Lessons from Chatroulette

What? You haven’t heard of Chatroulette?

NEXT!

On the popular new video chat site, Chatroulette, users engage face-to-face with random people around the world. And just like advertising, users have less than two seconds to grab their audience’s attention. Failure to do so results in getting “nexted,” the advertising equivalent of someone changing the TV channel to avoid a horrendous commercial.

So, the age-old ad question remains: how does a brand capture the attention of a complete stranger in mere seconds?

Witnessing the way people interact on the site provides some understanding of how people get, and sustain, viewer attention. Chatrouletters respond to positive energy and resist pressing the “next” button when they’re faced with excitement and enthusiasm. In fact, most users actually initiate conversation by reflexively typing “hi” when someone simply waves to them.

Brands today could take a lesson from the basic communication Chatroulette re-introduces: put on a friendly, energetic face and just be yourself. And be prepared to have something to say when someone does give you the chance to speak. The more we become aware of what attracts “consumers” and how they interact with each other, the better we can understand what it takes to get a consumer to reply “hi” the next time our brand waves to them.