Okay, so, I'm a little addicted to ChatRoulette.com.
Up front: this is NOT a safe place for kids or the faint of heart. Chat Roulette connects you at random with anonymous strangers all over the world. Some will be college kids at parties. Some will be lonely singles. Some will be folks looking for an alternative to watching t.v. Some will be rude. Some will be fondling parts of themselves you might (or might not) want to see fondled.
But that's the crazy, insane beauty of Chat Roulette: when the system drops you into a video chat, you never know who will be on the other end of the line ... or what they'll be doing ... or what they'll think of you.
If that person isn't to your tastes -- or if you aren't to theirs -- either party can click the NEXT button and be instantly whisked away to another anonymous chat with another anonymous stranger.
In fact, most of your time on ChatRoutlette.com will be spent jumping from person to person to person, as most of the thousands of people on there are clicking NEXT just as soon as they determine you're too young, too old, too thin, too fat, too pretty, or too ugly to suit their tastes. The result: you get these little glimpses into the living rooms, bedrooms, and dorm rooms of people all over the planet. The door opens, you get a quick peek, the door closes, and they're gone.
I did manage to have three actual chats last night, each of which lasted all of about forty-five seconds. One was with a young Japanese woman -- studying English -- who practiced a few polite phrases with me. The second was with a college kid who was amusing himself by hurling insults at people. The third was with a guy who just kept asking questions: What would chairs look like if our knees bent in the opposite direction? What would a goat's name sound like to another goat? What makes the sky blue?
Chats include full video (if you have a camera, and allow it -- but if you don't, no one will talk to you), full audio (so watch what you say), and text. And remember: don't just sit there like a bump on a log. Adopt a persona. Be The Angry Guy. Be a Jehovah's Witness. Be a Tarot Reader. Be That Annoying Guy who Just Keeps Asking, "What? What?"
Give it a try. (But not at work, and not if you're easily offended by random acts of profanity, insanity, or nudity.)

Recent Comments