Wired

This was a strange week for Wired. The magazine held its 15-year anniversary party in NYC last night (FEWER FLASHBULBS, PLEASE), which doubled as a celebration for their purchase of Ars Technica and revival of Webmonkey. NYT responded with a piece vaguely condemning Wired's supposed drug advocacy in an issue that's not even on the newsstand anymore. David Carr came away with the smartest analysis, suggesting that Conde Nast is wise for keeping a small digital footprint. Although I question whether this is actually a "strategy" (doesn't "fear" sounds like a more accurate depiction?), spending millions on random properties is at least better than spending billions on faltering ones.