 "Photo: courtesy of youtube.com")
Gerald L. Smith touched the lives of students and faculty on campus, but his passion for blogging extended beyond borders and backgrounds.
When Chris Pirillo, from San Francisco, found out that Smith was missing, he made a series of YouTube and live-streaming videos following the search, encouraging viewers to give any information regarding the case to the police.
"Pirillo brought up that [Smith] was missing and that his mother sent [Pirillo] an e-mail regarding his absence," said Chris Mac, a thirteen-year-old from Canada. "He asked the community that they spread the word and try to find as much information as possible."
Mac befriended Smith in a chat room at live.pirillo.com, a live streaming-internet chat site.
"[Friday] night I was watching Chris' live stream and he said, 'Guys I have some bad news,'" Mac said. "The first thing I thought was please don't tell me Gerald passed away. I literately began to cry … My heart is with Gerald's family along with all the other geeks from the chat room and at geeks.pirillo.com. Gerald will be missed but he will never leave our hearts."
Pirillo said Smith was an avid follower of his live streaming broadcast, support that is sometimes hard to find, he said.
"While most are content to lurk, Gerald frequently forwarded resources and shared enthusiasm with everybody else," Pirillo said.
Pirillo did not realize how highly Smith regarded Pirillo's Web site until after Smith was discovered missing.
"When his mother reached out to me as a friend earlier this week, I was taken aback," Pirillo said. "I do not know how Gerald spoke of me to her, but it must have been out of respect."
Pirillo said that although he was only a small part of Smith's life, he was honored to be a part of it.
"This tragedy was certainly felt far beyond the boundaries of ISU's campus," Pirillo said, "and I hope that fellow students realize this. I do not intend on removing his Geeks network profile unless requested to do so. I hope it serves as a virtual memorial, somewhat frozen in time with his final thoughts and efforts."
Pirillo created the Web site Geeks!, where users can set up networking profiles for other "geeks."
From discussion boards following the search to Smith's profile itself, which has been overwhelmed with comments, Geeks! remains a place where Smith's love of computers and blogging connect with his love of people.
"People need to know that Gerald was as real a person online as he was in the 'real world,'" Pirillo said. "This community is part of Gerald's legacy, and we should all be comforted in that, realizing our posts to social networks can touch others in immeasurable ways. A senseless death reminds us all of just how important it is to remain connected with one another in any capacity."
Like so many people, 16-year-old Gary Chan also met Smith through Geeks! Though he didn't know him well, Chan said Smith was a regular member.
Another member, Carey, or Goldent42, commented on one of the many memorial videos posted on YouTube.
"I met Gerald through Chris Pirillo's Web site," he posted. "I talked to him for awhile, he was an awesome guy. I miss talking to him."
Kat Armstrong, the Executive Assistant for Chris Pirillo and Geeks! community manager, said Smith's death had a tremendous affect on the community. After many posts on the site about Smith's disappearance, Armstrong respectfully posted a discussion for members to offer condolences for family and friends after his body was found.
Gerald's loss has hit this community very hard," Armstrong said. "He was quite an active member here, as well as in the rest of our community. He left a great impression, that's for sure. He will be missed very much."
Just two days later, 67 replies were posted on the discussion board from people who did not know him, people who had only known him through blog posts, and people who say they will remember him for the rest of their lives.
"Gerald Smith was a loving individual with a great heart," commented Geeks! user TechJohnson on the discussion board. "I knew him from Geeks and have chatted with him more than once. He also came to my live video stream and we chatted, so I know his sense of humor. He will be missed by ...100s of others here on Geeks. My thoughts, prayers and love go out to Gerald and his family."
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