As defined by Wikipedia, click bait is …
… a pejorative term describing web content that is aimed at generating online advertising revenue, especially at the expense of quality or accuracy, relying on sensationalist headlines or eye-catching thumbnail pictures to attract click-throughs and to encourage forwarding of the material over online social networks. Click bait headlines typically aim to exploit the “curiosity gap”, providing just enough information to make the reader curious, but not enough to satisfy their curiosity without clicking through to the linked content.
But as you know, I don’t allow advertising on this blog. So if I provoke your curiosity, and get you to click on something I’ve posted, you can trust it won’t be an ad. It will be just a little something I hope you might enjoy. Anyway, it’s a concept I thought I’d try. Below is a link for you. Click it if you’re curious:
… and then, for more information, read my note in the comments.
There is a clever article in The Awl on internet “chum,” which is the often rather repulsive click bait on so many sites. You can google it.
It’s a huge problem. You never know what you’re going to get when you click on a link. Some will have tiny type somewhere saying they are sponsored, but many do not.
Here’s the link to that very interesting article you mentioned: https://theawl.com/a-complete-taxonomy-of-internet-chum-de0b7a070a2d#.xn6ng0q8u
I don’t like the idea that WordPress puts ads on Free WordPress blogs, but I guess they have the right to earn revenue off us if we don’t pay for an upgrade!
I learned my lesson the hard way back in 2011, and subsequently paid for the no-ads upgrade.
… and when my incriminating screenshot disappeared several times from my media library, I resorted to saving it on Photobucket, just in case.
I paid for the CSS upgrade, back when you could pick and choose upgrades. Now they have bundled things, and the ‘no ads’ package does not include the CSS upgrade, which is now in a more expensive bundle!
I wasn’t aware they’d switched to bundling, since each of my annual charges (no-ads, CSS, domain mapping) comes due at a different time. I think I’m still saving a few dollars each year by not being bundled, but I’m not sure. I’ve never met a bundling program I liked (said the Comcast customer).
REGARDING MY CLICK BAIT “SURPRISE”: The photographer, of course, is Erik Stensland, Estes Park, Colo. The copyrighted photo is untitled, pulled from his Facebook page and reprinted with permission. The subject, hidden in the clouds, is Hallett Peak (I think) in Rocky Mountain National Park.
And that’s your chocolate for today.
The image has since been added to the artist’s gallery and titled “Sunrise Storm – H.” The H means horizontal. It is also presented in a vertical format. I think I like the vertical better.
In 4 or 5 yeas I’ve had nearly 16000 hits on my site so i doubt anyone would be willing to pay for an ad on my rubbish, however I take the Premium option whatever that is and hopefully am ad free.! O_o 🙄
Yep, I think Premium includes the ad-free feature.
Well at $129.00 I hope it does, otherwise I shall not be amused 🙂