A massive treatise on computer code goes viral

I’m not sure this sounds like a recipe for clickbait in a world where celebrities, silliness and sleaze often dominate.

Let’s write a story about computer code and how computers work. Let’s do it long form. And not just kind of long form. Seriously long form. Let’s do a piece that in effect decodes an entire civilization. Oh, and if it’s 38,000 words, no problem.

That’s what Bloomberg Businessweek did. Code: An Essay was the only article in the magazine’s June 12 print edition. It’s the magazine’s top-selling issue this year. The digital version, What Is Code http://www.matr.net/article-66848.html , was posted the day before. And it went off the charts.

Rem Rieder, USA TODAY

Full Story: http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/columnist/rieder/2015/07/08/longform-journalism-thrives-in-digital-world/29865589/