What is terribly fascinating to me right now is the fact that at any given moment, somewhere, somebody is trying to come up with something that will be very shocking, yet also relatively harmless, so that they will either get to go viral with it on the 'net, or it will be featured in all the traditional media.
It's not just PR people or attention starved celebrities who are doing this, either. It could be anyone, anywhere. Remember the boy-in-the-balloon prank here in Colorado a few years back? That was perpetrated by ordinary, albeit attention-starved, people.
The desire to be the center of attention, or at least share a brief moment in the spotlight, is one I have known myself - yeah, I have an ego, which I'm sure most people who know me figured out long ago.
A strong case could be made that I'm as egotistical as any man walking, and I'd be severely lacking in an adequate defense.
However, it could also be pointed out that generally, I don't try to draw attention to myself with anything but my own talents and abilities, which is something, right?
We live in a time that is proving Andy Warhol right. YouTube and other services available on the ol' www have made it possible for anyone with the most rudimentary knowledge of how a camera and a computer work, or even just how a computer works, to get facetime in front of millions and millions of people.
Which, I think, is awesome - for two distinctly different reasons.
1) We get to see some truly unique and gifted people doing some awe-inspiring stuff , and 2) We get to see some people who really have no talent whatsoever make a go at something that they have no business trying, and it is hilarious!
From the Star Wars kid to Rebecca Black, the Internet has made it possible for the world to watch and listen as people all over the world, from all walks of life, put their passions up for all to judge. It's like a world wide Gong Show.
Who could ask for anything more entertaining that watching people just like you and me, except maybe a bit more motivated/ambitious/fearless/brainless than you and me, attempting to do something either dangerous or at the least foolhardy, and going from awe-inspiring to stomach-clutching hilarious in seconds?
Nobody could. It's just not possible, because for whatever reason, it's terribly fascinating.
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