The Lessons of Balloon Boy

It's still going on, the saga of Balloon Boy. A six year old boy was reported to have crawled into a compartment on a small hot air balloon and flew away across Colorado. The mystery of Falcon Henne is still to be solved.

Across the Twittersphere people commented on the wild flight of the small helium balloon. Once it landed the authorities did not find the small boy. For two hours the focus was on the careening balloon flying across Colorado fields. Then it shifted.

All eyes then turned to the family. News crews interviewed wandering neighbors of the family.
"They are nice"
"...a family of storm chasers"
"...was on Wife Swap last year"

The force of the internet moved like a rogue wave to keyword searches on the family and their reality television past. More tidbits about the dad popped up. More about the kids slid into view. From one moment they were an obscure trivia question to now a 24 hour news cycle "Breaking News" item. For a moment our thoughts on the Health bill were pushed aside for "Balloon Boy".

Oct. 15/09 Google Search Results 1 - 10 of about 5,210,000 for balloon boy.
Oct. 17/09 Google Search Results 1 - 10 of about 139,000 for heene family hoax.
Oct. 17/09 Google Search Results 1 - 10 of about 4,290,000 for balloon boy hoax.

The internet is a double edged sword, it can inflate and deflate as easily as a balloon. What you will be remembered for is the last keywords used to describe you.

Update: 3:11 pm The young boy has been found alive hiding in the garage attic. Guess who's not getting dessert tonight?

Update: Oct. 17/09 Its a Hoax says 25-year-old researcher Robert Thomas, friend of Heene Dad.

Update: Oct. 17/09 10:30 PM PDTCNN Authorities in Colorado say criminal charges are expected to be filed against Richard Heene