Chatroulette Calling (Don’t Answer)

[vimeo https://vimeo.com/9669721]

 

Now this is what every short video should be like. Casey Neistat’s short on Chatroulette is great artform and storytelling. Casey and brother Van have a TV show coming to HBO sometime this year. Casey’s only shortcoming is birthplace—not from Maine like his brother (Yes, I’m biased being from Aroostook County).

The video’s topic will offend some people (You’ve been warned). But it’s simply the best explanation I have seen anywhere about Chatroulette, the WebCam random chat craze started by 17 year-old high school student Andrey Ternovskiy (He’s not from Maine either, but from Moscow, Russia).

I haven’t yet bothered with Chatroulette. I’m too old and too male to be anything but “nexted.” However, as a journalist and amateur sociologist, I am fascinated by the idea of making random connections with anyone anywhere. Is Chatroulette really as addictive as gambling (e.g., roulette)?