Cracked on Zombie Tech
Cracked.com has quietly been reinventing their brand over the past few years, becoming a bit of a web powerhouse in the process. They've certainly cracked the code for success on Digg. What's most interesting to me (as someone who remembers cracked as a lame chaser of the usual gang of idiots) is the space they're occupying somewhere between comedy and legit analysis, not unlike The Daily Show, and they're definitely following TDS's formula of picking up stories that no-one else is covering, and then making jokes about them.
This week, Cracked.com ran Tech Zombies: 6 Technologies That Don't Know They're Dead, and while they aren't all slam dunks, this is some excellent, provocative writing, even if it's not all that funny. Especially to libraries. These walking dead are our bread and butter, and what's most interesting is that many libraries are just now getting into a few of them, seeking salvation. I'll grant that the Cracked brand isn't usually associated with media prognosticating, but they make some excellent arguments (especially when they talk about the competing interests of sustainability and profitability) and there's a sizable grain in truth in their portrayal of the light at the end of the tunnel being not an oncoming train, but a train that's speeding away faster than libraries can catch.
What's really intriguing is that books aren't listed among the undead; perhaps the author is angling for a book deal.
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