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Regarding the headline, arstechnica A/B tests headline variations and then eventually settles on a winner. The more clickbaity headline ALWAYS wins. Completely
by antonyt 3y ago
Regarding the headline, arstechnica A/B tests headline variations and then eventually settles on a winner. The more clickbaity headline ALWAYS wins.
Completely speculating here, but I’d guess the authors write reasonable headlines and then some editor picks a terrible reformulation.
Sometimes (as in this case) you can see what the losing title was by looking at the URL: facebook-targeting-ads-by-age-gender-violates-calif-anti-discrimination-law
Much more reasonable, which is why it got less engagement and lost.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- incongruity 3y agoEnshittification is such a cruel thing. Arstechnica was a quality site at one point… not to say it has completely lost its value, but it’s sad to see the its decline, nonetheless.
- mensetmanusman 3y agoJust remember that the >10x reduction in journalism revenue due to the loss of classifieds is responsible for this. All the $ went to ad tech companies and this loss of revenue has meant a race to the bottom in terms of talent and resources.
- _aavaa_ 3y agoThis isn’t quite accurate. The ad tech companies are finishing them off, but Craigslist is what started this process.