My grandmother had a saying – “no wonder kids are daft” which she would say when she came across things (usually a short lived fad such as space hoppers or cabbage patch dolls) which greatly enamored the youth of the day but left her somewhat cold and bewildered. It may be a sign of my age but I think it’s started happening to me.

I came across the word “rickrolling” just a few days ago when listening in – nosey parker that I am – to a conversation between two of my teenage students. Upon enquiry I was blithely told I should know all about it as I had, after all, had a pulse, big hair and even bigger shoulder pads back in the eighties. My puzzled look led to the exhortation, “Rick Astley, RICK ASTLEY, you must remember him!”

The puzzled look became one of bewilderment (one of those moments when I became my grandmother – shudder!). I thought I was pretty up with net terminology (I’m always going on about Web2 and Wikis and Gen C, trendy guy that I like to think I am).

So what exactly does eighties pop star Rick Astley have to do with the internet? Has the almost forgotten about ex-heartthrob suddenly stolen the hearts of a new generation of young women? Has the resonant voice that stirred the bosom of a whole generation (and their mothers) experienced a revival? Who could say? This enquiring mind set about a little research.

My findings resulted in the “Granny Moment”. No wonder kids are daft!

Rickrolling, it seems, has its origins in a far older internet phenomenon, called duck rolling. This involved placing a blind link in an online discussion. The unaware user, keen to follow a strand on their subject of choice would click the link and end up visiting a page that had nothing to do with the subject at all. In fact, the link would generally lead to a page the contents of which would be literally a rolling duck. This became known quickly among internet wags as duckrolling.

So, things evolve. Instead of seeing a rolling duck, those who are now “rickrolled” find themselves on YouTube. As of last month, Rick’s 1987 hit “Never Gonna Give You up” had received twelve million hits. Not quite the revival he was looking for, I would guess.

It started on the day that “Grand Theft Auto 4” had its web premier. The traffic to the host website was so heavy that most people trying could not watch the trailer. An anonymous prankster took it upon himself to link everyone elsewhere. Under the guise of redirecting people to a leak of the trailer on YouTube, Mr (for it surely has to be a male!) Anonymous instead linked the Grand Theft Auto gamers to Mr Astley and his chirpy 20 year old hit. Why he chose Rick Astley will remain a mystery forever, or until the culprit is brought to justice and forced to sit in a darkened room listening to Barry Manillow for several months.

This was considered such a wheeze that it has quickly spread to other websites. In fact, rickrolling has become something of a global phenomenon. So, if in the near future you click a link and it leads to a deep and mellow voiced eighties crooner swinging his arms and telling you he isn’t ever going to give you up, then you have been rickrolled.

No wonder kids are daft……