Tis that time in the term when papers are due and exams are just around the corner. Every year is the same -- I date all my assignments in my WLUer and I create a fairly reasonable game plan for how and when I will complete every paper, plan every presentation and study for every test, while still keeping up on my readings. In theory, this should work no? Well even in my fourth (and a half) year the work load picks up right at the end of the term, despite my efforts to keep it at a minimum. I have no one to blame for this but... YouTube. It distracts me with hours upon hours of time suckage material that seems (at the time) so much more pressing than finishing my Philosophy paper.
Today I stumbled on a gem that I felt was worth sharing. If you are like me and you have never heard of Chat Roulette, because you find video chatting with complete strangers very creepy, then you will appreciate this video.
What I know about Chat Roulette is that it matches people up at random for a one on one chat discussion, and that it was invented by a 17 year old boy from Russia. What his purpose was for creating it, I don’t know, but I can only imagine that a site such as this probably attracts a whole slew of people, who don’t use it to converse about the weather if you know what I mean...
I can appreciate that when you talk to a webcam for everyone to see, you are facilitating communication among people on a mass scale, despite the geographic constraints that may divide you from the world. I can’t say however that I do it. I’m not a fan of video blogging or chatting with an unknown audience. Personally, I feel that not only is it a huge invasion of privacy, but it borders too closely with voyeurism and issues of surveillance. With that being said, I think that because I feel this way, I have a greater appreciation for Chat Roulette’s piano playing mystery man.
I think that what this guy is doing is genius and absolutely hilarious for the fallowing reasons: first, he outwardly makes fun of the chatters (in a very non-offensive and playful way) and the idea behind the site. As his antics disrupt the flow of the site, his behavior adds a kind of self-reflexivity to video chatting, because while he is doing something completely different than the rest of the folks participating, he is also confronting users with the reality that you will never know who or what to expect when you connect with perfect strangers on the net. Secondly, he is a phenomenal pianist who can make people laugh, not just at his clever wit but at themselves. Lastly, there is no doubting that this guy is not in fact Ben Folds of Ben Folds Five. I think it’s amazing that he is two separate celebrities, both in the offline and online world, one as Ben Folds and the other being the hooded practical joker/piano playing prodigy.
