Morning, Montreal.

You’re reading this, right? Of course you are. You subscribed.

I ask this because you may be surprised how often I find evidence that people are, in fact, not getting past a headline on social media. Comments, shares, follows, and likes all tell us we did our job, at least in part; headlines are, after all, tools of the trade for folks like myself, intended to elicit a reaction and/or pique one’s curiosity. We always ask ourselves, after all, what the ‘hook’ of a story is that’ll reel in someone out there, drifting along in the Internet’s ocean.

But these reactions do not always mean taking the leap towards being part of a readership. It’s easy to espouse an opinion and move on to the next post, and the next, and the next. This is a bit disheartening at times, but it’s a fact of our industry.

Morning, Montreal.

You’re reading this, right? Of course you are. You subscribed.

I ask this because you may be surprised how often I find evidence that people are, in fact, not getting past a headline on social media. Comments, shares, follows, and likes all tell us we did our job, at least in part; headlines are, after all, tools of the trade for folks like myself, intended to elicit a reaction and/or pique one’s curiosity. We always ask ourselves, after all, what the ‘hook’ of a story is that’ll reel in someone out there, drifting along in the Internet’s ocean.

But these reactions do not always mean taking the leap towards being part of a readership. It’s easy to espouse an opinion and move on to the next post, and the next, and the next. This is a bit disheartening at times, but it’s a fact of our industry.