Of course it had to be fake

Too much of the whole “out and about” business today, so for the moment, let’s all reflect on the oh-so-sad reveal that Lonelygirl15 – YouTube’s first real breakout star – is a fake:

The creators behind the internet video mystery teen Lonelygirl15

have revealed themselves and want their fans to know they are not a

front for a big Hollywood studio marketing some upcoming film.

Instead, the three friends launched the adventures of the doe-eyed,

16-year-old, home-schooled “Bree” as an experiment in storytelling

they intend to continue on their own website that was launched Tuesday. Bree’s inventors went public after fans of the two- to three-minute

videos began questioning her existence and expressing disappointment

that the seemingly genuine video diaries were a hoax.

The creators identified themselves as Miles Beckett, 28, of Woodland

Hills, Calif.; Mesh Flinders, 26, of Petaluma, Calif., and Greg

Goodfried, 27, of Los Angeles.

Beckett, a self-confessed internet geek, said he came up with the idea

of using short videos as a storytelling technique while a surgical

resident. Earlier this year, he met Flinders, a fledgling filmmaker, at

a party.

I got into the whole phenomenon on the late side (so I never got quite as obsessed as some people) but I do find the whole concept fascinating – essentially it’s LOST exclusively for the Internet set. Who’s to say that others won’t try this out in the future, and that it will open up a real well for marketing and advertising products and people?