4 ms·
The idea that every news article and blog post needs a cover image is one of the worst things to happen to the Web in terms of information density and bandwidth
by dmart 6y ago
The idea that every news article and blog post needs a cover image is one of the worst things to happen to the Web in terms of information density and bandwidth usage.
- Loughla 6y agoPhysical news papers are laid out in terms of a specific design for readers. People tend to start in the same place on the page, and work in a predictable pattern around the page until they are done. It's like a backwards G, I think. I wonder if this development, which is complete and utter crap, is based on something similar?
- Enginerrrd 6y agoAnd the way this is typically done with banners breaks zoom! It's so bad.
- sneak 6y agoIt is my understanding that posts with images generate longer time on page and more engagement. People like pictures, and are afraid of “walls of text”. I haven’t seen the data, but this is what I have been told, and it’s quite plausible. I don’t use header images on posts on my own site because I agree with you, but unfortunately oftentimes things that seem bad or ugly are such a way for a good reason. It’s the same thing about big ugly pancake buttons and people’s close up faces on landing pages.
- chrismorgan 6y agoYep. I hate stock imagery, because it’s 100% overhead and conveys nothing of value, and by dint of its uselessness and irrelevance, cases where imagery is relevant are less likely to be heeded; but because of human psychology, stock imagery works.
- sneak 6y agoI guess that’s my point: if it works, it’s not irrelevant.
- chrismorgan 6y agoBy “irrelevant” I mean irrelevant to the content, which is entirely accurate. It’s psychological trickery in the presentation of the article, not part of the content.
- salawat 6y agoCould the longer linger times result from an impedance mismatch where people are trying to parse the page to find the actual content? That would be doubly evil in my opinion. You're preying on people trying to understand something to get more impressions if that's the case.
- Digit-Al 6y agoThe worst thing is that the image appears to bear absolutely no relevance to the article at all.