re: Happy Returns____Customers may always be right, but our readers? Only 50 percent of the time — at least when it came to the August issue. The folks who really struck out were the howlers who protested the installation of famous-for-being-almost-famous hottie Julia Allison on the cover. Don't think she deserves it? Well, neither do we, really. That was the whole point of the story — how an individual of scant importance can hack the culture and become a phenomenon. Now for the folks who struck gold: Our back page, Found, isn't dead. It was only resting, pining for the fjords, plotting its glorious comeback. (Sample response to the notion it was gone forever: "OMGWTFBBQ!?") Sorry, guys. We're pleased you like Found so much, and we didn't mean to cause any alarm.
Look at Me!
I enjoyed your article on self- promotion and consider the notion of Internet micro-celebrity (not absolute fame) a worthwhile topic ("Almost Famous," issue 16.08). I'm especially intrigued by the way Julia Allison and her boyfriend chronicled their romance on a blog. Couples who do this online can be dismissed as ridiculous or sick, but the idea speaks to Danah Boyd's shtick on how social media enables us to form (or re-form) our identities based on our virtual relationships with others (think: Facebook Walls). It also speaks to the phenomenon of sousveillance, first propagated by JenniCam and now employed by the growing fleet of lifecasters.
Excerpted from a comment posted on Wired.com by
sgerson
Subprime Fame
"Almost Famous" was a supremely intriguing article that kept me reading to the very end — where I reached this conclusion: pathetic.
What a sad credit to technology when we can elevate to superstar status our ability to do nothing. It causes me to ponder just what Julia Allison could be capable of if she put her energy into something besides herself. She's not worth the pixels she demands on our screens, and if I could find a way to blame her for the current mortgage crisis, I would.
Daryl Ward
Lakeland, Florida
Julia is a genius and a great example of how the Internet is shaping our culture right now. You negative dudes: Get over it.
Excerpted from a comment posted on Wired.com by
angelosays_com
Hater of the Month
WTF, wired? In an era already plagued by an inordinately low signal-to-noise ratio, you wasted eight pages on some narcissistic bimbo, feeding her addiction to unwarranted publicity ("Almost Famous"). Then you cut one of the best forward-looking features in print today ("Artifacts From the Future," Found) to make room for yet another ad for an overpriced laptop.
Chelsea Lynn
Crystal Lake, Illinois
Dude, Please Turn to Page 218
Oh, wired management. You've struck the death blow, taking away one of the few little nuggets of joy in my life: cracking open your magazine and going right to the last page to see "Artifacts From the Future." But, alas, no more.
You sick, twisted bastards. A curse on all your handheld devices.
Chris Maccio
Naugatuck, Connecticut
Minority Report
I foresee a problem with George Church's genome collection project ("The Gene Collector," issue 16.08): The requirement that test participants have a significant knowledge of genetics will result in a selection bias in favor of well-to-do Americans with a college education in the hard sciences.
If the project ends up with many more registrants than it needs (say, 200,000), then it could select from the pool and create a reasonable cross section of subjects. If, however, it ends up with just enough volunteers (say, 100,001), then it will probably have a shortage of blacks, Hispanics, Native Americans, and so forth.
Excerpted from a comment posted on Wired.com by
xonghile7
Grande Compliments
I'm not ashamed to say that I am addicted to that dark, richly aromatic, caffeine-infused elixir known as coffee, and "The Coffee Fix" (issue 16.08) was as refreshing as my first cup in the morning.
William Luther
Sierra Madre, California
Thanks a Latte
I'm glad you came around to calling the Clover a ball of hype ("The Coffee Fix"). It really seems like nothing more than an overpriced French press. The article did kind of read like two stories though: a mash note to Clover followed by an immediate Dear John letter.
John Spain
Miami, Florida
War Is Hell. Stingrays, Too.
Have mercy on those who step on a stingray ("How to ... Treat Beach Wounds," Start, issue 16.07)! This is the worst pain I have ever experienced, and I have been to Baghdad and back with a shock-trauma platoon. Immerse the injured area in water as hot as you can tolerate for 30 to 90 minutes. This neutralizes the hurt because heat inactivates the venom. Shuffle those feet on the ocean floor to scare away stingrays.
John Western
Laguna Beach, California
Down Low! Too Slow!
My gf and I have been together for 2.07 years now and never had a physical confrontation.
So we were enjoying a loud night at my Rochester apartment and a contagious high-five broke out. Naturally, I was swept into the frenzy and my gf initiated one my way.
Miss!
We tried again after I shouted, "Keep your eye on the elbow. I read it in wired!" Then I biffed her face. She retaliated, drunkenly punching at my arm.
Dudette, her father is a 300-pound, vociferous Pole. You think this crap will slide with him?
Thanks Wired, thanks.
Ryland M. Bacorn
Rochester, New York
Inside Jokes
What's Inside is my absolute favorite page (Start)! It's always a treat to see what goes into the products we buy and why it's in there. You deliver the information with a good dose of humor instead of the dry, scientific explanations one usually reads.
Gary Deslaurier
Barrington, Rhode Island
We Report — You Cower in Fear
"A Better Weapon for the War on Terror" (Start, issue 16.08) was a reasonable and considered article amid a cacophony of Islamophobic rhetoric in the media. Kudos.
Excerpted from a comment posted on Wired.com by
svanneck
RANTS Letters should include the writer's name, address, and daytime phone number and be sent to rants@wired.com. Submissions may be edited and may be published or used in any medium. They become the property of Wired and will not be returned.
