By Louisa Cohen

My name is Louisa, and I think I have a potentially unhealthy new addiction; its free, somewhat anonymous, and I can give in to it with 20,000 other people at any given moment.

Mom and Dad – if you’re reading this and are getting a little nervous, no, I am not into anonymous Bluetooth hook-ups, autoerotic asphyxiation, or online poker… I am not much of a gambler.

My new obsession is taking a daily spin, or two, of Chatroulette.

If you haven’t heard of it by now, Chatroulette brings strangers together in a ways the Internet has never done before. Invented by a web savvy seventeen year-old Russian guy, at the click a button you are instantly face-to-face with one out of the tens of thousands of people on the site at any given time anywhere in the world (hence the roulette reference). Webcam and audio capabilities are instantly connected, along with a chat window. When connected to a total stranger, you have the option to communicate with your new pal, or you can hit next – instantly linking you to someone new. This ain’t no Twitter folks – this takes social networking to a whole new level.

While chatting with my hairdresser pal Alan, he was insistent on telling me about Chatroulette. Thanks and no thanks to him – I’ve been hooked. I think the selling point was when he told me that the likes of Ashton Kutcher and Paris Hilton have been known to pop-up occasionally.

There is nothing like the real thing – so I won’t spoil it all for you, but here are a few folks I have met so far along the way.

Aside from the tons of hard peen, and fellas getting ‘cozy’ under the covers, desk, or what-have-you, I have met giggling teens who told me I looked like a mom, a person wearing a V for Vendetta mask holding a bong, a tanned Australian cutie who just wanted to chat about being a musician, and a guy who worked in data entry and was chatting while at work out of pure slacker-luddite boredom…and oh, I did encounter a couple who left their chatroulette on so voyeurs (like me) could watch them hump like bunnies… and yes… I watched.

So if you you’re tweeted out, and tired of Facebook creeping – take a spin on Chatroulette, but don’t say I didn’t warn you…and maybe I’ll see you there.

http://chatroulette.com/