ChatRoulette.com> is a new website that brings you face-to-face, via webcam, with an endless stream of random strangers all over the world. With each click of the mouse visitor is transported into a stranger’s life.
The site has only three months, but its population is exploding: 300 users in December; 10,000 in February; over 50,000 today. Big media are covering it up this phenomenon, and even comedian John Stewart made this week a clip about it (above).
Site's founder is unknown; web searches lead back to a Netherlands-based anonimity service. The site is hosted by servers in German and can operate without too much advertising. When writing this post it had a dating service linked.
Some say ChatRoulette.com is fun for dating and very addictive; others see there just a pornographic gate. The NYT has written about it.
The reality is that it's the Internet unfiltered, and nudity and exhibtionists are hard to avoid.
In my view, it is a very dangerous place for children, since perverts can behave anonymously. Remember the old problems of MySpace? ChatRoulette.com, as it is now, without any access restriction and no organization taking responsability for it, is a serious threat for kids under 18.
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In this video it is explained how it works.
Minimalist, Zen-style Design
I have noticed that many graphic designers pride themselves on their ability to "think outside the box". They like to keep themselves entertained by doing something new and interesting on every project.
To be graphically creative is great, but when designing landing pages and web platforms the main goal is to be effective and clear. In other words, the key is to increase the conversion rates and have a fully call-to-action page.
Therefore graphic artists need to follow a minimalist and Zen-style visual aesthetic that focuses on conversion.
The more common visual transgressions found on landing pages are the use of dark, wild or fully-saturated bright color backgrounds, as well as text and headlines with very large fonts in high-contrast colors (and even emphasized by the use of edging effects, drop shadows, color transitions and fades.)
