What’s going on, people?

On a recent edition of the Entertainment Distilled podcast, we poked a bit of fun of the increasingly devious ways websites get you to interact with their content. Sometimes called “Click Bait,” these articles use sensational titles (and sometimes even outright lie about what the article is about) to get you to click through. Personally I’ve become jaded–even angry with myself–when I see an article that’s obviously using cheap click bait tactics. Angry with myself because even after I shake my head in contempt, I click anyway.

Curiosity killing the cat and all that.

No seriously, these are actual titles to articles on the web:

LG Gets Ruling From Supreme Court; What Happens Next Will Shock You

Here’s what Kanye Gave Kim as a Wedding Gift

23 Things That Inevitably Happen When You Start Getting In Shape

You get the idea. In fact, in a turn for the meta, noted offender of this practice The Huffington Post reposted a spoof video from College Humor that distills my frustrations to a simple vid.:

This Time, “What Happens Next” Will Really Blow Your Mind

You get the idea. Sure duping people to land on your page may work once or twice, but you have to have engaging content to KEEP people at your destination. Admittedly “HuffPo” is pretty good at this, but there are scores of sites that simply aren’t.

This isn’t a rant, but I kind of wish there was a bit of a moratorium on this method before we wear it out completely. This actually reminds me of pop music. No seriously, here me out. Pop music tends to go in waves in which other genres are appropriated for the masses. In the 70s, it was Disco, In the early 2000s, hip-hop beats were everywhere, and in the 20Teens, EDM is all the rage. Currently music is looking for the next big thing, but every couple years it does move on to the next genre du jour. Do you remember when just talking into a webcam was all you needed to become Internet famous? Well, what happened? People became savvy and needed something more to stay engaged.

What exactly did they need? Well, CLICK HERE to find out! (Just kidding)

–Flobo