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Will Femia is a Weblog enthusiast who, through good fortune and dumb luck, was introduced to the form as his position as chat producer for MSNBC.com careered into obsolescence. On any given day, Will can be found having already spent an unhealthy amount of time squinting at a computer screen.

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Lonelygirl interrupted

Posted: Wednesday, September 13, 2006 10:55 AM by Will Femia

LonelyGirl15 is Jessica Rose.

Added:  My colleague Rex points to links to a lot of personal photos of the actress.  I don't imagine many people will be sympathetic, but I have to wonder about her privacy.  It seems like it's become a game to find out things about her.

Sorry, adding one more:  I am the very model of a popular YouTube auteur.  Good stuff.

This is an odd story, if for no other reason than that the investigation into these videos has enjoyed more attention than the videos themselves.  Even though I've posted related links here twice before, I don't think the general public knew "Bree" the way they know the Numa Numa guy or other massively viral online clips.  But with an article in the New York Times, and other coverage from the AP and the L.A. Times (also insights here and a nice piece in the New York Magazine).

The coverage glut is not really reason in itself why you should care about a fictional online teen drama, but there are a few themes to take away and watch for further development.  First, will the actors be able to capitalize on this buzz and make the leap to mainstream media stardom (that would be a first, as far as I know).

Second, there's the idea that this is a new artform.  From the NY Mag article:  "It’s the birth of WikiTV: a television show created by a broad community of participants and built not of sequential, hour-long episodes, but of two-­minute interconnected parcels."  Is this the new TV?  We've seen TV shows like Lost and Battlestar Galactica have supplemental online components.  Will the two ideas meet in the middle somewhere?  I'm also reminded of a Friends-like local Web sitcom called "The Burg" which is receiving a lot of acclaim.  It's probably too esoteric for national or global appeal, but it's more of that multi-dimensional TV on the Web.

Third, I can share the perspective from inside a big media organization trying to shift its focus to the Web that being able to deliberately produce viral content is a new holy grail of marketing.  The idea that millions of people will spread the word about your product for free has everyone salivating.  So the idea that the Lonelygirl15 project was successful and not a random Web occurrence is a large part of the story's appeal.

The "hoax" angle of the story is less compelling to me, though the drama of the investigation has been fun.  I will point out the concluding quote from the Times piece:  "I’m heart-broken ...But a wonderful actress, had me fooled into thinking she was a geek like me."  I hope someone realizes that the geek elements of the Bree character were part of her appeal and there is a large geek audience interested in seeing their interests reflected more in the media.

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Comments

I don't see it as a hoax.  I mean, it's a great story.  It's been done time and time again, and worked.  Look at "My so-called life" which it really reminds me of, but then you have "Saved by the Bell", "Lizzie Mcguire", "Ned's Declassified" many others.  There is a small difference though, in those others the narrations were only part of a larger show.  We got to see both, in this instance, we only see the narrations, she "lives" the rest.  I'd have to say, being cynical as I am of anything I find on the web, I'm not disappointed in the least, and I only just watched.  A good story is a good story, at least this one's free, to heck with the haters.

Brad, Colorado Springs, CO (Sent Wednesday, September 13, 2006 6:19 PM)

I don't see why everyone is freaking out. I think Bree and Daniel are very entertaining. They weren't trying to hurt anyone. They were just trying to have fun. Just because they aren't actual people, Bree and Daniel doesn't mean it's not fun to watch. I love it. Jessica Rose is such a wondeful actress and a beautiful woman. I completely respect her. thank you for you clever ideas in creating this! (whoever you are) You are very inventive and should be applauded instead of insulted.

Sloane Peterson, Ogden, Utah (Sent Wednesday, September 13, 2006 7:25 PM)

Tell me something i don't know. Another female used. Whether thats reaping and misusing mother earths resources or taking advantage of females the media. Same old story, thats two thousand years with the RISE of the SUN GOD the Patriarch.

Maria Katerina (Sent Wednesday, September 13, 2006 9:18 PM)

The ones that feel so "taken" by this then see it as a movie that you watched for the first time, its the same thing! she wasnt your friend, she didnt respond to you, so why take it so personal?

sweetwash (Sent Wednesday, September 13, 2006 9:21 PM)

people please....

Christopher - Raleigh, NC (Sent Wednesday, September 13, 2006 10:06 PM)

I can comment about being taken in.  At first back in early june I thought it may be real and showed them to my GF.  After a couple months enough inconsistencies started to show up that clued me into it being staged.  Although my girlfriend vehiemently defended her blogs as real, so much so that she once argued with me untill I agreed that they could be real.

Why did this happen?  I first watched her blogs in early June (IIRC they started in May) and over that time (even after I realized they were staged) you were kind of sucked in.  Jessica has a unique and shy quirkiness that seemed genuine, this created a bond with the viewers who could not help but care for her overtime.  This creates an intense feeling of caring about someone you don't really know, cause you see the "intimate" moments of her strife (over 4+ months).

Doug C, St. Louis, Mo (Sent Wednesday, September 13, 2006 10:17 PM)



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