The New Kaycee Nicole?

I happened across This Article on The New York Times website. The article describes the uncovering of a fictitious online personality, Lonelygirl15, who posted short video blog entries on youtube (a bunch of these videos are viewable here). Appearing to be a somewhat morose but otherwise ordinary teenage girl, she would record short monologues dealing with her frustrations with her parents, apparently random and quirky observations, and the small problems of her day to day life, which garnered a large and apparently somewhat fanatical following. Fans recently uncovered information that demonstrated that "Bree" is portrayed by an actress named Jessica Rose and does not in fact exist. A detailed narrative of the process behind these revelations (and fan reactions) may be found in the reporter's blog, linked from the article. Simply looking at the comments posted about her videos indicates that the backlash has been considerable (User dustincoffman, for example, opines "this bitch needs a dick in her mouth")

Others, however, do not seem to care that the videos are scripted, and it appears that the project was originally conceived as a profit-making venture, a sort of short-form web-TV. I must admit that it is hard for me to understand the original appeal of the videos, as I have only watched them knowing that they were scripted, However, the vidos are obviously edited, and not simple and unbroken recordings, so they bear a clear similarity to other video media such as television. Apparently, this has always been a cause of speculation among Lonelygirl's fans.

Though Lonelygirl15 has been revealed to be a hoax in a manner quite similar to the case of Kaycee Nicole, it seems that the makers of the videos may be able to carry on with the project. I attribute this to the fact that they have essentially created a new hybrid medium, "Blogovision" if you will. On the other hand, the outrage many fans have expressed points to an essential conservatism in the blog community. They are upset that Bree is not "real," which indicates that the single most appealing aspect of blogs to many in the community is the element of authenticity.

Interestingly, one of those involved in the project is quoted as calling the creators of lonelygirl "the new Marshall McLuhan. While there are some incongruities to this comparison, it is apt in a way given that they have essentially effected a media transition. I am reminded of the point McLuhan raises in our reading about the brief moment when an airplane breaks the sound barrier and sound waves are visible on the wings. McLuhan is referring, in my opinion, to the brief moment in the evolution of media during which the transition is noticeable. Hoax or not, could it be that Lonelygirl is the sound wave of this particular transition in the medium of the blog?