Grandparents with webcam become new online stars
McMINNVILLE, Ore. (AP) — It slowly began to dawn on Esther and Bruce Huffman that perhaps they were being filmed.
“Warning,” the gray-haired, bespectacled grandmother reads off the screen. “You must stop recording before trying to close cyber link.”
Pause. “Maybe this recorded us,” says the neatly coiffed, rosy-cheeked man next to her.
“Aw, gee,” Esther replies.
The realization came toward the end of a nearly three-minute video that has launched the retired Oregon couple to YouTube stardom. They had unwittingly captured their first attempt at learning how to work the webcam on a new laptop.
In the video, she plays the straight man as she tries to make a serious attempt at the request of their children and grandchildren. He’s bouncing in his seat next to her, making monkey faces.
Esther had bought a laptop late this summer. Already a Facebook user, she was asked by her family to try recording videos for the amusement of the grandchildren.
But their 21-year-old granddaughter, Mindy, saw the video’s potential. With their permission, she uploaded the file, dubbing it “Webcam 101 for Seniors.” By Thursday, it was nearing 3 million views on YouTube.
In mid-August, the couple sat in front of their laptop, fiddling with the controls of a video recording program. Somehow, they got the program running. Somehow, they pressed “record.”