Northwestern University and Evanston's Only Daily News Source Since 1881

The Daily Northwestern

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Northwestern University and Evanston's Only Daily News Source Since 1881

The Daily Northwestern

Northwestern University and Evanston's Only Daily News Source Since 1881

The Daily Northwestern

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Northwestern students talk to strangers on Chatroulette.com

The popular video chat Web site Chatroulette has a following at Northwestern, where some students have created a Facebook group for enthusiasts.

Chatroulette, a recent social networking phenomenon, randomly connects users to strangers using webcams. Users have the option to “Next,” or skip people with whom they don’t want to video chat.

When Justin Lueker first discovered Chatroulette last month, he said it had 3,500 users. Now he said he spends anywhere between one to three hours per Chatroulette session while talking with some of the site’s roughly 35,000 users.

“The best thing about it is just the excitement of the unknown,” the Weinberg freshman said. “You really don’t know whether you’re going to meet freaky people that you want to ‘Next’ or someone who you can have a lot of interesting conversations with.”

Lueker said he and his roommates were instantly hooked the first time they used the site. The three decided to create the “Chatroulette.com Enthusiasts at Northwestern” Facebook group to share comments and stories about their experiences.

“There’s been a new trend of people being creative and having automated signs and holding things up to the screen,” he said. “We didn’t see much of that at first because Chatroulette was in its younger days, but as it grows, people are getting more creative.”

Prof. Noshir Contractor, who studies social networks, said the site’s popularity is partly due to “the curiosity of being surprised and scandalized by what might be showing up on the webcam.”

“It’s clearly a market now: not where people are showing just their faces, but people are getting more creative and not being prudent about what they show through the camera on the roulette,” he said.

Contractor said he has never used the site, but its large number of users suggests there is an interest in social interacting using the Internet.

“It shows the desire to connect anonymously or pseudo-anonymously, since there is a camera with random people around the world and to make an instant judgment on whether you want to continue to talk with this person,” he said. “It’s sort of a virtual speed dating.”Patrick Hockberger said the video feature adds a personal touch that blogs and forums can’t offer.

“On the forum you don’t know who you’re talking to, so they can pretend to be someone they’re not,” the Bienen freshman said. “It’s a lot harder to do that on Chatroulette, and it feels more personal even when you’re anonymous.”

McCormick freshman John Hodges said the video feature isn’t enough of a reason to use the Web site. He said he would rather talk to strangers with whom he shares a common interest.

“There’s so much more when you see someone in person,” he said. “You can see how they interact and how they act in a casual environment instead of in front of a computer.”But the site has its downsides, Lueker said. A user will occasionally stumble on adult content. In spite of some unfortunate chats, he said he will continue to use the site to meet strangers.

“It’ll probably be imitated, but being the original random video chat Web site will keep it ahead of the rest,” Lueker said. “It will really endure.”[email protected]

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Northwestern University and Evanston's Only Daily News Source Since 1881
Northwestern students talk to strangers on Chatroulette.com