May 16, 2000

4:34 PM

DotCom Guy is a Bore"The DotCom Guy gets loads of publicity just like this for being a zero." - Dallas Observer. Dallas, where I live, has many claims to "fame" but I'm not sure anyone really cares about this one. Is the rest of the world paying attention to him?
posted by thinkdink (15 comments total)

Who? ... ;)
posted by cheaily at 5:07 PM on May 16, 2000

I heard he's next to be interviewed on slashdot. :0)
posted by EricBrooksDotCom at 6:01 PM on May 16, 2000

this is the first I've heard of him. does he really exist or is this article a parody...?
posted by muta at 6:22 PM on May 16, 2000

Ditto, muta. I've never heard of him either, and I thought I'd heard everything...
posted by wiremommy at 7:01 PM on May 16, 2000

no no he's real. It's some sort of experiment.
posted by thinkdink at 8:08 PM on May 16, 2000

experiment? i think it's more of a publicity stunt. he just comes off as really desperate for his 15 minutes.
posted by palegirl at 9:28 PM on May 16, 2000

from the article:

***

He's not just a person anymore, he's a brand name. Creative Artists Agency recognized this when they signed him to their stable of talent. "We are talking about a DotComGuy magazine, a DotComGuy cartoon," Critcher says excitedly. "How about a DotComGuy sitcom about two guys who start an Internet company where one of them is locked up in a house?"

***

old media companies MUST be getting desperate.

posted by Zeldman at 10:52 PM on May 16, 2000

forgot to mention i hadn't heard of this either.

it sounds like a bad movie idea he couldn't sell to hollywood. so he decided to live it, knowing that, once he emerged from seclusion, he could sell his script for sure.

i see edward norton as the tortured DotComGuy.

maybe there's a UPS delivery woman who falls in love with him and figures out a way to break into the "DotCompound."

an older woman. susan sarandon. yeah, that's the ticket.
posted by Zeldman at 10:58 PM on May 16, 2000

Oh heck yeah, it's a publicity stunt - THAT is the experiment.

It's strange how he makes the news here too. I couldn't tell if Dallas had made him out to be more of a celebrity than he really was or not. His dog got loose the other day and it was one of the leaders on the news when someone found his dog and brought him back. I'm thinking the dog had the right idea - keep running boy! Most of the people I talk to locally, are thinking - "get to the weather already."
posted by thinkdink at 11:05 PM on May 16, 2000

I saw DotCom Guy on Donnie and Marie once.
posted by premiumpolar at 11:17 PM on May 16, 2000

He's definitely an old media celebrity. Online, he's a zilch. I mean, MSN is parodying the whole idea to death in their ads ...
posted by dhartung at 11:21 PM on May 16, 2000

I saw this when he went in. I can't remember where I saw it and I promptly forgot about it. See what happens when marketing types get big ideas and big bucks? Poor guy:

AOL Tech Support: "How can I help you?"
Dotcomguy: "I keep getting busy signals dammit!"
posted by Dean_Paxton at 1:08 AM on May 17, 2000

Yeah I thought it was stupid of MSN to parody the DotComGuy, who has incidently legally changed his name to that. Apparently they had technical difficulties on the first day, i.e. 1st Jan' 2000, so they started his "adventure" a little later.What I don't get is how can one person decide to stay within the confines of a house for an entire year? I can just imagine him sneaking out the windows with the webcams pointed at the TV.
posted by riffola at 10:00 AM on May 17, 2000

Actually, I think he's set up the rules so that he can go outside and run around in his backyard. And anyone (i.e. family and friends) can come visit him anytime they want (or he wants). So . . . obviously not an isolation experiment.
posted by iceberg273 at 11:53 AM on May 17, 2000

oh no I meant sneaking out of the compound.
posted by riffola at 1:49 PM on May 17, 2000