Susan Boyle's debut performance on Britain's Got Talent last Friday has done nothing short of surprise, amaze, bewilder, bewitch, inspire and transfix millions and millions of people. Not too bad for a first-timer that the audience had scoffed and scowled at before she belted her first note, eh?

Many believe it's because, at nearly 48, her age and matronly manner make her an unlikely star, though a breath of fresh air. Many others call her "hero," insisting she illuminates an object lesson—that talent knows no age and stereotypes not only lead us to underestimate others, they undercut our options overall. Whatever the cause, the effect is that not even a week later she's a bona-fide phenomenon.

Since she strutted onto a worldwide stage, Boyle's fans have created scores of Web sites and fan pages, catapulted her to a top-trending topic on Twitter (a measure of the social network's most popular subjects), viewed her YouTube videos millions of times, penned posts, articles and comments aplenty... and even published her page on Wikipedia. (And to think Boyle is tickled over neighbors' asking for her autograph; oh the glory in store for her when next she logs onto the Web!)

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