Anti-Click Episode 3: Slow News Week

Another week, another vlog. It was a slow news week, so I only discuss one article this week. Here's the copy for the episode:

Hello, and welcome to Anti-Click, where I review click bait so you don't necessarily have to. I'm your host Amanda, filming at scenic wherever I have wifi. It was an incredibly slow news week with many news articles being about "Fuller House" becoming a reality. This was possibly the most responsibly reported piece of entertainment news in ages - but one news source showed their addiction to click-baity titles. And, guys, it was not Buzzfeed.

Any other guesses? If you said "MTV News", you might be better adjusted to their decline than I am. Yes, MTV News contributed to the Internet's every minute on the minute coverage of "Fuller House" news with the article "The 'Full House' Revival Is Officially Heading To Netflix, But There's a Deadly Twist." Dramatic much, MTV News? Unless you live under a rock, you know that "Fuller House" follows DJ Tanner-Fuller, recently widowed and pregnant mother of two boys, with Stephanie and Kimmy moving in to help her out. It is also the gender flipped premise of "Full House," so I wonder if MTV News knows what a twist is. Look, even Buzzfeed went with '"Full House" Spin-Off Is Officially Happening on Netflix,' so MTV News may wish to re-examine some life decisions.

That's it for this week. Leave anything you want in the comments - praise, criticism, recommendations for articles to review - and I'll see you next week with more Anti-Click.

Anti-Click Episode 2: The All Hillary Episode

This week on the vlog, I handled some Hillary Clinton related click bait. This is what the copy I read from actually said:

Hello, welcome to Anti-Click, where I review click bait so you don't necessarily have to. I'm your host Amanda filming at scenic wherever I have wifi. On Sunday, Hillary Clinton announced she would once again be running for President - let's look at some of the ways the former senator, Secretary of State, and First Lady has been used to garner views - and I just have to warn you, there is little creativity.

Let's start with the NPR article "5 Things You Should Know About Hillary Clinton." Does this article mention the Presidential hopeful's stance on important issues? Of course not. It mentions things like shehas not driven a car since 1996, and that she's been involved in a lot of scandals. The article admits that last one is common knowledge, so it really does feel like they chose the number for the clicks.

Huffington Post, however, took it further with "17 Little-Known Facts About Hillary Clinton That Have Nothing To Do With Her Politics." At least it admitted that it was non-political, and it really only repeats that Hillary Clinton has not driven a car since 1996. However, this article has flaws, starting with the title. That's a title I expect from Cracked, not HuffPost Politics. The URL shortened it to "Hillary Clinton nonpolitical facts" - what was wrong with using that? Also, am I supposed to be comfortable getting political coverage from a source that captions a picture "LOLLLL?" This isn't Buzzfeed.

Speakig of Buzzfeed, they contributed to this stunning Hillary coverage with "Here's Hillary Clinton Ordering a Chicken Bowl at Chipotle." I have to give them credit - the title isn't that click-baity, and they didn't caption any pictures "LOLLLL," making me feel slightly more comfortable getting political coverage from them. But this isn't news. Who cares what Hillary Clinton orders at Chipotle?

Well, apparently, everyone because New York Time's The Upshot ran "Hillary Clinton's Chipotle Order: Above Average." To be fair, The Upshot is "less essential analysis" - but come on. How is it this much easier to know what Clinton ordered at Chipotle than it is to find out what she actually said in Iowa? I feel like a stalker for trying to read the news.

That's it for this week. Feel free to leave whatever you want in the comments - praise, criticism, recommendations for articles, and I'll be back next week for more Anti-Click.

Anti-Click Episode 1: Daria, Game of Thrones, Coffee, and Live Video

This is what the copy actually said, to better understand my ramblings. Yes, that sucky intro was part of the copy:

Hello, welcome to Anti-Click, where I read click-bait so you don't necessarily have to. Filmed on location at scenic wherever I find wifi, I am your host, Amanda, and I blow at introductions, so let's get to it.

They say inspiration is the mother of invention, and MTV News's article "Science Finally Explains Why You Get 'Daria' And All Her Sarcasm" definitely inspired this vlog. If you're sitting there thinking science has better things to do than tell you why you get Daria, you are absolutely right. It was not a slow science week. Rather, a group of researchers at John Hopkins University investigated why some stroke survivors have difficulty detecting sarcasm and found that damage to the sagittal sreatum could be to blame. Daria was attached to an actually interesting news story as an afterthought. Can MTV News not report news without a pop culture twist, because I think the "news" part of their name would make that okay sometimes. And given how long it's been since Daria's been on MTV, it really seems like a strange choice of show to use as bait.

But it is MTV. Maybe they can use their brand to justify themselves. I would like to see Time justify "These Are the 25 Most-Highlighted Game of Thrones Quotes", a tech article that talks about the books. Where is the tech twist, you may wonder. Oh, don't worry, it's there. Amazon provided the most-highlighted quotes from their Kindle e-readers. I don't know what weirds me out more -the fact this was an article on Time and not Buzzfeed, or that Amazon knows what you highlight and reports it to the press.

Speaking of Buzzfeed, this vlog would be lacking if I never mentioned them. This week, I decided to go with "19 Genius New Ways to Drink Your Coffee." Let's be honest, there's two ways to drink your coffee - with or without a straw. The article doesn't introduce you to drinking coffee while stnding on your head. What it really should be called is "Some Interesting Coffee Drinks to Try If You Haven't Already," but no one would click on that.

I have time for one more article, so I chose Tech Crunch's "Live Video Is the New Click Bait." I had wanted to give it points for having the least click-baity title, despitr the fact the title itself fails to acknowledge how long live video has been on the Internet. I can name YouTubers who had live shows six years ago. Reading the article did not improve my opinion. It really only says live video is the new click bait. Was it a slow tech news week? I believe this article itself is 84% pure click-bait.

Thank you for joining me this week. Tell me what you think or suggest articles in the comments below, and I'll be back next week to deconstruct more bait.