What's next? The homeless rockstar?

Christian Crumlish

I remember in that strange Terry Gilliam film The Fisher King that the two homeless guys eventually get pitched to participate in an upbeat sitcom (or was it reality show? that's what it would be today) about homelessness to be called "Home Free!"

Homeless people have had homepages for a long time now, especially since municipalities such as Santa Monica (which Harry Shearer refers to at the end of each Le Show as "the home of the homeless) started making sure homeless people could get Internet access through public libraries or kiosks. They learned what that consituency wanted most (lockers and showers, if I recall) because they suddenly had a voice apart from their for the most part anxiety-provoking physical shambles.

I first heard about The Homeless Guy's blog on Metafilter, with a Kaycee-scarred angle of worrying whether the guy was for real or a clever hoax. Since then the story of Kevin Barbieux and his blog has been percolating up toward the mainstream. Blogger features his blog in its blogs of note module on the its home page (looks like Die Puny Humans is off the list).

There's something to be said for Blogger's utterly free option (using the ad-sponsored blog*spot service) in that it opens the door wider to online publishing than any other service I can think of. Blogger's always had trouble doing the Eudora thing — turning that onramp into a toll road — but the service being provided in the search for a viable business model is undeniable.

Before anyone starts talking about blogging being the next street-newspaper bootstrap solution for the marginalized, consider that Kevin Barbieux's blog is well written and organized. He provides frequently asked questions and answers right up front, and mixes the blog content with other links and information about himself. This draws me in as much as the provocative title and premise.