Lots of fun with Dilbert and Web 2.0 thanks to a site update gives visitors the ability to rearrange and rewrite the foibles of everyone’s favorite cubicle dweller.
Been screwed over by your Pointy Haired Boss when you were expecting a reward? Desperately want to give the self-centered egomaniacal schmoe a dinosaur-powered wedgie? Scott Adams heard your prayers.
A revamped Dilbert site arrived on the web, and it will shock long-time visitors with the changes. Registering with the site give readers access to mashups, where they can replace an Adams punch line with something funnier and share it with friends.
Good luck on topping Adams in the punch line department. He told Salon “99.9 percent of the submitted punch lines will be less funny than my original. After all, I’ve had a lot of practice.”
In terms of mashups, several sites have popped up over the years focusing on another cartoon character, venerable fat cat Garfield. Unlike Adams and his syndicates embrace-the-Internet approach, Garfield’s masters tend to go after people who alter those strips.
“We’re accepting the realities of IP on the Internet, and trying to get ahead of the curve. People already alter Dilbert strips and distribute them. If we make it easy and legal to do so, and drive more traffic to Dilbert.com in the process, everyone wins,” Adams said in Webware.
Adams has enjoyed the success of a comic character becoming an icon for cubicle dwellers and the daily grind of putting up with bosses who can’t get out of their own way. Accepting and encouraging the creativity of his readers online could prove rewarding over time, especially as people shift reading comics and other traditional newspaper items to the Internet.
