Chatroulette is a website that connects you with a random person somewhere in the world via webcam. Users have the option to connect to a new person at any time, leaving their current conversation partner behind (the somewhat demoralizing concept of being “nexted”). The interaction between users ranges from one-second nextings to (presumably) lengthy exchanges. Unfortunately, a website with so much potential is often used in less-than-wholesome ways. In my experience, the majority of users I have seen are young men trying to get girls to flash them or simply showing their own penises. The latter is a phenomenon so common that it has become a cliché mentioned almost every time the website is brought up in conversation.

What’s interesting about Chatroulette are the exceptions to the rule. Users are becoming famous on the Internet for approaching the site in fun or clever ways. For example, musician Ben Folds logged on while playing a show in front of 2000 people. He then played songs that he made up on the spot for his chat partners. Many amateur piano players, singers, and rappers have pulled similar gimmicks. One of my best Chatroulette experiences was getting paired with a band that was happy to play an AC/DC song at my mildly intoxicated request.

What it boils down to is treating Chatroulette like a game, rather than a forum for conversation. Many users log on with a specific purpose in mind (beyond seeing naked girls or exposing themselves). For instance, Ben Folds was tricked by one chat partner into turning his head to read a sideways note that read: “If you turn your head, I win.” Other users will try to get their partner to make a certain face, do a dance, or put a shoe on their head, the latter being more common than you’d think.

The fact that people are becoming Internet (read: barely) famous by using Chatroulette is what makes the site so intriguing. That you could be connected with a famous musician, or even just be a part of some video that gets plastered on College Humor and Funny Or Die makes logging on more exciting. It’s almost like a live version of YouTube where the user actually gets to participate in the shenanigans, rather than just watch them.

Chatroulette is an amazing social experiment, though what it’s told us about human behaviour is pretty unsettling. Beyond getting paired up with people who don’t want to talk to you, the experience is usually pretty boring. Users often log on in groups, and beyond the occasional excited “Hey!” and “Where are you guys from?” the conversations tend to dwindle pretty quickly. What I’ve realized is that horny exhibitionists aside, humans are pretty boring. It’s so hard to connect to a stranger in any interesting way that people have had to come up with these games and gimmicks just to have fun talking to someone, which bothers me more than getting nexted by a group of creepy teenagers.