15 Ways publishing lost self-respect in 2013

We recently wrote the optimist’s take on the state of publishing based on what happened in the past year. In the interest of fairness, the following are signs that publishing is going to hell in a hand basket. Hold on tight.

1. This webpage has 90 ad units.
cafemomoutbrain

2.This became a ubiquitous ad tactic.
forbeswelcome

3. This piece got 1.3 million pageviews.
tbi

4. This slideshow got almost 400,000 views.
bislideshow

5. This sponsored content.
atlanticscientology

6. This presentation was viewed 400,000 times.

Screen Shot 2013-12-19 at 8.37.25 AM

7. This was an actual headline in a publication that gets 47 million monthly unique visitors.
elitedaily

8. This story actually ran and was “recommended” 25,000 times.
huffpogay

9. This explained the Egyptian revolution.
egyptbuzzfeed

10. This chart.
tbinewsroom

11. And this one.
viralfb

12. This ad placement.
nissan

13. This service exists.
maxvisits

14. This is an SEO tactic.
VelveetaFOD

15. This article was untrue but got 1.5 million pageviews.
epicnote

 

16. (Bonus) This 125-word listicle.

Screen Shot 2013-12-19 at 10.39.18 AM

https://digiday.com/?p=59177

More in Media

AI Briefing: How political startups are helping small political campaigns scale content and ads with AI

With about 100 days until Election Day, politically focused startups see AI as a way to help national and local candidates quickly react to unexpected change. 

Media Briefing: Publishers reassess Privacy Sandbox plans following Google’s cookie deprecation reversal  

Google’s announcement on Monday to reverse its plans to fully deprecate third-party cookies from its Chrome browser seems to have, in turn, reversed some publishers’ stances on the Privacy Sandbox. 

Why Google’s cookie deprecation reversal isn’t actually a reprieve for publishers

Publishers are keeping a “business as usual” approach to testing cookieless alternatives despite Google’s announcement that it won’t be fully deprecating third-party cookies after all.