"Hey there lonely girl, lonely girl/ Let me make your broken heart like new" As sung by Eddie Holman.

The filmmakers and the star of Lonelygirl15 are singing though are anything but lonely these days. The outing of Lonelygirl15 in itself is not what interests me. What interests me is that convention has been turned on its head, and that a hundred- fifty- dollar Webcam can replace a $6k HD camera in the minds of the audience and also that every demographic has a story to tell, be it on YouTube or through mainstream outlets. As the saying goes it's a whole new ballgame, or is it?

What these Indie filmmakers have done, perhaps inadvertently, is to challenge the Hollywood and Advertising establishments as to what constitutes a viable product for consumption by a mass audience. With over 2-mil views, Lonelygirl15 certainly has to have agencies and advertisers salivating -- witness their signing with Creative Artists Agency. There are however, a number of open questions I have before seeing this as a trend.

- Was this a fluke, a viral one-hit wonder? Will her brand be diluted and will her core audience be alienated since her coming out?

- Can a series of 2-minute segments on YouTube or other user-generated sites translate into a feature on the big screen?

- Will other stories follow the same format, and can this form of production by Webcam take root?

Speaking to the potential impact of such a viral hit, one of the original team members was quoted as saying, "...(they) help us usher in an era of interactive storytelling where the line between "fan" and "star" has been removed."

Time will show the path for lonely girl. I am excited by other potential story arcs using pedestrian technologies like the Webcam and other interactive technologies, for example.

- Sites like the urbanbaby message board allow women to vent, rant and share; I could see a group of urban wives making interactive serials -- one big story arc with mashed-up content. I would think Gerber and Pampers might be interested in reaching these folks and even using some of their user-generated content for edgier advertising.

- The HBO Entourage mash-up serials as seen on YouTube portend how community has become part of the story, if only from the outside in.

If I was a Hollywood Producer, I would encourage a series of user-generated stories (like what Lonelygirl15 established) that would be folded into the storyline of the original program, played out OTA/Cable as well as on-line sites like YouTube. Think of it as the first steps in a self-sustaining eco-system, where ideas and content traverse back and forth. While insiders are not going to relinquish control, perhaps they could enlist users and take the best of user-generated content?

From my perspective, Lonelygirl15 is yet another form of innovation and creative storytelling using the technology of the day, and not social manipulation. In 1999, The Blair Witch Project (shot on Hi-8 and 16mm) for a cost of approximately $22k was promoted by the producers as real footage and some people believed it. My recollection of audience response was mostly positive even after the truth came out. I have never viewed YouTube or MySpace content solely as documentary content, but more like a docu-life drama. Perhaps if I were in her age range I would feel a bit put off as a boy, as it would be nice to think of this attractive young woman as a geek like me. I guess I find very few stories on these site sufficient to suspend my disbelief.

Thanks to Guy Battaglia for the inspiration for the title.