"And, if you’ve made it this far into the article, you’ll likely be amazed that a majority of people just don’t read beyond the headlines or first paragraphs before accusing me of saying something I didn’t, creating strawman arguments to knock down, and making foolish assumptions as they try to refute a concept."
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The problem is that along with that clickbait title, writers bury the answer/thing that the CB title offers somewhere down towards the end of the article. Given I read over 100 articles daily, I generally open an article, scroll down to the end and check if I see the answer in the last paragraph. It's generally there.
Now, when you are talking about more "reputable" writing, such as say, NYT articles, you can almost count on the answer/content to whatever question the title raised will be in the 5th paragraph. I suspect there is some sort of writers style guide that recommends this.
These techniques were designed to build out articles so that more advertising could be shown as the reader scrolled down. Ka-Ching!
But a decent number of people use ad blockers these days, so we don't see the ads anyway and all the supporting verbiage is a waste of precious bits. There are only so many bits in the universe! Don't waste them.
I read the damn article. You’re starting to sound like a curmudgeon and at my age I am officially an expert. I have a pretty good example of what you’re talking about here in my recent piece “Holiday Season Tipping”, it’s the most current comment. Read it, you’ll enjoy it as I know you read what I wrote from your beautiful comment, I went back and gratefully acknowledged your comment BTW.
Sometimes we let busy get in the way of things that matter.
But given how busy I am trying to get my crew ready for a 4 month trip, that comment (not yours the other one) gave me pause. Instead of a snarky reply and I could have, I again, reassessed why I write every week. I do it because it’s fun for me. I’m not the best writer, I know that and I don’t care. I do it for me and if I get reactions, yay! I just don’t have to spend my time responding to someone who clearly spent no time reading, but spent much effort writing about what they didn’t read. Why reward it with my time and attention?
And some constructive criticism, while I’m at a different place in life and I prefer to be amused when I read, a lot of the time when I look at your stuff, the boiler plate stuff at the beginning and end get tiresome for me. Makes everything look to me like a technical manual which I did my time with in my earlier years. Maybe that’s what you’re going for? If I can scan over those and read a paragraph or two that entertain, you got me, otherwise I’m gone. I read for about 3 hours every day, at my age I go for the fun or something I don’t already know. Anyway, you have a big subscriber audience, so you definitely appeal! Thank you.
Yeah, most of my frustration comes from social media but every once in a while I get a comment like the one you described. And, like you, I often just let it set there and move on. Also thanks for that insight on the boiler plate material. I've debated on removing it. When I started, it was useful to catch eyeballs and, because these float on online, it helps to remind people what they're getting into. I might re-do it in the future because I now have much better brand identity but now it's also almost part of my 'brand' which is funny.
Picking my favorite articles of yours is impossible. That being said, I always thoroughly enjoy your clickbaity articles like Masks Do Work and The Climate is Changing. Because you’re able to fully unpack an issue following an objectively factual headline, it demonstrates the powerful point you’re making in this post.
Don’t react to the headline or even the article if you’re unwilling to fully unpack it yourself.
Appreciate you, your writing, and wisdom brother. Pics in this one were fantastic too!
The human mind, driven by the amygdala (or Lizard Brain) is always scanning the horizon looking for something out of place. We don’t generally care about the things that have always been there, so when we come across a bear, a speeding car or a click-baity headline, our focus shifts. Lizard Brain’s job is accomplished. Now our conscious mind decides what to do with that information. Most of us don’t have the time to commit to savoring each word of the article. So we judge based on appearance (that is why prejudice was invented in the first place, right?) then we comment, scroll past or switch our attention to the next shiny object on the horizon.
1. The path of least resistance. We want to put in the least possible effort, which is why we start arguing to feel smart after only reading titles.
2. The Backfire Effect, where the more someone contradicts our myths with real facts, the more reinforced the myths become in us.
It's these reasons why social media is just a messy place today. We're trying to appear smart by putting others down rather than genuinely understand thoughtful perspectives and become smart.
Great points and I agree. In a debate, I don’t want to read the whole thing. I want the abstract. And I’ll have to dig into the Backfire Effect in your articulation. I hadn’t thought about it in that context.
Thanks! And, sometimes, I think you’re right. ‘Space X Launches New Tranche of Starlink Over Weekend’ tells me all I need to know in that case. Same with sports by and large.
An entire article yelling at me to read itself that contains no actual other content whatsoever? No thanks! I can't believe you'd write something like this. You can't just boss people around, and I, personally, think it's wrong. Now off to tell everyone about your horrible attitude.
"And, if you’ve made it this far into the article, you’ll likely be amazed that a majority of people just don’t read beyond the headlines or first paragraphs before accusing me of saying something I didn’t, creating strawman arguments to knock down, and making foolish assumptions as they try to refute a concept."
----
The problem is that along with that clickbait title, writers bury the answer/thing that the CB title offers somewhere down towards the end of the article. Given I read over 100 articles daily, I generally open an article, scroll down to the end and check if I see the answer in the last paragraph. It's generally there.
Now, when you are talking about more "reputable" writing, such as say, NYT articles, you can almost count on the answer/content to whatever question the title raised will be in the 5th paragraph. I suspect there is some sort of writers style guide that recommends this.
These techniques were designed to build out articles so that more advertising could be shown as the reader scrolled down. Ka-Ching!
But a decent number of people use ad blockers these days, so we don't see the ads anyway and all the supporting verbiage is a waste of precious bits. There are only so many bits in the universe! Don't waste them.
Great point. Isn’t the term for that Burrying the Lede? Reminds me of the whole crazy stories baked in front of recipes.
I read the damn article. You’re starting to sound like a curmudgeon and at my age I am officially an expert. I have a pretty good example of what you’re talking about here in my recent piece “Holiday Season Tipping”, it’s the most current comment. Read it, you’ll enjoy it as I know you read what I wrote from your beautiful comment, I went back and gratefully acknowledged your comment BTW.
Sometimes we let busy get in the way of things that matter.
But given how busy I am trying to get my crew ready for a 4 month trip, that comment (not yours the other one) gave me pause. Instead of a snarky reply and I could have, I again, reassessed why I write every week. I do it because it’s fun for me. I’m not the best writer, I know that and I don’t care. I do it for me and if I get reactions, yay! I just don’t have to spend my time responding to someone who clearly spent no time reading, but spent much effort writing about what they didn’t read. Why reward it with my time and attention?
And some constructive criticism, while I’m at a different place in life and I prefer to be amused when I read, a lot of the time when I look at your stuff, the boiler plate stuff at the beginning and end get tiresome for me. Makes everything look to me like a technical manual which I did my time with in my earlier years. Maybe that’s what you’re going for? If I can scan over those and read a paragraph or two that entertain, you got me, otherwise I’m gone. I read for about 3 hours every day, at my age I go for the fun or something I don’t already know. Anyway, you have a big subscriber audience, so you definitely appeal! Thank you.
Yeah, most of my frustration comes from social media but every once in a while I get a comment like the one you described. And, like you, I often just let it set there and move on. Also thanks for that insight on the boiler plate material. I've debated on removing it. When I started, it was useful to catch eyeballs and, because these float on online, it helps to remind people what they're getting into. I might re-do it in the future because I now have much better brand identity but now it's also almost part of my 'brand' which is funny.
Yep, glad I read this one but then again, I set aside time to read all of yours, which, I think, you're the only one I do that with.
That’s awesome to hear and I appreciate it.
Picking my favorite articles of yours is impossible. That being said, I always thoroughly enjoy your clickbaity articles like Masks Do Work and The Climate is Changing. Because you’re able to fully unpack an issue following an objectively factual headline, it demonstrates the powerful point you’re making in this post.
Don’t react to the headline or even the article if you’re unwilling to fully unpack it yourself.
Appreciate you, your writing, and wisdom brother. Pics in this one were fantastic too!
Thanks! I love our conversations and they have driven new insights for these essays. Looking forward to our next chat!
The human mind, driven by the amygdala (or Lizard Brain) is always scanning the horizon looking for something out of place. We don’t generally care about the things that have always been there, so when we come across a bear, a speeding car or a click-baity headline, our focus shifts. Lizard Brain’s job is accomplished. Now our conscious mind decides what to do with that information. Most of us don’t have the time to commit to savoring each word of the article. So we judge based on appearance (that is why prejudice was invented in the first place, right?) then we comment, scroll past or switch our attention to the next shiny object on the horizon.
Excellent point and you nailed it. It works…. until it doesn’t work.
I see two reader biases at play here.
1. The path of least resistance. We want to put in the least possible effort, which is why we start arguing to feel smart after only reading titles.
2. The Backfire Effect, where the more someone contradicts our myths with real facts, the more reinforced the myths become in us.
It's these reasons why social media is just a messy place today. We're trying to appear smart by putting others down rather than genuinely understand thoughtful perspectives and become smart.
Great points and I agree. In a debate, I don’t want to read the whole thing. I want the abstract. And I’ll have to dig into the Backfire Effect in your articulation. I hadn’t thought about it in that context.
I love it but also wonder; in some cases, do we really need more than the headlines? Keep it up, your writing is damn good.🍻
Thanks! And, sometimes, I think you’re right. ‘Space X Launches New Tranche of Starlink Over Weekend’ tells me all I need to know in that case. Same with sports by and large.
An entire article yelling at me to read itself that contains no actual other content whatsoever? No thanks! I can't believe you'd write something like this. You can't just boss people around, and I, personally, think it's wrong. Now off to tell everyone about your horrible attitude.