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So, when did Upworthy take over the Interwebs?

Edgy MD Nov 25 2013 09:52 AM

It's not just them, anymore, but every shared thing I'm supposed to click on from various content farms now has the same Upworthy template lede. [list]Watch this surprising kid do an amazing thing! You won't believe what happened when this woman did this incredible thing! These Strangers Become Friends in Just Minutes. You Won’t Believe What Made Them Do It. This human will restore your faith in humanity![/list:u] And OF COURSE there's an Upworthy headline generator. My first click generates: "'ll Never Look At This Homeless Cancer Patient The Same Way Again."

Ceetar Nov 25 2013 09:59 AM Re: So, when did Upworthy take over the Interwebs?

Not sure, but I had noticed Upworthy has a popup on launch asking me to rate/up/like the post before I even read it. the popup itself caused me to say 'screw it' and not read a couple of posts.

Frayed Knot Nov 25 2013 10:20 AM Re: So, when did Upworthy take over the Interwebs?

I have no idea what/who/where/why/how 'Upworthy' means or is. My initial reaction is that I'd prefer to not find out.

Edgy MD Nov 25 2013 10:29 AM Re: So, when did Upworthy take over the Interwebs?

Yeah, but have you voted for a pair of Monday songs yet?

Ceetar Nov 25 2013 10:33 AM Re: So, when did Upworthy take over the Interwebs?

Frayed Knot wrote: I have no idea what/who/where/why/how 'Upworthy' means or is. My initial reaction is that I'd prefer to not find out. It's really just another blog/content aggregation thing. I just read the about-us stuff and they describe it as basically trying to make good stories as viral as surfboarding cats or something. I've seen upworthy posts that I've been interested in, but I find the template obnoxious and not-friendly and it sounds like they probably bought it from someone that's trying to make web templates go viral themselves.

Mets – Willets Point Nov 25 2013 10:42 AM Re: So, when did Upworthy take over the Interwebs?

Upworthy With People!

sharpie Nov 25 2013 11:13 AM Re: So, when did Upworthy take over the Interwebs?

Never heard of Upworthy before. Wish I hadn't now. Yes, I did vote on the Monday thing.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Nov 25 2013 05:55 PM Re: So, when did Upworthy take over the Interwebs?

Edgy MD wrote: Yeah, but have you voted for a pair of Monday songs yet? You Won't Be Able To Look At A Battery Charger The Same Way Once You Hear This Billy Bragg Song

metsmarathon Nov 25 2013 08:20 PM Re: So, when did Upworthy take over the Interwebs?

Edgy MD Nov 29 2013 10:15 AM Re: So, when did Upworthy take over the Interwebs?

Lead story at BaltimoreSun.com this morning: Five Things We Learned from the Ravens' 22-20 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. The great paper of Russell Baker and Jack Germond, reduced to slideshow journalism for their top story.

Ceetar Nov 30 2013 07:56 AM Re: So, when did Upworthy take over the Interwebs?

Edgy MD wrote: Lead story at BaltimoreSun.com this morning: Five Things We Learned from the Ravens' 22-20 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. The great paper of Russell Baker and Jack Germond, reduced to slideshow journalism for their top story. on one hand, simple game stories are done, so it's good that they didn't simply run something like that. On the other hand, boiling it down to a simple "5 things" post is lazy..because it likely means the author didn't want to really dig deep into any of those five points, and was simply making 5 observations and moving on. It's even possible that some or all of those points wouldn't hold up over scrutiny, which makes it even worse. I just hope they didn't put each thing on a separate page.

themetfairy Nov 30 2013 08:11 AM Re: So, when did Upworthy take over the Interwebs?

Ceetar wrote: I just hope they didn't put each thing on a separate page. They do. Which is the reason I don't click any Upworthy stories - they're friggin' annoying.

Benjamin Grimm Nov 30 2013 01:41 PM Re: So, when did Upworthy take over the Interwebs?

When I find that a story is a "slide show" I virtually always bail out immediately.

dgwphotography Dec 01 2013 04:55 AM Re: So, when did Upworthy take over the Interwebs?

Benjamin Grimm wrote: When I find that a story is a "slide show" I virtually always bail out immediately. Slide shows are nothing more than scams designed to generate clicks for advertising revenue. I always bail on those.

Ceetar Dec 02 2013 07:50 AM Re: So, when did Upworthy take over the Interwebs?

dgwphotography wrote: Benjamin Grimm wrote: When I find that a story is a "slide show" I virtually always bail out immediately. Slide shows are nothing more than scams designed to generate clicks for advertising revenue. I always bail on those. I'm okay if they use HTML5 or some sort of fancy web design bits to make it an embedded slideshow that just updates the picture/slide. But then, that's just good webdesign.

dgwphotography Dec 02 2013 12:56 PM Re: So, when did Upworthy take over the Interwebs?

Ceetar wrote: dgwphotography wrote: Benjamin Grimm wrote: When I find that a story is a "slide show" I virtually always bail out immediately. Slide shows are nothing more than scams designed to generate clicks for advertising revenue. I always bail on those. I'm okay if they use HTML5 or some sort of fancy web design bits to make it an embedded slideshow that just updates the picture/slide. But then, that's just good webdesign. The problem is that more and more sites are becoming slaves to SEO. The more pages, the more links back and forth, the higher Search Engine visibility...

Edgy MD Dec 04 2013 09:57 AM Re: So, when did Upworthy take over the Interwebs?

Giant lie factory.

Edgy MD Dec 06 2013 07:54 AM Re: So, when did Upworthy take over the Interwebs?

So I got one of those "So what if it didn't happen? It doesn't mean it isn't TRUE!" responses yesterday, that just murders logic. I tried to explain that sharing bullshit content about the preacher who fucked with his congregation by dressing as a homeless guy in order show them they're all a bunch of heartless hypocrites --- a story that's been around at least as long as I have --- may make you feel all better about yourself and superior to heartless churchgoers but doesn't help the hungry and homeless a bit. I'm telling you Upworthy and Buzzfeed are the worst, and there's more bullshit content farms imitating their model every day.

Ceetar Dec 06 2013 08:15 AM Re: So, when did Upworthy take over the Interwebs?

Edgy MD wrote: So I got one of those "So what if it didn't happen? It doesn't mean it isn't TRUE!" responses yesterday, that just murders logic. I tried to explain that sharing bullshit content about the preacher who fucked with his congregation by dressing as a homeless guy in order show them what a bunch of heartless hypocrites --- a story that's been around at least as long as I have --- may make you feel all better about yourself and superior to heartless churchgoers but doesn't help the hungry and homeless a bit. I'm telling you Upworthy and Buzzfeed are the worst, and there's more bullshit content farms imitating their model every day. Hardly. These adheres to the idea that we only frequent one place. Sure, Upworthy is full of shit. of course,they're a business looking to make stuff go viral and get page hits. Duh that that is their primary objective. I don't think people are fooled. And even if they're not fooled, doesn't mean they won't share it. This isn't new. The mainstream media has their own agenda. Reading Upworthy or Buzzfeed primarily and wanting to only see things you agree with/like isn't much different than people who get most of their news from Fox. But when a user closes that Upworthy page, what's right behind it? It could be anything. A spirited debate on Obamacare. A rant about privatizing highways. An animated gif of a bunny eating a piece of broccoli. Content farms are certainly out of control, but that's the power of the internet and social media. There are a billion places to get more information, and more news, and more stories. And just because one site hides it from you doesn't mean that the reader isn't seeing it.

Edgy MD Dec 06 2013 08:29 AM Re: So, when did Upworthy take over the Interwebs?

These places are like Fox News only (A) much moreso, and (B) much more full of shit, as hard as that may be to believe.

Ceetar Jan 01 2014 06:21 PM Re: So, when did Upworthy take over the Interwebs?

[url]http://upworthyspringfield.tumblr.com/

Mets – Willets Point Jan 23 2014 12:01 PM Re: So, when did Upworthy take over the Interwebs?

Upworthy takes over literature: http://www.themillions.com/2014/01/read ... licks.html

Ashie62 Jan 23 2014 04:48 PM Re: So, when did Upworthy take over the Interwebs?

I dont visit slideshows or other stuff unless its like the 100 most beautiful celebrities in bikinis...

SteveJRogers Jan 24 2014 09:20 PM Re: So, when did Upworthy take over the Interwebs?

Time for the backlash Downworthy A browser plugin to turn hyperbolic viral headlines into what they really mean

Ceetar Apr 30 2014 07:48 AM Re: So, when did Upworthy take over the Interwebs?

[url]http://www.clickhole.com/ The Onion is launching this in June. Currently on the page is a step by step page to clicking. Coming this summer: an all-new internet experience filled with content so shareable, snackable, and clickable, it will rob you of all logic and reason. Until then, use the guide below to learn the proper method of clicking.

TheOldMole May 01 2014 06:29 AM Re: So, when did Upworthy take over the Interwebs?

Who needs the bikinis?