Video Chatting

Friday night is date night in my small town. Since my boyfriend and I live together, every night is date night, so I opted for a different kind of date - a wine date with a few of my BFFs. The only problem is, one lives in LA, one lives in Alabama, one lives in New Orleans, one in Tampa, and one in Ft. Lauderdale.

In the past, this would be a sad night where I write letters on my personalized stationary as I drink a glass of wine. But today we have Skype, a video chatting technology that is available not only on computers, but also on smartphones and touch screen tablets. So first I had a wine night with my Florida girls, then moved through the time zones from Alabama to New Orleans, and finally to LA.

Video chatting is an amazing convenience that people of all ages use. My stepmother uses Skype to video chat with her son who is serving in Afghanistan. My roommates "skype" their long distance boyfriends from across the country. And my boyfriend uses it to keep in touch with his grandparents. Video chatting is a phenomenon that has changed communication as we know it and now, we can even do it with our cell phones.

Another cool way to use video chatting is a website called Chat Roulette. On this site, people from all over the country sign on, turn on their webcams, and chat with random strangers. Once you decide you don't want to talk with that person anymore, you can click the "next" button and move on to the next random stranger.

The site was created by a young Russian man and the success has bee phenomenal. It can certainly be creepy, but it is completely safe since you are in the privacy of your own home. My friends and I have tried out the game and it can be quite hilarious. We once chatted with a group of guys from Germany (or some country...) until my boyfriend got annoyed and pressed next. Some people (including me) even play drinking games to Chat Roulette. Just google Chat Roulette Bingo and you'll see what I mean.

Do you use Skype? Have you ever tried Chat Roulette? Let me know in the comments!