So, I'm sure we've all heard about Kyle MacDonald and his one red paperclip blog. He took one red paperclip and throughout a series of trades, he managed to get a house. The media ate this up and milked it for everything it was worth. Kyle became instantly famous for one unique idea.
No one traded with him because they wanted the actual paperclip or any of the other random junk he obtained, but rather they wanted to be part of the story. Each trade was documented by Kyle, and he has sold the movie rights to the story. They didn't just trade junk for junk, they trade junk for a chance to go down in history with very little effort. Everyone wants their 15 minutes of fame. Especially the small town of Kipling, Saskatchewan. They bought a house to trade with Kyle in hopes of shining in the limelinght. They hoped it would put their town on the map and perhaps increase population. It sure did for 15 minutes. The internet has an amazing ability to make otherwise unknown people and places popular. But it only lasts so long.
I don't believe that Kipling is any more well-known now than they were before. And if they are, it's only because of the red paper clip. So did they really accomplish anything??
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2 comments:
That's pretty crazy...it's funny to think about too because in a way it's kind of a conspiracy but not a bad one...just sneaky. And really, what would be the point of conspiring about something if in the long run it really got you nowhere...maybe it was just practice...dun dun duuuuun
It's funny cuz I thought this happened in the states...
time to pick up that paper....
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