I’m getting pretty good at spotting “share this photo” and “like this page” scams on Facebook. I wish my friends would take two minutes and read this informative article about clickbait scams.
Here’s one I saw last night:
Notice anything wrong? I admit I didn’t see it at first glance, but I knew something was off … the couple looked too crisp or something. Then I saw it. Good lord, the scammers aren’t even trying any more. And why should they? They could post photos of used Kleenex or sidewalk cracks, ask us to “share” or “like” them to prevent cancer, and most of us would do it.
Oh, never fear, I’m not “sharing” it by posting it to this blog. That’s a screenshot that doesn’t link to the original … or, I guess I should say, “originals.”
Don’t like. Don’t share. We’ll all be a lot happier, and the scammers will have to find some other way to monetize their social media experience.
Hell, I should talk. I post links to my own blog entries, trying to get Facebook friends and Twitter followers to click on them … the very definition of clickbait. In my defense, though, I’m not trying to build up reader numbers in order to sell my blogs to the highest bidder. Not that there are any bidders in the first place.
Speaking of blogs, I spent some time this morning cleaning mine up. There’s a new mobile device template for smart phone users. On the desktop versions, I collapsed some long sidebar entries and deleted others. I’m keeping the two-sidebar setup for this blog, at least for now, simply because there are so many links on them, but I switched to a single sidebar design at the Half-Mind Weblog and Crouton’s Kitchen, where there are fewer.
Today’s a cooking day. Donna’s making gnocchi and I’m in charge of the sauce. I’ll add photos and the gnocchi recipe to the cooking blog later (the sauce recipe is already there, and if you haven’t tried it, you’re missing out … now that’s clickbait).
Meanwhile, we’re babysitting a macaw and the dogs are going crazy. I can’t remember if there was any overlap between Buckwheat, our old blue & gold, and Schatzi when she was a puppy, but I think so. Still, the way she’s carrying on, you’d think she’d never seen a bird before. Here’s Polly with our guest, Bubba, who’s a blue & gold/scarlet macaw mix. God, they’re so beautiful … but as a veteran macaw owner, let me tell you these big birds are not for the faint of heart, and frankly, I no longer think people should keep them as pets.
