4 ms·
why do we clutch pearls whenever a publication uses a "click-baity" title? at least it manages to a: get people to actually read the publication, and b. publish
by rambojohnson 3y ago
why do we clutch pearls whenever a publication uses a "click-baity" title? at least it manages to a: get people to actually read the publication, and b. publisher/site makes money. nobody's running a charity of information in a capitalist society.
- enugu 3y agoHaving an standard of truth is important as a reputation for an organization(whether for commercial or non-commercial reasons). Besides, click-baitiness is not sustainable as in the equilibrium, readers will change expectations to assume artices are click-baity and information on the real breakthroughs will have fight all the fake breakthroughs. BTW, This is not about Quanta which I find is a really good resource. Although, there might indeed be some click-baitiness not with the motive of profit(you could describe it as a charity run by Jim Simons), but in the sense of someone trying to get students interested with a provocative title for a science talk.
- rambojohnson 3y agoagreed. It's a fine line that publishers have to walk between capturing attention and maintaining credibility. As you've said, the long-term sustainability of clickbait is questionable. It's a short-term strategy that may inflate traffic numbers, but can lead to a loss of trust over time. The challenge is to strike the right balance between making content appealing and keeping it accurate and valuable, especially crucial with scientific publications, where the accuracy and trustworthiness of information is paramount.