Tuesday, August 22, 2006

Peter aka geriatric 1927says "Farewell"

This charming old gentleman from the Midlands has captured the hearts of many thousands of YouTubers. Tonite he posts Telling it All video Part Eleven, a five-minute audio stream with nothing but his empty chair on camera. He explains in a matter of fact tone that he is stopping at this point but leaves open the expectation that he may resume in the future. He seems to be inundated with thousands of emails to read and seems to be needing a rest from vlogging.

Comments have only been open for four hours at this writing and already there are nearly two hundred left by his many fans. It is an outopouring of love and respect rarely seen in today's world, especially since the object is simply a soft-spoken old man with a gentle wit and obviously kind disposition. I expect to see more of him at some time in the future.

One blogger seemed certain that he was an example of "viral marketing." I don't think that is the case, but if so, then someone (not him) is a marketing genius. Not since Clara Peller made her famous line a household word has anyone displayed such a touch of charismatic magic. And this man, as far as we can tell, doesn't have the advantage of an agency or script. NPR did a feature over the weekend on Johnny Cupcakes, a splendid example of "viral marketing," but if Peter is peddling anything other than a plain vanilla persona he has kept it secret from the start.

No comments: