On the one hand, it is just so frickin' cool that Boston-area college students FINALLY have a guide that speaks directly to them, because, you know, the 22-year olds the Phoenix and the Dig are aimed at just have such dramatically different tastes and needs than the 21-year olds the Globe's new Uncovered seeks to serve.
On the other hand, yeesh. The Uncovered Web site is just so nakedly exactly what it really is: An attempt by a large media conglomerate to latch onto the Craigslist crowd. Only without all the annoying user contributions and community that make Boston Craigslist (and Tribe and, now, Yelp) so different. But with a good heaping helping of patronizing old-people assumptions of how college kids talk and write:
Five reasons to get the Digital Silver package when subscribing to Comcast, even though it's, like, $78 a month ...
Also, people who do not know what "to mack" means should, like, refrain from using it in promoting a used-clothing store.
However, they do have enriching "from the street" made-up verbatim quotes from local cool kids, such as:
"I'd want to see the Yankees win"
Mark Gadomski, 21, hiking the Appalachian Trail, about his Fenway dreams
No, I didn't realize the Appalachian Trail now ran through Boston, either.
But the thing that really makes my eyes hurt is the logo:
OK, I am old and crabby and need a new eyeglass prescription, but, well, yeesh! If I want things to look that fuzzy, I'll take my glasses off - or hit the nearest bar.
My standard newspaper disclosure.
