Boycott click-bait blog entries!
 

I'm fed up with the click bait! I'm on slow foreign mobile networks and so every click comes at dial-up speed.

Suddenly the blog links with titles like:

You won't believe the simplest way to upgrade every time!

And

How to get status on the cheap.

And

Amazing award space on a surprising route.

Are driving me absolutely bananas because they inevitably are useless tactics that have no practical applicability. Which I would have known and not wasted my time/bandwidth on if the headline had been a headline instead of a tease. It's a form of lying. And I don't like being lied to.

So I've had it: any blog entry whose headline is a tease rather than a headline will never get a click from me again.

Thank you for indulging my rant.

Welcome to the Internet, you must be new here.

They must have learned that technique at BAcon. Maybe someone could write a 28 part report? Just kidding...

But seriously, I guess the blog gains by page views? Is that the idea?

The problem is that the goals of the blogger do not necessarily align with the goals of every reader. And that's ok.

Bloggers (I think) want to get ad revenue, credit card revenue and also award bookings. Maybe also Uber credits etc.

Readers want lots of things, like circles and arrows, tricks of how to look up award availability or free one-ways, credit card news etc, trip reports, analysis of program changes, etc.

How many people get mad at the 11pm news when they keep teasing the weather report? It's annoying, but that's how it works.

The bloggers should be held accountable if they don't post the best offer. Other than that, let them post away. If you don't like their posts, just stop reading their blog. Maybe it'll be enough of a difference and they'll change.

Clickbait works, otherwise nobody would use it.

Yes, well I was told there would be porn. So here I am.

"Program With the Single Best Award Chart, Aeroplan Award Pricing Mistake Update and Delta Fixes Online Award Booking (VFTW 06 Nov)

Delta fixing a temporary glitch that didn't show Alaska and Virgin Australia award space is mildly good news, but the headline phrase "Delta fixes online award booking" certainly connotes something different, given the notorious DL.dumb issues.

:D

Best post of the month so far :D

They also managed to screw up the dancing hamsters.

While I try and avoid rabid click-bait, clearly you need to have some sort of enticement in the headline.

For example: if you can get 500 bonus AAdvantage miles for a $100 spend then

"500 bonus AAdvantage miles for a $100 spend" is clearly fine

"500 free AAdvantage miles" is probably just about ok, if pushing it a little

"Naked Japanese schoolgirls run riot on AA plane" is arguably simply click-bait.

A delicate balancing act. But please just have a dig at me in the comments - rather than boycotting me for eternity - if I do ever push it too far...

I'd say this is well beyond "pushing it a little" and into lying to your readers.

Not because it is click-bait but because you're misrepresenting the offer.

I also enjoy techgirl's blog for great personal opinions and stories...

Is That YOUR Inflatable Penis?!

(How can you not click on that?!?)

Consider that clicked!

I thought you were boycotting click-bait??

But history shows that he loves inflatables....

Particularly Artiodactyla!