Sometimes Wired Has Me Worried

I like Wired Magazine and sing its praises often on this blog; but the most recent edition had me asking questions. The most recent issue has all the usual interesting information that drives me to the publication. The latest gadgets, the hottest trends, and the most important personalities. But there was also an article about Hans Reiser that threw me for a loop.

Hans Reiser is a mega geek who was once known as a "Linux visionary" who was noted for adding new innovations to the technology. Now he is accused of having something to do with the disappearance of his Russian mail order bride, Nina (photo). The beautiful obstetrician disappeared on September 23, 2006 and signs seem to point to Hans' possible doing and he stands accused of being involved in such.

I found myself reading the story, though it seemed a little odd for Wired Magazine. If it wasn't for the fact that Reiser was a some what well known geek, it would have nothing to do with Wired. It is true that the article brought in interesting insights about Reiser's contributions to the IT field in general and Linux in particular, but this article was really designed for a tabloid such as US Magazine, or something like that. It wasn't "Wired material" in my opinion. The funny thing, out of many article options, I chose to read it, which tells me a couple things about why it was in Wired:

* People like dirty laundry about others and this article was full of it.

* People are interested in bad news. Bad news, I'm afraid, sells.

* Even in an IT magazine, people are still more interesting than things.

Wired has plenty of technology issues that it could focus on, but chose to include a piece on something like this. This was done, not because of a dearth in information, but because bad news on people sells.