Kontra discusses the issues facing online publishers, writers, and the questionable quality of technology writing today:
Nobody likes advertising, and yet we seem to be stuck with its corrupting effects on public discourse online. It corrupts news delivery, Facebook privacy, Twitter flow, Google search, Kindle reading and so on. There doesn’t seem to be any way to make profits online, or often just survive, without pageviews and clicks, and all the shouting that entails.
Shouting sells newspapers. Shouting creates headlines. Shouting grabs attention. And, after all, if writers are paid by advertisers who want their ads seen by as many people as possible, there is a direct incentive for writers to shout, no matter how crazy what they're shouting is.
Making crazy, outlandish predictions and bold statements gets headlines—and on the web, people tend to not remember what was even said after a few days. Especially not by who.
This creates a problem for writers. I don't want to shout. I want to be called out if I make a mistake or say something truly wrong. I'll correct my errors. I enjoy criticism, if it's fair. If I "shouted", I wouldn't care the same way: I'd likely make a lot of bold predictions which would be wrong in the long run. This would be a disservice to my readers.
My most valuable assets are trust, thoughtfulness and taste. Traditional advertising doesn't cater to those. I need something different.