Something really interesting is happening on YouTube. Ten days ago, a 79-year old man who calls himself geriatric1927 posted a video. His initial video is called "first try" and he starts off by saying "I got addicted to YouTube - what a fascinating place."
In the past 10 days he has added 8 more videos. I really recommend watching a few. At first they were just professing his love for the site, and experimenting with how to shoot a video. Then as he got more comfortable he started commenting on the day's news stories, then in the last few days he has started a project to tell his whole life story. He's up to part 4 now.
Why is this interesting? Well, to start with he's a lovely old man with good stories, and the videos are both endearing and fascinating. He is charmingly self-deprecating about the "amateur production quality" of the videos, and while they certainly aren't slick, he's actually learning very quickly - the videos are getting better and he's now playing with inserting pictures and supers. It's also interesting to hear him talk about his excitement in discovering YouTube, and his comfort with technology (he also talks about using MSN Messenger and Skype). I think he's one of the most engaging things online right now.
But it's also interesting because it has started a movement of sorts. His first video has now been viewed almost a million times, he is featured on YouTube's home page, and his videos are some of the overall most watched of the past week. I'm sure some of this traffic came from the novelty factor - look at the old man on YouTube! - and naturally many juvenile comments were posted of the "OMG WHO CARES WHAT THE OLD DOOD FKN SAYS ITS BORING" variety.
But many of the comments - from people young and old - have been defending him and praising his courage. And very quickly, other people started making their own videos in response. Many of them are also from older people who were also lurking in the shadows on YouTube, and were emboldened by geriatric1927's videos to now take their own first step (like this one, this one, and this one). Thousands of people have sent him supportive emails and now subscribe to his videos, waiting for the next one. He talked about all this in one of his more recent posts, and how moved he is to have had such a response.
Seeing all of this balloon up so quickly (it's all happened in the past 10 days) really made me realize two things. One was that this seems to have touched a nerve because this is an age group we hear from (or listen for) so rarely in modern culture. So much of the discussion we have about new media, people generating their own content and social networking has been really youth-focused, and it shouldn't be (how often we wear blinders without realizing it). But it also made me realize the true power of this stuff. We all have needs for connection, for self-expression, to be heard and respected. We all have needs for community, and for real, sincere stories and conversations. Those needs aren't just a 'youth' generational thing, they're universal, and they don't go away. And that's why this story shows all of the potential of these new spaces at their best. I wonder how many other new voices out there we are going to start hearing.
There's something really beautiful, and really important going on here. It's like watching a medium grow up - both literally and figuratively. I honestly think this might be a small watershed moment in web history.
Something cool is happening.
That is very cool. You hear so much blabbering on the web about the power of the web that you forget what the real thing looks like.
Posted by: Jeffre Jackson | August 19, 2006 at 12:34 PM
This is brilliant, it really flies in the face of "future shock". Yet more evidence of the power of the internet.
Posted by: Will | August 22, 2006 at 12:31 PM