you can indiscriminately skip past the site's other users, they can do the same to you, and nothing smarts like suddenly staring at a blank screen and the words, "Your partner disconnected. Reconnecting..."
When accessed by The Collegian Tuesday, the site yielded: two girls from Newfoundland showing off a sock monkey, a man who resembled Snoop Dogg exactly and who said to "stay high stay fly" before disconnecting, several people of both genders in various states of undress, and a man with a guitar who played several Beatles songs.
The nature of the site makes it perfect for groups of people - you can watch your friends react to seeing something inappropriate, compete for space in the view of the camera or debate about whether or not to click "next."
And it's in groups that you might run across Chatroulette at Hillsdale. Students have been flipping open their laptops and grouping themselves around the webcam at parties for weeks.
Junior John Rasche, who was introduced to the Web site by fraternity brothers, said that the most fun he's had on the Web site was when he was with a large group of friends.
"I think that if it wasn't a group thing and we did it individually it'd be really creepy," he said.
He said that members of the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity discovered the site together around a month ago and became addicted.
"It's the same appeal as a freak show," he said, "You don't know whether you'll find something that'll make you want to tear your eyes out or someone who's worth talking to for an hour."
Pellerito said that he was at a party last weekend where students were huddled around a laptop, using Chatroulette.
And freshman Jon Martin said that he doesn't use the Web site unless he's with his friends, grouped around the camera.
"I met this girl from British Columbia and now I'm following her on Twitter," he said.
All three agree that the anonymity and random nature of the site is what makes it fun.
"You're free to say whatever you want. You'll never run into these people again," Pellerito said.
"It's died down, but a month ago it was huge. You can do the most ridiculous things, ask people to do the most ridiculous things, and sometimes it's surprising how far people will go," freshman Tom Pellerito said.
Chatroulette is a video chat Web site that plays like an iPod shuffle of faces. When you click "start," the site activates your Web camera automatically and connects you with a random stranger from anywhere in the world.
You can choose to speak, entertain, or type a message, or just click the "next" button and skip to the next random webcam.
The result is a frenetic competition to be interesting - although you can indiscriminately skip past the site's other users, they can do the same to you, and nothing smarts like suddenly staring at a blank screen and the words, "Your partner disconnected. Reconnecting..."
When accessed by The Collegian Tuesday, the site yielded: two girls from Newfoundland showing off a sock monkey, a man who resembled Snoop Dogg exactly and who said to "stay high stay fly" before disconnecting, several people of both genders in various states of undress, and a man with a guitar who played several Beatles songs.
The nature of the site makes it perfect for groups of people - you can watch your friends react to seeing something inappropriate, compete for space in the view of the camera or debate about whether or not to click "next."
And it's in groups that you might run across Chatroulette at Hillsdale. Students have been flipping open their laptops and grouping themselves around the webcam at parties for weeks.
Junior John Rasche, who was introduced to the Web site by fraternity brothers, said that the most fun he's had on the Web site was when he was with a large group of friends.
"I think that if it wasn't a group thing and we did it individually it'd be really creepy," he said.
He said that members of the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity discovered the site together around a month ago and became addicted.
"It's the same appeal as a freak show," he said, "You don't know whether you'll find something that'll make you want to tear your eyes out or someone who's worth talking to for an hour."
Pellerito said that he was at a party last weekend where students were huddled around a laptop, using Chatroulette.
And freshman Jon Martin said that he doesn't use the Web site unless he's with his friends, grouped around the camera.
"I met this girl from British Columbia and now I'm following her on Twitter," he said.
All three agree that the anonymity and random nature of the site is what makes it fun.
"You're free to say whatever you want. You'll never run into these people again," Pellerito said.
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