Observations
  • Home
  • Observations
  • Trendcasting
  • Odds 'n Ends
  • Science/Technology/Experiments
  • Mental Health

Clickbait and Deception...

10/29/2015

0 Comments

 
Picture
Clickbait has been around since the beginning of the Internet but the term itself is often misunderstood. There seems to be as many definitions as there are internet users. So, in my definition I include what I suspect are curiosity gaps or misleading headlines causing the reader to click to see a deceptive post. For example, “See the Amazing Largest Breasts in the World”! Well, it turns out that these are a stone sculpture found in a lost South American or Mayan site. So, there is just enough truth to justify the click, but very deceptive. But, if we click on that link, the writer has accomplished the desired result; more web traffic! (This can be contrasted with the term Rickrolling which is bait and switch).
But in fact, these deceptive practices extend far beyond the internet in both technology and time. P.T. Barnum recognized the curiosity gap as have other carnival hawkers. “Come into this tent and see the half-man half-ape”. Of course it is a very hairy man acting like an ape. Fortunately for them there was no Facebook or Twitter to show the world that it was deceptive. And, in TV back when, there was the famous “Don’t touch that dial” and now when they offer the tease. “When we come back after the break find out why this woman is dying”! The one area most abused is the weather report tease before the commercial. “The sun is shining now but serious changes are coming! Stay tuned”! Really? It must be important.
But there is a dilemma for those of us who post original content. We want people to read our posts, but we have to use some discretion in how we add the title. But, as trivial as this seems, it is important for two reasons. The first is what happens when the search engines crawl sites for inclusion and where they rank a post. If the title is obscure, we wind up on page 100. If the post has a catchy title, it may be better placed. If it is decidedly deceptive and provocative it may be on page one. If I had titled this entry as “Clickbait and the large breasts”  it may have been a trending post. But, it would have been deceptive and I would eventually lose readers.
The second reason has more to do with integrity. When I have fallen for Clickbait I feel used and somewhat gullible. But, the curiosity gap can be a real siren song and the trap is set. So, how do we know when we are being led into Clickbait? The simple answer is that we really cannot be sure what a click will bring up for our pleasure/displeasure. Most site use the technique and patterns emerge that suggests that we are being played. I tend to think that fighting the curiosity factor is the key to not going down the rabbit hole. I really don’t care what next disaster will happen if I fail to clink on that link…
  
 
 


0 Comments
    Picture


    An observer of life and our changing times-Ken

    .

    Categories

    All
    Advertising
    Aspirin
    Car Crashes
    Change
    China
    Corn Ethanol
    Custome Service
    Dancing Bears
    Drunk Drivers
    Dunkin's
    E-Cards
    Evolution
    Experts?
    Failure
    Free
    Good Egg
    Hackers And Crackers
    Internet Radio
    Internet Size
    Layaway
    Listeria
    Manufacturing
    Misleading Medical Reports
    Monopoly 2.0
    Multitasking
    Nature
    Needs
    Noise
    Nurture
    Observation And Inference
    Online Credit Card Fraud
    Online Learning
    Political Circus
    Political Double Speak
    Reality Television
    Search Engines
    Talent
    Term Limits
    Violence
    Wants
    Youtube

    Archives

    June 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    September 2020
    July 2020
    March 2020
    December 2019
    October 2019
    August 2019
    April 2019
    October 2018
    April 2018
    December 2017
    September 2017
    July 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    July 2015
    May 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011

    Categories

    All
    Advertising
    Aspirin
    Car Crashes
    Change
    China
    Corn Ethanol
    Custome Service
    Dancing Bears
    Drunk Drivers
    Dunkin's
    E-Cards
    Evolution
    Experts?
    Failure
    Free
    Good Egg
    Hackers And Crackers
    Internet Radio
    Internet Size
    Layaway
    Listeria
    Manufacturing
    Misleading Medical Reports
    Monopoly 2.0
    Multitasking
    Nature
    Needs
    Noise
    Nurture
    Observation And Inference
    Online Credit Card Fraud
    Online Learning
    Political Circus
    Political Double Speak
    Reality Television
    Search Engines
    Talent
    Term Limits
    Violence
    Wants
    Youtube

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.