Posted on by Ultra Slacker

Judge an Article by Its Headline.

I often judge an article by the way its headline was written. Compare the following headlines:

  • Research shows that if you remove anonymity, you won’t hear from most of your readers

  • SURVEY CONFIRMS: MOST TROLLS WOULD SHUT UP IF FORCED TO USE THEIR REAL IDENTITIES

The first headline sounds intelligent and interesting.
The second headline sounds sensationalistic and negative. The ALL CAPS on headline does not look appealing either.

The first headline is from a post at GigaOM and the second is from Fast Company.

From my observations, sites like Fast Company, VentureBeat, RedWrite, The Next Web and Mashable are in the same league; with link-baity headlines, logic-impaired and often non-factual.

GigaOM Headline on Anonymity

Fast Company Headline on Anonymity

Another examples of headlines:

  • Apple finds some iPhone 5 units have battery problems, opens replacement program (9to5Mac)
  • Apple is Replacing Some iPhone 5 Batteries for Free (The Next Web)
  • Apple’s new replacement program will fix the bad battery in your iPhone 5 (Cult of Mac)

One of these headlines is unlike the other.

Apple iPhone 5 Battery Replacement Program, Three Headlines