Stop me if you've heard this one: A mustachioed fun-loving Turkish guy throws up a personal Web page that, in simple, bad English, depicts him as a regular Renaissance stud muffin, who loves to travel, plays numerous instruments, is single, and -- the kicker -- he states, "I like sex." He offers a picture of himself in a tight red Speedo bathing suit and headlines his page "I KISS YOU!!!!!!" "I like to be friendship from different country," he says on his page, and I quote. "Who is want to come Turkey I can invitate ... She can stay my home ..."
No doubt you've run across his kind before. There is no shortage of personal Web pages boasting of deeds and talents, and it's not hard to find the English language being violently abused on the Net (even by native speakers). But this guy is different.
In November, the address of his homely page mysteriously blitzed 'round the Net in record time, bringing in massive hits. Fans sites and spoof sites materialized overnight; publications, cyber and real-world, such as Salon.com, The Guardian and BusinessWeek, stoked the fire; and before you could quote Andy Warhol's fame formula, the Turkish guy with the Cyrano-esque proboscis and the come-hither smile had an official Web ring, a portal (well, a faux portal) and an all-expenses paid trip to meet the media and his adoring fans in the United States.