In one of the experiments, there were two groups: One was asked to write a original creative essay and other was asked to use a template created by an expert an

In one of the experiments, there were two groups: One was asked to write a original creative essay and other was asked to use a template created by an expert and just fill it out. One of such popular template comes in the form of "X number of reason why Y is not true". Although these bullet points doesn't seem such a "creative" content, in the experiment these kind of template-based approach won hands down VS asking people to come up with something original. Why? Because most people suck at being original and creative. It requires years of experience + some level of genius gene and avoiding pitfalls and keeping delicate balance to be original. So if you can't hire 75 Oscar Wilds, then your best bet to create the popular content is follow the templates. BuzzFeed's model is simple. You can hire pretty much average Joes who can be assigned some interesting topic everyday like "Cheap Private Islands". These Joes will then do research on Internet for few hours and fill out the template with what they found: "25 Amazing Private Islands That You Can Rent Now". Is this click worthy? Absolutely. I think people who frown upon this don't get "entertainment industry". When you want a TV series or a movie, the goal is not to educate you but entertain you. To provide you some amusement and excitement in your day - however short living that may be. If you click on BuzzFeed's link and if you found it did provided you amusement, they did your job and in return you gave them some CPI. This is no different than watching a soap opera. In other words, Internet is replacing TV as the source of entertainment and BuzzFeed is now a core provider of content in this arena.