On those boxed Taboola ads after every news article these days

That’s the thing that always blows my mind with internet chum: there are real people making real decisions (and a lot of real money) all throughout the chum supply chain.

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Every publisher that allows for one of these modules should be thought of as responsible for the content.

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For every click, Investing.com makes some money, so does Oubtrain and so does the Washington Post. Everyone is a winner.

Except the reader, who just wasted their time and attention. And the end advertiser whose ads are being unknowingly served on a trashy subdomain. And society. And liberal democracy. And truth.

Taboola, Outbrain and the Chum Supply Chain

On daily questions

If you work in tech or media in this here 2019, some daily questions:
– who is this for?
– who does this help?
– who will this harm?
– who will use this for harm?
– how will this be used for harm?
– how do the answers (or lack thereof) to the above change our approach?

https://twitter.com/s_m_i/status/1135253746865254400

Three year time-lapse of plant growth

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