Many of you have no doubt heard of the scariest website in the world, Chat Roulette.
If you’ve not been on it yet, I have to warn you that you need to prepare yourself. You need to do some deep breathing exercises and perhaps pray before saying, "Oh yeah, sure, Chat Roulette, you may access my webcam."
Basically, Chat Roulette is a website that allows you to talk via webcam and chat with random strangers. You hit “New Game”, and you're connected to different people at random. (Hence the name.) There is no way to tell or control who you will be "partnered" with next.
However, chances are you will be connected to a get a scary half naked man in his bed, a pair of salivating teenage boys, or scary people sitting in the dark, who have their hands hidden where you can’t see them. (I think you know where they are.)
Taking advantage of this hilarious (if not completely terrifying) phenomenon is a clever man named Merton. Merton has an incredibly popular video on Youtube called "Chat Roulette Funny Improv Video #1", which shows him sitting with his piano and laptop, singing freestyle songs to whoever he is connected with.
His video, which has been live for 10 days, has over 4 million views. Why? Because it’s absolutely brilliant.
In his “info” section of his Youtube profile, Merton says that he is "self taught", and doesn't reveal any other information about himself, other than to clear up the rumour that he is actually Benjamin Scott, the pianist and singer better known as Ben Folds.
As he says, “Not Ben Folds. Seriously. Ben is a much better pianist, and listen to the voice on the 'Man in the Dark' part - totally not his voice at all. Besides, wouldn't Ben cover more of his face to disguise his identity?”
But then, the equally humorous and apparently Internet-savvy Folds sat down with his piano and laptop in front of 2,000 fans at the Filmore in Charlotte, North Carolina, to pay homage to Merton.
In a video titled “An Ode To Merton”, Folds showcases himself, donning a Merton-style hoodie and their matching glasses, to “freestyle in real-time with random strangers on Chat Roulette”, just like Merton, including a guy sitting on the loo, with his roll of toilet paper in hand.
Beyond the obvious cool factor of this gesture, and even beyond giving us Internet folk the warm and fuzzies, this video is huge.
Why?
Because it’s the perfect example of how important, swift moving, and relevant Web Culture is.
Think about it.
An overnight Youtube sensation uploads a topical, hilarious, and unqiue video. It gains momentum and in little over a week has had over 4 million views. But further than that, eight days after it’s uploaded, Ben Folds gets wind of this, and finds it clever, pertinent and relevant enough to do his own “Ode to Merton” video at one of his shows. And then uploads it to Youtube.
To those naysayers who still believe the Internet and Social Media is unimportant or irrelevant or far removed from the “real people” – this is a perfect example of why it is not.
Image © Ben Folds