Lonelygirl15

Lonelygirl15 is so awesome. I watched a few of her vlog entries when people still thought she was, you know, well, something a little more unified than she turned out to be. They were great. These guys are brilliant. They pulled a really awesome prank. Lonelygirl15 got so popular that the official websites were deemed insufficient by tens of thousands of fans, including various prominent writers and at least one Polish MP, who maintained a handful of popular fan sites, one of which, interestingly enough, was home to the investigators who cracked the whole thing wide open.

I have a friend who does similar things. For a period, his Yahoo Chess avatar was ChessHottieLOL. She was a charming, beautiful 14-year-old girl who won the hearts of chess players from all walks of the internet. People would literally line up to play her. Any given game would see 15 to 20 people crowded around her table, saying things like "Wow! She's hot AND smart!" John loved every minute of it, and so did his admirers. Did it really matter that he was a 20-year-old male? It was an arrangement that benefitted everyone involved. He just wanted to play chess, and he found a pretty good way to keep them coming back for more. I mean, no one ever challenged his old handle, YimanSmellsBad.