Back in April, I Blogged (Montreal In The Media Because Of One Man, One Blog And One Red Paperclip) about a local Montrealer, Kyle MacDonald, who had a question. MacDonald wondered if he would be able to leverage the power of the Internet to trade One Red Paperclip up to a house.
It took him one year and fourteen trades, but Kyle MacDonald – also known as One Red Paperclip – has accepted to trade his latest opportunity (a role in an upcoming movie from former LA Law actor, Corbin Bernsen) for a house in Kipling, Saskatchewan. Along with the house, the city of Kipling is also adding in all sorts of goodies that are PR worthy – including giving MacDonald the key to the city.
One Red Paperclip is a great example of personal branding, social media, word of mouth marketing and online PR. MacDonald truly leveraged the Internet and created real power for himself. There was never a doubt in anybody’s mind “if” he would get the offer for a house, the only question was “when?”
The One Red Paperclip saga actually began in mid-July (that’s when it first came on my radar), and it’s funny how sometimes, the interesting stories in your own backyard seem innocuous. With hindsight being 20-20, I wish I had Blogged about Kyle when he first got started. Then again, it’s only interesting if people actually latch on to it. MacDonald turned One Red Paperclip into something similar to The Million Dollar Homepage. How many people have ventured down similar paths with no success at all?
Kyle, enjoy your new home. It is well deserved.
If you would like to read the Blog posting on his acceptance of the house, please go here: One Red Paperclip – 503 Main Street.