clickbait

Enjoy this weekly comic strip from AdExchanger.com that highlights the digital advertising ecosystem … 

In the content recommendation box, it often feels like we’re being shown too many click-baity articles about former child stars and much less content from top brands, writes Alon Rosenthal, CEO and founder of WhizzCo. Which begs the question: Where are the brands? Are ad quality concerns keeping them away?

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. Disrupting Who?  Warby Parker and Allbirds, two DTC standouts, filed their pre-IPO S-1s last week. It was a reminder of the challenges facing digitally native vertical brands (DNVBs). Each company had its best sales year in 2020, with strong growth rates and retail businesses. […]

When Facebook, Google or Instagram approve of an engagement-boosting tactic, they usually describe it with positive words, such as “organic” or “authentic.” Tactics they forbid, however – generally unilaterally and sometimes without warning – are characterized as “unnatural” and whoever uses them is a “schemer” or an “offender.” Most news articles covering these guideline changes unquestioningly adopt […]

Zealot Networks acquired viral news site ViralNova Thursday, citing its audience and underlying technology. The deal valued ViralNova close to $100 million, according to The Wall Street Journal. Zealot Networks declined to name the exact figure, but said the acquisition is the biggest of the 15 it’s made so far. Formed 18 months ago by the […]

Viralnova has been hated and admired for the path it took to find an audience. It rose to the top of the Facebook news feed in 2013 with I-can’t-not-click articles like “If You Own A Microwave, Then You Absolutely Must See This Video.” And its success showed mainstream publishers the importance of social content discovery. […]