From a marketing perspective, Upworthy co-founder Peter Koechley summed it up perfectly at the Native Advertising Summit when he said, “Headlines are one of the most undervalued parts of online messaging. People care about them, people know to care about them, but still it’s the easiest way to dramatically increase the virality of everything you do and I guarantee that you’re not spending enough time on it.”

There are a large number of restaurants in the US that source their entire menus from the same food distributor. These businesses are not actual restaurants. They don't make the food, and they don't think about how to make their mash potatoes taste better. Their goal is to get you to eat the food items with the highest profit margin. They crunch the numbers, look at their data, then optimize the menu. They are in the business of selling a restaurant experience. Upworthy is not in the business of content. It is in the content consumption business. Aside from providing a general theme (like the kitschy items hanging on the wall at TGIFridays), Upworthy is in the business of getting content consumed quickly. They crunch the numbers, look at the data, then optimize the menu.

The author makes a mistake in assuming that headlines are going to result in a loss of trust. That can't happen for sites like Upworthy. Deep down, people know that jalapeno popper was not cooked from scratch in the kitchen. The real danger is that genuine publishers forget what business they are in and thus enter competition with Upworthy when they never needed to.

EDIT: BTW, have you noticed how Medium started putting 'x minute read' in the upper right? Medium competes with Upworthy.

I actually think this is really really worth watching: http://vimeo.com/76971609

I thought so too, even though he takes long to make his point. While I know only one or two people who are as glued to his phone as he describes everyone to be, it's definitely a worrisome trend. At the same time I see people reacting to it. Some have stopped using facebook More and more, checking your phone when in a social group is considered rude. I've heard of people stacking their phones when they get together; the first one to grab their phone needs to pay a round of drinks for the rest. I don't think all hope is lost, that the strength of the phoneglue will hold out that long. There are countermovements happening, towards meaning, and hubski is one of them.

His point about the way headlines are more and more spoonfeeding emotions was something I hadn't thought of. It's the Buzzfeed disease, clickbaiting people into articles that will spark emotions. 9 Amazing Clips To Cry About (From Laughing). A headline needs to be somewhat interesting, but when every headline competes for your attention, they will all attempt to lure you in with simple tricks. Repulsive, really.

And what is native ads? Not losing the trust of your audience when I accidentally click an article title that is sneakily labeled as an ad in a way I won't notice? That's not losing my trust?

I think at some point, people will get sick of it. Constantly doubting every article, whether it is an ad or not, whether it would be there if it weren't for that product placement. It's very detrimental to the reading experience. That's why I find hubski so enjoyable. When I am bored I go back to reddit and notice that half of the items on my feed are not truthful, or an ad, or not interesting.

I think a lot about titles here and with my blog. It's easier here, but I do not think I am always good at titling my blog. I know becoming skilled at it will increase the number of people who at least check it out. This was an interesting article for me to read with that in mind.