Member-only story
The Kissing Video
and the dawn of online virality.
After landing at JFK, I headed directly for Washington Square Park to have tea with an old friend, an editor I hadn’t seen in 15 years. It was October 2005 and I was in town to get ready for the release of my book Droidmaker. Along with my suitcase, I had my camcorder at my side. Digital camcorders were still something of a rarity in that time, and online video was at its infancy; but after having written six books evangelizing the use of video for consumers, it was a moral imperative I travel with a camcorder and demonstrate what could happen if you had a camera on you all the time.
I was a little early for tea, as I tend to be, and so I had the taxi drop me on the far side of the park from the cafe. As I walked away from the car, rolling my suitcase, I noticed a row of men and women in the park, standing neatly, and talking to someone before them. They were pretty far away, but it looked unusual so I rolled in that direction.
Now something happened. The two guys on the end, the first and second people in line, they turned to face each other… and they started kissing. Absolutely passionately.
They’re kissing as I’m approaching. No one around here seems to be taking notice.
The rest of the people are still in their line, watching too. Now the boys stop…
