If 2010 was the year of Antoine Dodson, then 2011 will be the year of Ted Williams — and thank God for that. Not only is it high time we crowned a new king of viral video, but Williams' story has obviously become a beacon of hope for many folks in these hard times. Last week he was homeless. This week, since a Columbia Dispatch video of him panhandling and showing off his "golden radio voice" went viral, the recovering drug addict has been on Today and the Early Show; been reunited with his mother, whom he hadn't seen in 20 years; and fielded job offers from such organizations as the Cleveland Cavaliers and MSNBC, where he has already been tapped to record voiceovers.
As we've learned from Dodson, the proverbial 15 minutes of fame we afford our Internet stars has lengthened considerably. We hope Williams can make the most of it and, like his predecessor, use the money he makes to better himself and improve his life (and, unlike his predecessor, decline to embarrass and annoy us at every turn). Time will tell for Ted.
Read more at the New York Daily News.
In other news: Bill O'Reilly Bags Obama for Super Sunday.
Lauren is a former Deputy Editor of The Root.