It seems the satirical site The Onion is facing a slow-down in readership, has blamed Facebook for it, and is responding by going social. At least, that's what the site says it's doing, over and over and over again.
The Onion isn't going social. It's just pretending to do so to continue poking fun at Facebook. There's even a make-believe form you can fill out to create an account. It, of course, gets rejected.
The following articles regarding the non-existent social site have been posted at The Onion in the past few days:
- "Onion Employees Return To Mundane Lives Of Writing Game-Changing News Coverage Read By Billions Across Globe"
- "25 Million Onion Social Users Run Into Glorious Flames Of Headquarters In Hopes Of Using Website One Last Time"
- "Onion Social CEO Vaporized By Wall Of Light While Trying To Stop Algorithm From Self-Destructing"
- "'Humanity Deserves To Live In Darkness,' Onion Social Algorithm Cries Out Before Bursting Into Bright Light, Disappearing From Earthly Realm"
- "Congratulations, You Can Now Launder Money On Clickhole.com!"
- "Self-Destructing Onion Social Algorithm Delivers Stirring Monologue About Folly Of Mankind's Hubris"
- "Most Americans Side With Onion Social Over Own Family, Friends"
- "France, India, Brazil Among Dozens Of Governments To Fall As Riots In Support Of Onion Social Increase Globally"
- "Thousands Of Onion Social Users Burn Effigies Of CEO In Mass Show Of Support For Company"
- "Onion Social Rebukes 480,000 Crimes At International Criminal Tribunal Including Illegal Surveillance, Insider Trading, Mass Murder, Indecent Exposure"
- "Onion Social Users Applaud Bravery Of CEO Persevering Against Falsehood, Libel"
- "Onion Social CEO Appears Before Hague Tribunal To Be Tried For Crimes Against Humanity, Promote New Website Features"
- "Stock Market Plunges Ahead Of Onion Social Hague Trial"
- "Onion Social CEO Caught By Law Enforcement At Miami Airport With $800,000 In Cash"
- "Onion Social CEO Announces Changes To Site's Privacy Policy"
- "Onion Social Staff Physician Concludes Website Not To Blame For Mass User Illness"
- "Onion Social Study Finds No Clear Link Between Onion Social Use, Uncontrollable Vomiting Of Black Bile"
- "Onion Social CEO Responds To Company Chaos By Donating $50 To Haiti"
- "Onion Social CEO Embarks On Tour Of Several Coffee Shops Near Where He Lives To Learn More About Everyday Americans"
- "Onion Social Embraces Diversity By Adding Prophet Mohammed Emoji"
- "Onion Social Announces Hiring Of James Damore As Chief Technology Officer"
- "Onion Social CEO Answers Your Questions On Privacy And User Data"
- "Onion Social Defends Decision To Remove 'You Will Live' Promise From Mission Statement"
- "Onion Social Cracks Down On Sexual Harassment By Banning All Women From Platform"
So 24 of their past 40 articles have pertained to the make-believe Onion Social. I love The Onion. I consistently get told I should work there. Isn't this going a bit overboard, though? If the writers at The Onion want to increase readership, how does it help to narrow their audience by focusing on Facebook and Facebook alone? This kind of comes across like a whiners campaign, which will likely accomplish little, and may even decrease readership further. Instead of scapegoating Facebook, The Onion should look ahead, improve marketing, expand their subjects and with that their audience, and I hate to say it, but make their site great again.
The Onion isn't going social. It's just pretending to do so to continue poking fun at Facebook. There's even a make-believe form you can fill out to create an account. It, of course, gets rejected.
The following articles regarding the non-existent social site have been posted at The Onion in the past few days:
- "Onion Employees Return To Mundane Lives Of Writing Game-Changing News Coverage Read By Billions Across Globe"
- "25 Million Onion Social Users Run Into Glorious Flames Of Headquarters In Hopes Of Using Website One Last Time"
- "Onion Social CEO Vaporized By Wall Of Light While Trying To Stop Algorithm From Self-Destructing"
- "'Humanity Deserves To Live In Darkness,' Onion Social Algorithm Cries Out Before Bursting Into Bright Light, Disappearing From Earthly Realm"
- "Congratulations, You Can Now Launder Money On Clickhole.com!"
- "Self-Destructing Onion Social Algorithm Delivers Stirring Monologue About Folly Of Mankind's Hubris"
- "Most Americans Side With Onion Social Over Own Family, Friends"
- "France, India, Brazil Among Dozens Of Governments To Fall As Riots In Support Of Onion Social Increase Globally"
- "Thousands Of Onion Social Users Burn Effigies Of CEO In Mass Show Of Support For Company"
- "Onion Social Rebukes 480,000 Crimes At International Criminal Tribunal Including Illegal Surveillance, Insider Trading, Mass Murder, Indecent Exposure"
- "Onion Social Users Applaud Bravery Of CEO Persevering Against Falsehood, Libel"
- "Onion Social CEO Appears Before Hague Tribunal To Be Tried For Crimes Against Humanity, Promote New Website Features"
- "Stock Market Plunges Ahead Of Onion Social Hague Trial"
- "Onion Social CEO Caught By Law Enforcement At Miami Airport With $800,000 In Cash"
- "Onion Social CEO Announces Changes To Site's Privacy Policy"
- "Onion Social Staff Physician Concludes Website Not To Blame For Mass User Illness"
- "Onion Social Study Finds No Clear Link Between Onion Social Use, Uncontrollable Vomiting Of Black Bile"
- "Onion Social CEO Responds To Company Chaos By Donating $50 To Haiti"
- "Onion Social CEO Embarks On Tour Of Several Coffee Shops Near Where He Lives To Learn More About Everyday Americans"
- "Onion Social Embraces Diversity By Adding Prophet Mohammed Emoji"
- "Onion Social Announces Hiring Of James Damore As Chief Technology Officer"
- "Onion Social CEO Answers Your Questions On Privacy And User Data"
- "Onion Social Defends Decision To Remove 'You Will Live' Promise From Mission Statement"
- "Onion Social Cracks Down On Sexual Harassment By Banning All Women From Platform"
So 24 of their past 40 articles have pertained to the make-believe Onion Social. I love The Onion. I consistently get told I should work there. Isn't this going a bit overboard, though? If the writers at The Onion want to increase readership, how does it help to narrow their audience by focusing on Facebook and Facebook alone? This kind of comes across like a whiners campaign, which will likely accomplish little, and may even decrease readership further. Instead of scapegoating Facebook, The Onion should look ahead, improve marketing, expand their subjects and with that their audience, and I hate to say it, but make their site great again.
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