July 1, 2008 1:31 PM PDT

'The Onion' offers lesson in Viral Video 101

by Greg Sandoval
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With advertisers and marketers polluting the Web with scads of pseudo "viral videos" it's nice to see a legitimate one crop up.

In a lampoon of CNN and mainstream media, alternative news source The Onion informs us of an approaching disaster: "Entertainment Scientists Warn Miley Cyrus Will Be Depleted by 2013."

The Onion News Network reports that we're burning through the entertainment value of the teen-pop sensation "at far more aggressive rates" than we did of Lindsay Lohan or the Olsen twins. The latter women were "bountiful entertainment resources that our overconsumption reduced to smoldering remnants."

Tip: Pay attention to the graphs and to the ticker running across the bottom of the screen.

The expert from the Institute of Miley Research soberly tells viewers that within two years, society will be reduced to "roving tribes of barbarians constantly searching and fighting and scouring the landscape for the last remaining Miley Cyrus fashion doll."

Leave it to the folks at The Onion to remind us what viral videos are supposed to do: entertain.


Entertainment Scientists Warn Miley Cyrus Will Be Depleted by 2013

Greg Sandoval covers media and digital entertainment for CNET News. He is a former reporter for The Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times. E-mail Greg, or follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/sandoCNET.
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by summershoe July 1, 2008 3:51 PM PDT
Is this really any different than the other videos the Onion has been putting out for years? They've had some funny stuff but I can't imagine this one suddenly took off and set the world on fire.
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by Dalkorian July 1, 2008 4:26 PM PDT
Maybe it just set Greg's world on fire. Maybe he's trying to draw some attention to what the Onion "has been putting out for years". Or maybe I'm just insane, drooling uncontrollably on my straight jacket and deluded into thinking I'm typing this at work. Who knows.
by chustar July 3, 2008 7:49 AM PDT
I'm guessing this guy just discovered the Onion.
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by blabtech July 6, 2008 9:59 AM PDT
this seems interesting, but possibly true... atleast the first part...

http://blabtech.blogspot.com
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