'I duped the Chicago Tribune'

I'm not a big fan of "spoof" news stories -- satire masquerading as news -- because so many people don't get them, and even intelligent people are flummoxed. Why, I'm not sure. If you believe everything you read on the Web, you deserve anything you get.

So, it seems, the Chicago Tribune is getting its due.

In a story it published Saturday (Tribune registration required) -- Businesses turn to Net for making new contacts -- a Tribune freelance writer wrote about the new generation of social network software, such as Spoke, Ryze, Friendster, Orkut .. and Amazon's Pricekut.

Pricekut?

Rick Ellis, managing editor of AllYourTV.com, passes along word that Brian Storms Dear devised a fictitious article four weeks ago on the Denounce Newswire. For some reason, the Trib writer and editors thought it was legit. Perhaps this graf should have clued them in:

Bezos said the best is yet to come with Pricekut, which, by the way, is protected by sixty-two patents pending, including the ability to reach out with one's hand and hold a mouse to click on it.

In any event, there is no longer a reference to Amazon or "Pricekut" in the story. However, if you enter Pricekut in the Tribune's search engine, it brings to you to the story.

Brian has all the details here.