By now the odds are that you have heard of Peter (aka geriatric1927) whose video blogs on the YouTube community have become something of a legend on the internet. But what some people may not know is what a pioneer and a hero he really is. Peter receives literally thousands of comments every day on his YouTube profile, most are kind and supportive but there are always the idiots who for one reason or another do not get it or just wish to be hateful little creatures.

The Phenomenon of Geriatric1927

Article By: Michael A. Smith

Homepage: Infinity Customs

I’ve had the privilege of speaking to Peter a few times now; he really is as nice as he seems in his videos by the way. I wanted to post some thoughts about Peter’s popularity and give my own feelings on why he is so popular.

Peter’s videos and his bravery in the face of technology (and while it may not seem like a brave act to younger folks, trust me, it is) does two services for people that I think are very important. First of all, in today’s society, it’s not uncommon for younger people to not even know their own fathers, let alone their grandfathers. Peter’s videos are serving as a surrogate grandfather for an awful lot of young folks who’d like to have had the chance to hear these kinds of things from their own grandparents but for whatever reason, can not. The second area where Peter is sort of a pioneer is in the area of inspiring older individuals to take the plunge and experiment with technology. As I said it’s a legitimate fear for a lot of older folks and they can see Peter on there, doing this with a smile and while he may not claim to be a tech-savvy expert, he’s doing things that a lot of older people don’t believe they can do.

The truth is, anyone can do this and Peter is living proof that age is not a barrier to being able to experience new things. Myself, I’ve never bought into that whole "you can’t teach an old dog new tricks" adage, I think it’s bull. A lot of older folks like to fall back on this saying rather than take the chance and make the effort because they either feel they’d fail and look foolish or they just believe that saying is true. Peter shows how untrue it really is.

And then there is the media

Morons like John Sutherland of the U.K’s Guardian Newspaper do not understand an awful lot here. It’s been said by many, "he doesn’t get it", yes but he doesn’t get a lot more than some realize. When people say that they usually refer to the "YouTube Community", in that he doesn’t understand what YouTube is about. But he also doesn’t understand the things I’ve just mentioned. Why Peter is popular and what a good thing he’s doing. Mr. Sutherland is no spring chicken himself; perhaps he should shut his trap and try to learn a thing or two from Peter.

If you know of any way to tie Mr. Sutherland to a chair and force him to read the last few paragraphs, do so, now. It’d be for his own good, because by the time he reaches his own four score, if he doesn’t wake up to the things Peter already knows, he’ll be a bitter, lonely old fart. Err… MORE of a bitter, lonely old fart then.

Peter, being a widower, living alone and having no help, must fend off thousands of comments a day on his own without the help of a newspaper, television station or magazine and he manages to keep doing it even though its eating into the time he would rather spend making his videos and doing his daily living. Could any of the members of the press who have been hounding him manage to do this? I think not.

For them, Peter is just the flavor of the month, hes a hot news item and his fame will soon fade and theyll forget about him. I think Peter is actually looking forward to that day because it seems he just wants to be allowed to enjoy his hobby and not be pestered. He has avoided the media attention at every turn, to his credit. This of course has probably made the media a bit bitter. As we can see in articles like John Sutherlands _Guardian_ piece, which is nothing if not the sad cry of a bitter individual who is envious of the attention Peter can gain without doing much more than telling stories about his life. Certain members of the press are apparently upset because they have worked their lives looking for this kind of attention and here comes Peter, getting it for just doing something he enjoys. Boo Hoo for the press, too bad.

Its time that the media woke up; Geriatric1927s popularity should be the wake up call for them. Maybe people are simply sick of reading the same tired old crap that the media shovels to us day after day. Maybe what jerks like Sutherland think of as banal is really just heartwarming and honest and we appreciate it a lot more than the medias polished, over-hyped nonsense.

What other indicators do we need and can we look to here. Peter is still #1 on YouTube, even after certain well known celebrities have added themselves to the community. In fact, the top subscriptions on YouTube are not those of well known celebrities or professional journalists and filmmakers, theyre the products of every-day people like you and me. YouTube is slowly taking the place of all the fake reality TV shows on the air these days and its quite refreshing. If the media does not want to recognize this then thats actually great. Wed rather they did not infest our community so we can continue to enjoy it the way it is. Meanwhile, Peter is our unofficial champion and leader and with the exception of a vocal but ignorant minority of haters, we love the guy!

DIGG THIS!!!  to draw attention to Peter and maybe get the ‘mainstream’ media to leave the guy alone.

Be sure to visit Mike’s site: Infinity Customs when you get the chance.