PRAISE FROM YOUTUBE
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OLIVE’S FORTY SECOND POST
Mike
Ollie, we’re getting to be real tech.whizzes, we two.
Olive
You, not me, boy.
Mike
Maybe WhizTecks sounds better, do you think?
First there were the Azteks and then came the WhizTecks.
Olive
Much better! …and thank you to all who sent greetings on my birthday.
Mike
I’m talking about just lifting (legally) the AP story about your birthday, showing how you made the TV screens in the US.
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Now for the big local news. The YouTube Australia launch.
I’d say it went very very well, Ollie. They showed you at the end and you got a standing ovation.
Now, let me just have to tell our readers what this is all about.
The day before yesterday, Monday, 21st. I got a call from YouTube.
“Could Ollie come to Sydney for the launching of YouTube Australia?” They had seen Ollie’s blog and thought it was wonderful the way it used YouTube clips.
It embodied the best of what YouTube is about.” they said. They wanted you as an honored guest for the launch at Fox Studios .
I had to say, “Sorry, impossible. Ollie’s exhausted after her birthday and she can’t go anywhere.” I proposed a compromise.
Olive
What was that?
Mike
I phoned you, remember? I asked you, “Ollie, can we do a video greeting for these people?
You might say, ‘Good luck for their launch,’ etc. and I’ll take it myself to Sydney.”
Olive
But it had to be short. I’ve been in bed since my birthday.
Mike
Very short. I promised you it’d be done in 15 minutes.
So I raced to your side, this was now late Monday afternoon just before your tea.
I threw Katya’s coloful shawl over your shoulders, you were in your ‘jarmas and that was not a good look for Youtube, I thought, and I filmed away.
All done in 15 as promised!
Olive
I hope I did it right.
Mike
You were fine. I loved it when you called it; “the tube.”
I had told them of course that you do not post on YouTube yourself, that I do all of that
I explained that youtubing, generally, is a hard thing for a dear old head like yours to understand. It’s taken me long enough, and Eric too.
Anyway, I rushed home from your place and, with Henion’s help, we cut your video greeting down to 2mins. 30 sec.
Next, I uploaded the clip onto youtube, just in case I did not make it to Sydney in the morning
It seemed like it was all ready.
But when I phoned the Youtube guy, Rob, next morning to make sure he’d got the video, he said, “It’s really nice, but too long. ”
“We’ll just run the first minute.” he added.
“You can’t do that!” , I cried, “You’ll miss Ollie’s closing wave and her hopes for the future of your venture.”
“Rob, I pleaded, just give me an hour, I’ll re edit the clip and upload it again.”
That I did, by now getting very droopy eyed, even though it was just 8 am.
So, off went the second version, and an hour later, I began the drive to Sydney.
Olive
It’s dangerous to drive when you’re tired like that.
Mike
I know…Fortunately, the traffic was not heavy and I got to the Fox studios at noon.
It was all true, There was this enthusiastic American woman at the podium, telling how YouTube Australia would be able to draw more attention to local film clips by showcasing them.
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But the man who’d got me doing all the work, Rob, was wandering around, preoccupied, indicating that I might not be able to introduce you if they showed your greeting.
Will they even show it? I wondered. Had I driven all that way for nothing?
Next, came a panel discussion at which they presented Australia’s most successful YouTubers. Here they all are.
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I don’t know their names but the man on the left, who calls himself Juan Mann, gives people hugs in city streets.
He’s had 16 million visits to his hugging clip, as well as personally giving out about 5 million hugs, chest to chest..
Here’s the hugger, Juan Mann
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He was very modest about his achievement and gave me a hug too.
He’s happy to give you a hug if you want one, Ollie. We could do it in your room, I guess.
Then, the great moment came. You were announced by Steve Grove one of those in charge. That’s Steve, there.
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Steve said, “I believe we have Olive’s son in the audience.” I scrambled up on stage, blurting, “I’m not her son, but a friend.”
Steve told me to push the button. There you were on a big screen, but no sound.
We tried again and you spoke at last .”Hello, everyone. This is Olive Riley here.”
People laughed and clapped, and it did seem worthwhile after all.
So, here’s the long version of your clip. 2 mins 30.
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And here’s the short version that Rob asked for, and which was actually shown.
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And here’s Juan Mann, the hugger in action in Sydney
He’d had 19 million two hundred plus visits when I just looked. (19, 252,801)
I like the way the clip switches to color when he gets to give a hug. His first perhaps?
It’s nice too when he fights a ban with a petition which reaches 10,000 signatures.
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I also met the delightfully strange Caitlin Hill, Ollie (The Hill88)
She’s also Australian and has a loyal following around the world. Do you remember the Goon show with Peter Sellers? . She’s a bit goonish.
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So, that’s all my adventures in the big city, Ollie, and I reviewed them in my mind as I drove back to village, preparing to give you a full report
Wednesday, October 24th, 2007 at 2:21 pm
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25 Responses to “PRAISE FROM YOUTUBE”
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October 24th, 2007 at 2:48 pm
Miz Olive - what a wonderful tribute for a wonderful woman! You never fail to make me smile.
(well done Mike)
take care,
katherine.
(Santa Cruz, California, USA)
October 24th, 2007 at 2:56 pm
that’s just wonderful!
October 24th, 2007 at 3:48 pm
You know they are about to have a writer’s strike here in Hollywood, the big issue is residuals. Maybe we ought to get the Writers Guild on this YouTube thing, since YouTube is owned by the deep pockets Google, it only seems fair that their ought to be remitting some residual checks to their media stars, such as Ollie.
One can only dream.
What a curious dream, Big Fella. We are non profit, butthat is getting to be a strain. Olive has it comparatively easy. She just lies back and reounts or listens. For me, it’s been 30 hours a week. I do enjoy it, though. Doesn’t seem like work, though it is. mike the hekper
October 24th, 2007 at 3:51 pm
Fantastic stuff Ollie and Mike. Mike, a big pat on the back for all the work you’ve done for this and the blog in general. Well done.
October 24th, 2007 at 11:49 pm
Very nice! And by the way, let me add again my birthday wishes for you Ollie as mine were among the 100 messages that vanished. It was so nice that your home hosted such a lovely party. Thank you and Mike for sharing it with all of us.
Also Mike, I didn’t get music on Ollie’s last song on the other post but was able to hear it by following the link directly to YouTube - same with the final clip of children singing.
My very best wishes for continued good health. Rosemary in North Carolina, USA.
That’s bizarre, Rosemary, three are indeed gremlins visiting us these days. There is music for most people on those clips. I certainly did not do it to send you on a treasure hunts, though you’ve shown great peresrverance, and that must have been rewarding.
October 25th, 2007 at 3:25 am
What a great entry today. How marvelous of Mike to go to Sydney for you. Your welcoming video to youtube was marvelous also Olive. I had seen Juans HUGS video quite a while ago. What a great idea that was. Thank you Mike for all of the work you do, in bringing Olives words & video to the world. Cheers!
Tina
October 25th, 2007 at 3:37 am
Olive and Mike,
I’ve added you the the “Cool Sites” sidebar on my blog and check in with you daily. You never fail to bring a smile to my face. Congratulations on Olive’s lovely appearance on the Australian launch of YouTube. She and the children were delightful and I LOVE the hugger. Hopefully, the practice will catch on around the world. We could all use a nice hug.
Your fan in the Rocky Mountains,
Lisa
Apparently the hugger has spawned immitations in 70 counties, Lisa. Mike the Helper
October 25th, 2007 at 6:52 am
I always enjoy the blob and appreciate your hard work, Mike.
October 25th, 2007 at 8:48 am
Hello Olive
I hope to still be blogging and 108, its my favorite pass time. Thats really cool youtube did that for you. And congrats on your 108th birthday. May you have many more.
October 25th, 2007 at 9:00 am
The Free Hugs guy’s video, and story, will almost bring a tear to your eye. It’s the essence of humanity, really. Still moves me, every time I watch it. His choice of that backing song, also made stars out the band (who do the song). Ozzies as well, I believe.
And who, pray tell, was one of the first loyal readers of Gracious Olive’s blob, to practically demand that you learn how to post short clips on YouTube?
The entire world, is your stage, Ollie (and Mike). Keep on, keepin’ on! And congratulations on your YouTube.au fame. You deserve it.
Free, unlimited, literally worldwide distribution of your vid clips - not a bad vehicle, eh?
(I’ve thrown my back out something terrible this morning, am literally bed-ridden, and may be for a week. Watching Ollie’s latest installment made me forget my agony for a few minutes. Thanks again!)
Robert, it’s true you were urging us into using YouTube very early on, but it jst seemed so daunting and then somehow it became possible and now who’d leave home without it? Mike the happy tuber.
October 25th, 2007 at 11:45 am
Hi Mike. Here’s a story about Juan Mann and his free hugs: http://www.bdb.co.za/shackle/articles/china.htm
Thanks, Etta, I’ll read the story of Juan Mann with great interest. It was strange on Tuesday. I was waiting outside for the doors to the YouTube launch to open, and this tall guy in a maroon jacket was walking up and down the line with a crudeley lettered sign, Free Hugs.
That rang a bell, but his unassuming demeanour completerly hid the fact that he was the world famous hug man.
He worked the line but nobody wanted a line. “I’ll have one,” I said, “At last,” he cried and and I got a good bear squeeze. Evidently I’d broken the ice and the others started getting hugged as well.
What funny creatures we humans are. I bet if they’d suspected, those cool waiters in line, that this fellow was the one who’d had ninteen million five hundred thousand visits to his YouTube site, they would have been lining up for him, and not the door.
When I got inside and saw him on stage. and I was glad I’d asked for a hug merely because it seemed a nice thing for him to be doing. On stage, he kept the unassuming demeanour going, I’m sure it was not an act, by announcing that he was inviting people over to his house in Newtown on Friday and gave out his address.
“That’s your real address???” Steve Grove the US organizer of the event asked, shaking his head. “Yes.” replied Juan Mann, and I’m sure it was. Sadly I did not take it down. He also gave me his phone number which I’ve lost. Never write numbers on receipts stuffed in your wallet.
The other lesson from this is thatI think it’s time to sabotage at every possible occasion, the normal wary aloofness which makes his offer of a home visit so unusual.
Of course there is a danger in revealing personal details, but I think it’s worth the risk, in that it strikes a blow for a restoring the more trusting world we once had but now almost completely lost. I put my real name on this blog, as does Olive, and I sign comments I leave on others’ blogs the same way. I’ve never regretted doing so.
Olive has had thousands of comments since we began. Not a single one has been nasty, rude or even a put down. So, I do think there’s something this approach, and about our Ollie as a person, which brings out the best in people, and suggests that it is possible to be more open, more trusting without hurt.
Mike the helper
October 25th, 2007 at 12:52 pm
Thanks Mike for all the hard work! This is a great tribute.
October 25th, 2007 at 8:51 pm
Gee whiz, Ollie, you and Mike are getting to be real tech heads. I’ve just figured out Facebook! Sounds like your birthday bash tired you out, Ollie. Never mind, you take it easy so you can celebrate next year.
Take care and keep well.
October 25th, 2007 at 10:01 pm
Hi Olive and Mike,
Congratulations to you both for for the you tube launch. Great video! You were looking a little brighter there than you were on Sunday, so you seem to be recovering after all the partying! Thanks for all the blog work Mike. Lynne from Bulli.
October 26th, 2007 at 7:52 pm
Hi! Mike & Olive …
I could not see the video on mu comp.. but I am so glad that Olive was honoured the way she was.
Keep it up .. & thanks for all your hard work, Mike!!
October 26th, 2007 at 11:44 pm
Dearest Ollie and Mike,
First, Ollie - Belated Happy Birthday to you! I’m so proud of you for being such a happy woman and for sharing yourself in this way with the world. You make me smile every time I see your face and I’m a happy woman this morning here after watching all the videos of your birthday and the sing-along(s) that you and Mike, and all the rest have created.
Thank you so much Ollie and Mike - You are appreciated and loved from across the world.
Much love and peace to you today,
Nora aka RubyShooZ
October 27th, 2007 at 2:11 am
Gidday! Congradulations on your 108th birthday.
Regards
Peter McCartney
Sydney Australia
P.S. Good on Ya!
October 27th, 2007 at 8:17 am
Belated best wishes for your birthday Olive! What wonderful special celebrations you have had in your honour! You must be the world’s best known blogger. Has the Guiness World Book of Records listed you as the world’s oldest blogger yet??
No Jennie, and it’s quite a process to get registered I believe. We can’t be bothered. Mike the helper
October 28th, 2007 at 6:38 am
Wow Ollie, you’re becoming quite a celebrity
The video is such fun to see and you’re such a good sport. I can imagine how tired you were at the time.
What a neat thing to do. He sounds like a great guy.
Mike, you’ve put in a lot of hours of hard work and done a great job sharing all the activities surrounding Olive’s birthday. Thanks for including us all in the festivities. It’s been fun.
I love the hugger
October 29th, 2007 at 6:32 pm
hi Olive and Mike
congratulations on your success with your YouTube videos….it’s certainly been an exciting week for you both !!!!
More good news……did you know that The Life of Riley is listed as # 10 in the
Top 50 Australian Women’s Blogs
http://www.allforwomen.com.au/top-50-australian-womens-blogs/
regards Kim
Kim, I did not know that. We must meet since you are close by and seem to be really in the swing of this blogging. Would you like to come down this way and meet Olive. Mike the helper.
October 30th, 2007 at 10:39 am
That sounds great Mike……
It would be a pleasure to meet you and Olive !!!!
my email is kim@laketrees1.com
have a wonderful day
November 1st, 2007 at 2:09 pm
I missed your birthday. I am so sorry! I meant to check back and deliver birthday wishes but got caught up in a family crisis. I hope your birthday was as special as you are. Please keep on Blogging. I look forward to your posts. Thanks Mike for helping Ollie with this.
November 3rd, 2007 at 6:59 am
How nice to see you both in such fine fettle. Hope you are rested and up again soon.
November 7th, 2007 at 7:12 am
My dear how lovely to see you! I came across you on a yahoo search…I am so thrilled that you are blogging. I shared your wonderful website with a friend of mine and we were so tickled! Much love and bliss to you!
Blessings~
November 7th, 2007 at 7:27 am
Feel better Olive…I too believe strongly in Vicks formula 44 which brings great relief from coughing. There is not a problem with getting it here in the USA. No problem finding a pharmacy that is open either as many Department stores carry pharmacies now (Meijer, Walmart, K-Mart, etc.) and some of them are open 24 hours a day with the over the counter medicines available all the time. I also like the rub on product Vicks Vaporub when I have a cold.
Yes, I know Vicks is worldwide, Constance. I used it in both Canada and the US when I was over there. If they take it off the market here, i guess Ollie will ahve to move. Mike the helper