YooHoo!

With time to kill while I waited for my kebab and chips last night, I saw a few minutes of the Money Programme about YouTube.

Of course, I’ve visited YouTube before, in those rare moments when my browser hasn’t been pointed at porn or Star Trek sites, and on (very) brief examination it appeared to be video blogs by people too dumb to write.

However, the programme featured Old Man Who Became Famous, whom I had heard of. This is a grandfatherly chap who recorded some musings and memories and got more hits than a paraplegic in a boxing ring. The reason for his success is, I reckon, pretty obvious – he’s a family figure on tap.

With the fragmentation of the family, geographically and in terms of relationships, it can be hard enough to connect with a parent, never mind a grandparent. Into the breach totters this guy. He looks like he’s stepped out of a storybook, he’s proper granddad material, bald, hair in ears and, I swear, if you get close enough to the screen you can smell the boiled sweets. He’s charming and, importantly, does not smell of wee or spout racist outrage, like many real old people do.

They also featured a girl called Kate, (or Katers17), who has lots of hits. No surprise really, I spent half a hour last night watching her posts and mostly laughed myself silly. Naturally I’m drawn to that kind of enthusiasm, youth and creative ability like some sort of vampire.

What strikes me about both cases is their lack of inhibition about putting themselves out there. I try to be fairly anonymous (partly because my blog is now too big, and I am too lazy, to check thoroughly to ensure that I have not accused somebody I know or work with of, for instance, touching kids).

I’d put it down to youth, but there’s Old Guy. Truth is, I want to be free to write whatever I want without fear of consequence or, even worse, being found out.