Photo: Courtesy of The Onion.Yesterday, faux news site The Onion made a very real announcement that it would be launching a spin-off in June 2014. True to its mission, however, the impending site, Clickhole, will also be a parody. It's all very meta. And, the name couldn't be more fitting as it speaks to our down-the-rabbit-hole online tendencies. Well played, Onion, well played.
Right now, Clickhole is a standalone page that promises its users "an all-new Internet experience filled with content so shareable, snackable, and clickable, it will rob you of all logic and reason." So, what exactly does that mean? According to The Onion's presentation to media outlets, we can expect "content and sponsored posts side by side, with barely any distinction between them." You'll see a general poking fun at the likes of BuzzFeed and Upworthy. We're talking a "Which pizza should I have for dinner tonight?" quiz presented by Pizza Hut, uplifting personal stories, cute posts about animals and other adorable things, and slideshows of "six kinds of hay." For now, Clickhole offers a tongue-in-cheek guide on clicking a mouse until the hyped-up content is ready for mass consumption.
This is either going to be a total flop or entirely genius. Regardless of its success as an additional functioning site under The Onion banner, one thing's for sure: It's going to be hilarious. Also, can we please see a slideshow of slideshows? This feels like the right medium. (New York Business Journal)