Off with her head!
Unlike Alice’s evil queen, I rarely make impulsive decisions. Even then they are often prefaced by several inciting incidents. A few days ago I made such a decision.
Gizmodo is a familiar name for some of my technically inclined readers. It’s generally considered a “technology blog”, and several staff members and commenters offer their own descriptions of the website in its “About” video. One describes it as a “blog about gadget culture”. Another offers that “if you are into gadgets, you’re into a lot of other stuff, and we try to write about all of it”.
Earlier this week, Gizmodo made good on their word when they profiled a story about the first suicide from the world’s tallest building. They were decent enough to warn readers about the explicit photos. I viewed neither the article or photos. Maybe Gizmodo’s gadget people are into that sort of thing. Since I’m not, I unliked them. Poof! Out of my Facebook feed. Several other commenters agreed with me.
Perhaps we’re seeing the triumph of reality culture. If so, I vote for the return of that whacky sport that pits Christians against lions. At least there’s a chance of a miracle and a choice of contestants to pull for in that game. Man vs. 2717 feet of air is just boring… and rigged to say the least.
The worst part is that much of Gizmodo’s blogging is good stuff. But this sort of pop crap has been showing up more often, too often. The overused mantra “know your audience” bears repeating. But as writer/reader dustups go, this is minor. I’ve moved on to Engadget and sincerely hope its readers aren’t into the same stuff that Gizmodo’s writers assume their audience is.