Funny Article on Native Click Buying

The gut doctor’s desperation pops up over and over, on websites like CNN and the Atlantic (and as I said, this one), in what are known colloquially as “chumboxes.” These are the boxes at the bottom of the page that have several pieces of clickbaity “sponsored content” or “suggested reading.” They’re generated by a variety of companies, but the largest two are Taboola ($160 million in funding) and Outbrain ($194 million in funding), both founded in Israel in the mid-aughts.

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In 2015, John Mahoney coined the term and wrote a widely cited “taxonomy” of chumbox content for the Awl. The content types he identified:

• Sexy Thing (e.g., hot singles in your area, “your area” determined using your IP address)
• Localized Rule (e.g., some change in your city’s parking meter system, ditto)
• Deeply Psychological Body Thing
• Celeb Thing
• Old Person’s Face
• Skin Thing
• Miracle Cure Thing
• Weird Tattoo
• Implied Vaginal or Other Bodily Opening
• Disgusting Invertebrates or Globular Masses
• Extreme Weight Loss Thing
• Money Thing
• Wine
• Oozing Food

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