ChatRoulette brings general creepiness to social networking landscape | TECH

(image via NY TIMES)

ChatRoulette is the big newcomer in creepy social networking spinoffs. The site allows users to video chat anonymously via user shuffle...Click 'next' to move on to another user. Gave it a quick whirl and it's just plain creepy - lots of masks...enough said?

Not quite...The Web Ecology Project conducted a survey in early February, based on a sampling of 201 ChatRoulette sessions (via WSJ Blog). The research project yielded some interesting results. While 80% of users encountered were fully identifiable, 9% had altered their image (i.e. wearing masks) and 5% were naked or exposed. Additionally, 87% of the users were male.

A couple highlights from the the official summary:

• ChatRoulette represents an example of a probabilistic community: a community shaped by a platform which mediates the encounters between its users by eliminating lasting connections between them.

• After ChatRoulette users become more acquainted with the system (ie., do not browse solely to explore), we predict a decrease in explicit content, an increase in the consolidation of content genres, and an increase in the formation of celebrity figures.
[via Web Ecology Project (download the whole report (PDF) here]

Personal summary: There's excellent video art potential to this...What great material for a Lynch/Cronenberg/Godard-esque thriller interpretation. We're sure there are a few NYU film students already on it.

RELATED ARTICLES:
Digits - WSJ: Chatroulette, by the Numbers
NY TIMES: The Surreal World of ChatRoulette

(thanks, brandi for the tip)
-jmd