Clickbait: the Hustle

A while ago I wrote an article about my own successful failure with clickbait. The headline drew people in like no other article I'd ever written, and 6 years later it still attracts comments: hostile comments from people who'd clearly either:

1. Not read the article but responded to the clickbait headline. Or,
2. Responded to the article while heavily influenced by the clickbait headline.

The content of the article was overlooked. The serious conversation I hoped to have never developed. That's the trick, the con, the hustle: clickbait headline drew people in ... for the wrong doggone reasons and turned into a wasted opportunity.

I see something similar around the debacle with Kevin Hart and the Oscars.

Susan Fowler and the New York Times Clickbait

There was a really good opinion piece written by Susan Fowler in the New York Times recently. BUT! The clickbait headline had a similar successful failure as mine:

The clickbait headline overshadowed very important, very sober content.

So, I modified the NYT headline and subtitle to show what the article is REALLY about because it's not about Kevin Hart at all.

The article is a very serious warning about this social media world where no one is immune to being brought down in ways that weren't possible pre-internet. NO ONE. Alas, Twitter is lit up with nasty arguments over the headline's claim, as if the subtitle and article never existed.

We could argue if Kevin Hart was the best example for opening this inquiry but, again, Kevin Hart isn't the point.

We're living into a scary and capricious future where it's only going to get easier to find something objectionable on anyone if we want to look hard enough. BUT! Hey, the clickbait was more important. It got the clicks and engagement. YAAAYYY! Let's applaud whomever made the decision to use that headline. (Often, it's not the writer who makes that decision.)

The serious discussion can wait for another time ... or ... maybe never.

One lesson in all this: don't follow a clickbait headline with good content because it won't matter.