The World Chat A not-quite anonymous way to meet strangers

There's something inherently exciting about meeting strangers, but face it, you're not going to get excited enough to do the Dance of Joy unless they're absolutely Perfect. And a shepherd-by-trade. For the perfect way to meet your distant cousins from fake Greek islands, and other random people on Facebook, hit up The World Chat.

Conceived by a former Wall Streeter (with some help from a college buddy), this still-in-beta e-service connects you via text/photo with anonymous strangers from around the world (minus the pene-facilitating video component on Chat Roulette), and also gives you the option of making a more permanent connection via Fbook, all in an effort to bring people together "one conversation at a time"...wait, are you even listening -- hang up the phone, Shake Weight is not giving you your money back! You start "the game" by connecting WC to your Face-B; the site randomly pairs you with someone you can chat up via an IM-style text box, and shows you their profile picture, but not their Profiler picture, because no one is making that mid-'90s crime drama into a movie, thanks in large part to casting Evan Rachel Wood. If users choose to "accept" each other while chatting they'll get access to their partner's name and full deets, giving them the option to become friends, or they can press the "next" button, which'll pair 'em with someone else for "random socialization", also Zuckerberg slang for picking up chicks in bars.

Through January, WC's running a contest (with the whopping prize of $100) that will use votes cast by chat partners to determine the most popular/interesting person in the world -- an honor so great that if you win it, you'll be forced to Pinch-ot yourself.