

How the HuffPost gets us to click - zlotty
http://avisweblog.tumblr.com/post/11934164377/how-the-huffpost-gets-us-to-click

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webfuel
The title of the post is ironic.

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code_duck
So... the headlines refer to things that you don't know, but want to know
after you read the headline. In other words, things that interest you, phrased
to be interesting. Is that a surprising tactic?

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zlotty
Not surprising, just fascinating how good they are at it. Each headline begs a
simple "who, what, how, why" question. Often I click on things I don't even
care about because I...just...have...to...scratch...that...itch!!! :)

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nethsix
Not sure how many people become immune to such enticing headlines after a
while and how these may undermine a domain branding, e.g., people may stop
clicking on search results pointing to that domain.

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kevinalexbrown
Even if you develop a tolerance, it might be the case that the regular news
doesn't seem as interesting or enticing anymore. While other news sources
might actually summarize in a headline, and so deprive you of that need-
satisfaction dopamine loop, HuffPo creates the itch (WHO was it?) and then
scratches it once you click (AHH, Rick Perry).

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cagenut
They A/B test the headlines too, so all the editors who've been at it for a
few months get a real good feel for what headlines work.

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zlotty
They just keep coming! [http://avisweblog.tumblr.com/post/11938001673/haha-
even-bett...](http://avisweblog.tumblr.com/post/11938001673/haha-even-better-
than-before-arianna-please)

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par
This has been going on with news organizations and 'above the fold' titles for
decades now.

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grusk
The way around this is to hover over the links to see the real headline from
the url.

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kwanbis
I'm sorry, but the images are so blurry I can hardly read them. I'm the only
one?

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Aramgutang
Keep waiting, it took quite a while for the hi-res version to finish
downloading for me (and there's no indication of progress).

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kwanbis
Thanks, you where right.

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MichaelApproved
Yahoo does this on their homepage. Gets me all the time.

