Wanna Chat? “I’m here For Everyone” on YouTube
Posted April 23rd, 2007 by Kevin
Gone are the days when people used to fear posting their photos online or chatting with strangers in chat rooms. The rise of YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter (to name a few) has broken the barriers to sharing personal information online. Now, some people are even encouraging connections offline…on their cell phone.
Ryan Fitzgerald, a 20 year old unemployed Massachusetts native, recently posted his cell phone number via a 49 second YouTube video on April 20. Three days later, the video has spawned 110,000 views, 361 comments and 5,000 phone calls and text messages.
This isn’t the first time that someone has shared their cell phone number via YouTube, but Ryan is the first to commit to receiving 100,000 calls. He genuinely wants to speak with anyone, anywhere. His video has even prompted some to step up and defend his actions.
As usual, traditional media has picked up on the buzz around this video. The Boston Globe even spoke with a criminologist at Northeastern University to discuss just how dangerous this experiment can be. “But the question is, why take a risk like that when there are so many other ways that are far less dangerous to be altruistic, to be generous, to be helpful to other people.”
Feel free to check out Ryan on YouTube and view his response video where he addresses his naysayers directly.
