게임 챗룰렛 만든 러시아 고교생 인터뷰랍니다..
Chat+Roulette(채트+룰렛)이다. 이름 한번 절묘하다. 이 서비스의 핵심을 찌르는 네이밍이다.
지난 11월 or 12월에 첫 등장한 이 사이트는 최근 동시접속자가 2만명까지 넘어서며 폭발적인 인기를 얻고 있다
One on One: Andrey Ternovskiy, Creator of Chatroulette
By NICK BILTON
Nick Bilton/The New York Times Andrey Ternovskiy, the effervescent and inquisitive 17 year old founder of Chatroulette.Andrey Ternovskiy, a polite, excited and eager Russian high school student scoured the Internet trying to find a Web site that allowed random video chats with strangers. When he realized a site like this didn’t exist, he decided to build it. Three months and tens of millions of users later, the 17 year old is wandering around New York City and San Francisco talking to investors and programmers about where to take his project next.
David Gallagher, deputy tech editor, and I sat down with Mr. Ternovskiy to hear his captivating story about being too young to receive payment for Google AdWords and why so many investors want to be his new best friend. Here is an edited version of our chat:
Why did you start Chatroulette?
I was looking for a site like this, one that would let me chat randomly on Web cams, and I couldn’t find it, so I thought I would try to build it.
How long did it take to build?
It took me three days. I built it on an old computer I had in my bedroom.
Then what happened?
Well at first I showed it to my friends and they criticized it; they asked why anyone would want to use it. So I went onto a few Web forums and asked people to try the site, and I got 20 people to try it.
How many users do you have now?
Well, after the initial 20 users the site doubled and it continued to double every day since then. Last month I saw 30 million unique visitors come to the Web site and 1 million new people visit each day. I continues to multiply and I just couldn’t stop it from growing.
What were you thinking while this was happening?
I woke up one morning and checked my computer and saw all of these news articles about the Chatroulette. I yelled to Mom to come and look at my computer. At first she was very nervous, but she doesn’t really understand it very well and asked me why I’m not going to school.
What do you think about all the press?
Actually I haven’t read a single article. I don’t want to read them. I see a wall of text and I just look at the picture and click next.
And what did you parents say?
Well my mother is a bit conservative about it and I am still in high school.
Where does the name come from?
I came up with it after I watched a movie about American soldiers who were fighting in Vietnam and were captured and forced to play Russian roulette.
Are you making money from the advertisements on the site?
I used to be, but for the last six days I have had no ads.
But you have Google AdWords, right?
Well, Google never sent me the money.
Huh? Why didn’t they send you the money?
Well, at first it took two months to verify my address in Moscow because I wrote a code down incorrectly. Then, when that was fixed, and everything should’ve been fine, I received a letter from Google that said they could not send me the money because I was not 18 years old yet.
What do you plan to do about all the naked people on Chatroulette?
People that are naked are all over the Internet. I don’t like it, because I want a clean site, so I have added a “Report” button. Now if someone is reported three times they are banned from the site.
How do you feel about Chatroulettemap?
I enjoy it. I was e-mailing the creator of the site, but he won’t tell me who it is. There is a certain level of anonymity on the Chatroulette that Chatroulettemap takes away, but I plan to add something to my site to allow them to still hide their whereabouts.
So you have been meeting with investors?
Well, for now, they are more interested in me, than I am in then.
Are people trying to buy the service?
I get calls all the time where people say they want to buy my site, but I think that some of them are not serious, they are only offering me $1 million.
Will you sell it?
Six months ago I would have said yes, but now I want to keep it, I don’t want to sell it.
Do you want investors?
I’m not sure. There are a lot of business people that are interested. I am afraid to take the offers as I don’t have a business plan. If I take the money I’m responsible for delivering on that. Right now I can survive without investors. The site uses peer-to-peer technology and my Web site is not the kind of site that needs a lot of money to run.
So if someone came along to you today and said I’ll give you $5 million for the Web site would you sell it to them?
I’m not sure to be honest. The thing is, I could take the money, but what if it won’t work well in the future, I would blame myself. I don’t want to disappoint people.
Have you always wanted to be a programmer?
No, actually I had no interest in being a programmer. I was always interested in language, I studied English and Chinese and I hoped to be a translator. Then I got a computer and saw that you could write code, so I decided to try it.
What’s next for you and Chatroulette?
I’m looking for ideas, I personally don’t know, but I’m debating changing everything. I’m meeting with people in New York and San Francisco to look for ideas and see what to do next. Who knows what will happen next.
And when do you go back to Moscow?
I have a ticket to go back in mid-April. But who knows, maybe I’ll never go back!
- 창업자 앤드리는 17살의 모스크바거주 고등학생
- 그는 이 사이트를 재미로 만들었으며 상업적인 목적은 없었다.
- 채트룰렛은 친구들과 스카이프화상채팅을 많이 즐기다가 고안해냈다.
- 채트룰렛은 전적으로 구전효과(Word of mouth)로만 퍼졌다.
- 폭증하는 트래픽을 견뎌내기 위해 그는 Code를 여러번 고쳐썼다.
- 그리고 서버를 더 확충할 수 있도록 친척들이 약간의 자금을 대서 도와줬다.
- 처음부터 글로벌한 서비스를 염두에 두고 서버는 독일 프랑크푸르트에 두고 있다. 현재 서버는 7대를 쓰고 있다.
- 현재 모든 서비스는 완전히 그 혼자힘으로 운영하고 있다.
- 현재 대부분의 사용자는 미국에 몰려있다. 그는 한번도 미국을 방문한 일은 없지만 언젠가는 가고 싶어한다.
우리나라는.언어의 장벽때문인지..아니면 창의성 부족인지.
왜 이런생각들을 못했을까요
아무튼.....대단하네요...
미국측에서 저 소년을 만나보고싶다고 했을정도라면........