11 May 2021

Clickbait

There's an annoying form of advertising that is used widely on the internet. I am sure that you will have encountered it yourself. I normally come across it on local newspaper sites.

It works like this. You see a picture and beneath it a short headline or question. You are intrigued. How does Engelbert Humperdinck live these days?  Momentarily you imagine him living in a hovel with a  crazy cat called Elvis  surrounded by piles of old newspapers. Then you click on the picture.

In that moment, you have in effect been hooked like a fish. The advertising site does not show you how Engelbert is currently living. To discover that you have to wade through several other pages that show us how entertainers of the past are now living. These pages are themselves ringed with an array of ads all ready to be clicked upon.

The industry term for this kind of advertising or side-tracking is "clickbait". Clickbait is usually innocuous and the best way to deal with it is just to ignore it. However, some clickbait is operated by criminals - deviously leading to fraudulent activity or malware.

Innocuous or fraudulent - I am not a fan of clickbait. It makes internet users look like fools and often wastes our time. There are lots of ways in which the internet can enhance our lives but clickbait is definitely not on that list.

37 comments:

  1. How about this one: 'The truth finally comes out about (famous name)' or 'wait til you see (famous name)'s partner'. How stupid do people have to be to click on this stuff?

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    1. As stupid as me which is verrrrrrry stupid.

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    2. I think we all have fallen for it...but we figure it out as quick as a click.

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  2. Those headlines always make me SO curious though. I have low impulse control at times. :)

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    1. Never mind Margaret. Not all of us are perfect.

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  3. Well, I got ripped off here. I really wanted to find out how Engelbert Humperdinck is living! Click bait? I fell for it.

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    1. Most days he opens a can of vegetable soup for lunch and then puts "The Engelbert Humperdinck Collection" on his stereo remembering when he was a big star...But he never taught Inuits in the far north.

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    2. Thank you for that YP. Saves us the bother of having to click through all the other stuff to find out for ourselves. I'm now going for a ride on my bicyclette to Belsize.

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    3. Turning and turning
      The world goes on
      We can't change it, my friend
      Let us go riding now through the days
      Together to the end
      To the end

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    4. If you think I am going ride side by side holding your hand you are very mistaken.

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    5. Hey, this is 2021 Tasker! Anything goes.

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  4. "Please release me, I don't know what to blog about any more". Blog writers block.😊

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    1. How about Dave Northsider's school days, Dave Northsider got in a fight and Dave Northsider's first girlfriend.

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  5. I didn't know this was called 'clickbait'. I could be easily tempted though!

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    1. Especially if it was Cliff Richard and not old Engelbert!..."I'll have the last waltz with you!"

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  6. As you assume, I have seen such clickbait many many times, for instance on the websites of The Ripon Gazette and the Ludwigsburger Kreiszeitung. But not once have I clicked on any of them, not only because I know what they are, but also because I am not interested in what they imply to reveal.
    I wonder what Engelbert Humperdinck thinks when he finds out that his picture is used for clickbait. How would I feel if my photo was used, along with the line ‘Find out why this blogger suddenly turned blond’.

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    1. I would definitely click on that one but before I got to you I would have to wade through dozens of other bloggers who have changed their appearance!

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    2. I don't think that picture is really Engelbert -- not even an age-regressed Engelbert. I think it's someone else entirely. BTW, did you know Engelbert's real name is apparently Arnold George Dorsey? Trivia fact for the day.

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  7. Well, I must say that Engelbert is looking remarkably good for 84! I'm not one for clicking onto these ads, but if it was for something to remain looking that youthful -I might be tempted. Not that I would really fall for the hype!
    These are annoying and I always ignore them. I'm also fed up with the ads on TV offering cheap funerals (why are they so condescending?) and the actors in them, who are so full of themselves. In fact most ads of any description are bound to annoy me, and have the opposite effect to that intended - I do not want to buy!

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    1. You are definitely not what is called an "advertiser's dream" CG!

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  8. There was one a long time ago that I thought was interesting. As soon as I realised what it was I decided I could do without the knowledge. Since then I have avoided such adverts with a steely passion.

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    1. You are like a wily pike under the lily pads, ignoring the juicy clickbait.

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  9. They remind me of posters for evening newspapers and weekly magazines, even before the internet era: Headlines suggesting big news but if you actually read the article, the content turns out to be of the "nothing" or "nobody really knows" kind. It's even easier to fall for the temptation online as it's just a click away. That word "sponsored" is usually a good hint that it will be full of ads (and little else), though!

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    1. You should have been a detective Dawn Treader!

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  10. The internet police should be shouting out.. "Put down that mouse and step away from that link now!"

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    1. I didn't think there were any internet police ma'am. To me it still feels like The Wild West where just about anything goes.

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  11. Fortunately, I am fairly immune to Hollywood in general but I have occasionally accidentally been victim of the old click bait under a different disguise. Nothing comes to mind freely but it is exactly as you describe. I generally just hit the back button and move on.

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    1. I think that's the best way Ed. Don't let clickbait draw you in.

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  12. I love the term "clickbait." It sounds exactly like what it is.

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    1. Yes. It is the perfect term for this phenomenon.

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  13. Been there and learnt my lesson, so annoying.
    Briony
    x

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    1. I bet you got caught out with "Frank Ifield: Before He Died" or maybe "Take A Peek Round Cliff Richard's Kitchen".

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  14. Click bait and the 'sidebar of shame' as they say ... it's what keeps the Mail online going...
    The psychology of it is fascinating though, but I agree - avoid at all costs.

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  15. Engel used to sing under the nomme de chanteur of Gerry Dorsey.
    Confusing, but his birth name is Arnold George Dorsey.
    Engel was asked to stand in for Dickie Valentine at the London Palladium.
    He sang Please Release me on the show which became a Number One Hit. 1967.
    The song with was written by Eddie Miller and Robert Mount in 1949.

    A lot of gals used to remove their nether garments and throw them at Engel onstage.
    A good time to invest your pocket money in ladies' underwear. I did. Happy to say.
    Haggerty

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  16. I avoid all clickbait, but I admit sometimes it's hard not to click! It's weird how it's always on local newspaper sites. You'd think newspapers could come up with more reputable advertisers.

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  17. I have fallen for it many a time and before I knew it I had wasted an hour - a bit wiser now and less likely to be so gullible!

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  18. Apparently click bait is big business. I was listening to a radio show about it the other day. It works and it makes money and it's so annoying.

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Mr Pudding welcomes all genuine comments - even those with which he disagrees. However, puerile or abusive comments from anonymous contributors will continue to be given the short shrift they deserve. Any spam comments that get through Google/Blogger defences will also be quickly deleted.

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