This article was taken from the September 2011 issue of Wired magazine. Be the first to read Wired's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by subscribing online.
In 2001, Hosea "Ze" Frank sent out a birthday-party invitation to 17 friends. It contained a link to a Flash video of himself demonstrating recommended dance moves. They sent it to their friends, who sent it to their friends... "My dad found out about it from a colleague in Argentina before I had a chance to tell him," recalls Frank, now 40 and living in Los Angeles. With a sudden global audience and a hefty hosting bill, Frank quit his job and set out to chase the new-found "ghost of virality". That hunt led to 2006's the show with zefrank: an online mass of ideas and audience interaction anchored by a daily video update, presented with Frank's rapid-fire delivery and basilisk stare: "I was concentrating so hard on getting it right, I stopped blinking."
Since cancelling the show... after one year, Frank has founded a games startup, Ze Frank Games, and developed tools for the new generation of micro-multimedia stars. Now he's busy with the Kickstarter-funded a show with zefrank. It aims to connect viewers with artists, and each other.
Frank's manic comedy contains a philosophy. He sees culture becoming digital faster than traditions and knowledge can keep up -- throwing the good away along with the bad. "So, can we do something that's part-physical and part-virtual? Can we get conversations going about what it means to be alive? We're not spending enough time on these things... I skipped over the poop jokes, but they factor in. Everybody has their own gateway."
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
