

Roulette Russian: The teenager behind Chatroulette - yan
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/05/17/100517fa_fact_ioffe?currentPage=all

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mcantor
He reminds me of moot, the founder of 4chan, only he seems to be more
technically adept. The key story is the same, though: "I created this side-
project on a whim when I was young; now it's taking over the internet and I
have no idea how to properly monetize or grow it. It's reached critical mass,
but it has also grown beyond my ability to analyze and change its direction in
meaningful ways. Also, it's full of dicks."

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jacquesm
I can _so_ relate to that:

[http://jacquesmattheij.com/content/story-behind-wwcom-
camara...](http://jacquesmattheij.com/content/story-behind-wwcom-camaradescom)

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wallflower
"Like much of his generation, Ternovskiy has an online persona far more
developed than his real one."

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adg001
Has anyone else noticed that the article is dated 17 May 2010?

Just accessed today, 10th May 2010 at 10.55pm CEST

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sjwalter
17 May 2010 is when the new issue of New Yorker will be published. This
future-dating happens frequently on the websites of dead-tree organs, when
said organs are considerate enough to provide their content online before the
tree-slaughter has even begun.

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rortian
No it's not. I'm not exactly sure why, but issues are dated a week ahead.
Visit your local bookstore/magazine stand if you don't believe me.

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louislouis
Happens on monthly magazines too, they are dated the following month. I guess
its a way to extend the sell-by date. Readers only want the latest issue. This
is a way to give the appearance of.

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alain94040
Exactly. I used to write for monthly magazines, and it was a mess. Especially
around Christmas, where they'd skip an edition, so sometimes what came out in
late November was called the January-February edition... Ming-boggling.

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jacquesm
I did some work for a monthly publication about Amsterdam for pocket money, we
had two September issues in one year, it nearly killed the company.

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DilipJ
Chatroulette fits the YC model perfectly. Cheap to run, started by a young
guy, builds an audience without marketing. Perhaps YC should build a Moscow
office.

And the monetization will come. Twitter is valued 1B+, without making any
revenues, I believe. Building the audience first is more important.

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joubert
How to value something without revenue?

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darien
Has anyone else noticed that the girl's left hand becomes her right hand in
the article's main graphic?

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a-priori
No, the same thing happens in a mirror.

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darien
It's not a mirror, it's supposed to be an image of a webcam.

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amichail
He deserves an honorary doctorate for Chatroulette.

The idea has so many applications such as web site user testing, advertising,
video games, education, etc.

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mahmud
1) He doesn't need a doctorate, he needs a business plan.

2) It was done before, sans penises.

