Clickbait rant
 

The noise to information ratio is tremendously skewed on the interwebs, and click-bait (Those posts on Facebook that give a teaser and prompts you to click to further see what will unfold) in social media is skewering it more and more to the noise side. So, there are my responses to various click-bait posts:

1. No, number 5 is NOT the cutest thing I have ever seen.
2. No, number 7 did not make me cry.
3. No - your link is not something I MUST SEE. If I wish to waste 5 minutes of my time, I would rather sit in my yard and watch an ant carry a crumb of bread across the way.
4. Yes. I have seen the video of your cousin's brother's best friend's Aunt May's grandson's attempt at jumping across a swimming pool. No, it wasn't interesting the first time, and no, it is not interesting now.
5. No. I will not like / share / link / send to 10 of my friends the lucky charm post / link / email / picture...whatever. I don't care that you believe it will bring me $1000.00 if I send, or loss of fortune if I don't send / like / share / link...etc.
6. I will not take your stupid survey. I am NOT a chocolate, a state, a country, a color, vegetable, fruit...etc, despite what the stupid survey you just took says about you. I am a person, not Fruit Loops.
7. I will believe what happens next. I have either already seen the video you want me to see, or I can predict what will happen since I have already seen similar videos.

Ok - rant over. Now allow me to go back at yelling at the kids in my neighborhood to get off my lawn!

-Z

I stopped going to FB months ago. Oddly, I don't miss it.

clickbait... great term.

Funny you mention it;

I'm in the middle of making my own click bait link.

It's called:

This man took a picture of himself every day for 3 days and the results are incredible. Number 2 just blew me away!!!

:D

...and for God's sake, if you have a story about how great a video was at Comic-Con or stuff about "The Avengers 2" and then DON'T SHOW THE VIDEO, then you should get a swift kick in the nutsack and a finger flick to both eyeballs......Fuchers...(!)

Z-man, do you have a link to that ant carrying that crumb? I'd really like to see that!

Jack Olson?

Byron! :)

Don't visit Facebook - problem solved.

:o Ooops. I start masturbating at click five and don't stop until I get to the Adolph Hitler impersonator on a unicycle.
Is that bad?

NASCAR.COM has people doing the clickbait titles on their main website now - annooyiing as all get out.

I simply don't click this stuff.

Couldn't have said it any better myself, honestly. That crap drives me nuts.

That website works worse than the ACA website. It's terrible. I'm a fan and I never look at it.

I would have never thought hyperbole would ever be such a rampant problem, until I started getting on Facebook. Everything is "Amazing" "Awesome" "Blew me away." Apparently many people are easily entertained.

The way I look at it, I don't want my IP address logged by those companies/scammers/hackers.

Good luck.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/06/technology/russian-gang-said-to-amass-more-than-a-billion-stolen-internet-credentials.html?_r=0

A Russian crime ring has amassed the largest known collection of stolen Internet credentials, including 1.2 billion user name and password combinations and more than 500 million email addresses, security researchers say.

The records, discovered by Hold Security, a firm in Milwaukee, include confidential material gathered from 420,000 websites, including household names, and small Internet sites. Hold Security has a history of uncovering significant hacks, including the theft last year of tens of millions of records from Adobe Systems.


a part of their game plan >
they appear to be using the stolen information to send spam on social networks like Twitter at the behest of other groups, collecting fees for their work.

Clickbait rant
 

Facebook = no upside, lots of potential downside. Never been on it and won't be.

Now stop playing that rock and roll garbage and get off my lawn!

I blame Buzzfeed for this.

Not necessarily. Most of the online 'news' agencies do this.


Recent Clickbait headlines on Yahoo:
"Passenger gets stuck betwwen train and platform Commuters watching failed attempts to free a trapped man take matters into their own hands. Caught on Video."
"Father's sweet reaction of a lifetime. One look at the rare find had Larry Benson tearing up -- and then he read the note from his son. You earned it.

Then there's CNN's "Breaking News" headlines that attempt to reel you in by giving ou part of a newstory.

Buzzfeed is another place clickbait reigns.

I am sure that Twitter, Instagram, Pintrest (sp?) and the other social media websites also have plenty of clickbait.

Staying away from Facebook won't keep Clickbait at bay...

-Z

I'm pretty sure I couldn't finish with Adolph on a cycle, but hey, if it works for you. ;)