If Google Street View and Chatroulette mated and gave birth to a lovechild, it’d look a lot like MapCrunch. For the record, this is not a TechCrunch network site, and would have probably been better off with a name like MapRoulette or StreetviewRoulette or something.
Either way, if you want to be taken to a random location on Google Street View (in North America, Europe, Asia or Australasia), either by clicking a button or automagically after a couple of seconds, MapCrunch is the mash-up place to be.
Granted, it’s a silly little idea and site, but I still find it kind of mesmerizing, at least for a couple of minutes, to watch these random sceneries from all over the world pass by.
Big plus: unlike Chatroulette, chances are pretty thin you’ll see some random dude masturbating every few seconds.
Pro tip: enable the ‘Slideshow’ feature and just lean back.
Update: also check Globe Genie and this one made by StreetViewFunny.
Here’s a quick and dirty screencast I recorded:
Chatroulette! is a web site that allows users to connect to and video chat with random (site-chosen) users. It was developed by Andrey Ternovskiy of Moscow. The idea may have been influenced by Omegle, a similar service for text chat only. Chatroulette uses seven high-end servers all located in Frankfurt, Germany. Network throughput is 7 gigabits a second. The application uses Adobe Flash Player, and the RTMFP peer-to-peer technology acquired from Amicima and introduced in Flash Player 10.0. From now on...
Austin, TX
Seattle, WA
San Diego, CA
Menlo Park, CA
Berlin, Germany
Boston, MA
