[Ads-l] chumbox

Barretts Mail mail.barretts at GMAIL.COM
Fri May 10 17:49:03 UTC 2019


LOL. That’s what my reaction was and is why I looked further into the origin. BB

> On 10 May 2019, at 10:38, Susan G Yerkes <susanyerkes at UTEXAS.EDU> wrote:
> 
> Aka chump ox
> 
> Sent from my iPhone
> 
>> On May 10, 2019, at 12:31 PM, Margaret Winters <mewinters at wayne.edu> wrote:
>> 
>> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
>> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>> Poster:       Margaret Winters <mewinters at WAYNE.EDU>
>> Subject:      Re: chumbox
>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>> 
>> Just out of curiosity - has anyone opened it to see what the vegetable is?
>> 
>> ----------------------------
>> MARGARET E WINTERS
>> Former Provost
>> Professor Emerita - French and Linguistics
>> Wayne State University
>> Detroit, MI  48202
>> 
>> mewinters at wayne.edu
>> 
>> 
>> ________________________________
>> From: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> on behalf of Barret=
>> ts Mail <mail.barretts at GMAIL.COM>
>> Sent: Friday, May 10, 2019 1:29 PM
>> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
>> Subject: chumbox
>> 
>> 1. https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2019/5/8/18537279/chum-box-weird-sponsored=
>> -links-gut-doctor <https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2019/5/8/18537279/chum-box=
>> -weird-sponsored-links-gut-doctor>
>> A mysterious gut doctor is begging Americans to throw out =93this vegetable=
>> =94 now. But, like, which?
>> Kaitlyn Tiffany
>> 8 May 2019
>> 
>> =97=97
>> The gut doctor=92s 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 =93chumboxes.=94 These are the boxes at the bottom of the page that have=
>> several pieces of clickbaity =93sponsored content=94 or =93suggested readi=
>> ng.=94
>> =97=97
>> 
>> 2. Not in the OED or Merriam-Webster, chumbox has citations back to 2014 on=
>> Wiktionary:
>> https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/chumbox <https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/chum=
>> box>
>> 
>> =97=97
>> A grid of clickbait advertisements on a webpage.
>> =97=97
>> 
>> 3. Wiktionary's 22 April 2014 citation by Alene Vincent (https://twitter.co=
>> m/alenevince/status/458656349136900097 <https://twitter.com/alenevince/stat=
>> us/458656349136900097>) has no context, no likes and no retweets.
>> 
>> =97=97
>> ctrl+f "chumbox" http://www.theverge.com/2014/4/22/5639892/how-weaponized-c=
>> lickbait-took-over-the-web =85 zero results :(
>> =97=97
>> 
>> 4. Word Spy (https://wordspy.com/index.php?word=3Dchumbox <https://wordspy.=
>> com/index.php?word=3Dchumbox>) has 11 July 2014 as the earliest unambiguous=
>> citation by Mig Greengard (@chessninja), but the citation indicates that t=
>> he word was in use before then:
>> https://twitter.com/chessninja/status/487719152765771776 <https://twitter.c=
>> om/chessninja/status/487719152765771776>
>> 
>> =97=97
>> @tomgara I learned that area is called the "chumbox" the other day. Excelle=
>> nt.
>> =97=97
>> 
>> 5. Here is another 2014 citation
>> Um, Is Your Facebook About To Get Less Dumb? Wow.
>> John Herrman
>> 25 August 2014
>> https://www.theawl.com/2014/08/um-is-your-facebook-about-to-get-less-dumb-w=
>> ow/ <https://www.theawl.com/2014/08/um-is-your-facebook-about-to-get-less-d=
>> umb-wow/>
>> 
>> =97=97
>> (Also, know that for every high-profile new viral site there are probably f=
>> ive spammier knockoffs with names you=92ll never remember, and content crea=
>> ted as much for chumbox advertising arbitrage as for actual humans.
>> =97=97
>> 
>> 6. Wikipedia
>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chumbox <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chumbo=
>> x>
>> =97=97
>> A chumbox (or chumbucket) is a form of online advertising that uses a grid =
>> of thumbnails and captions to drive traffic to other sites and webpages. Th=
>> is form of advertising is often associated with low quality 'clickbait' lin=
>> ks and articles.
>> 
>> The term derives from fishing terms such as chumming =96 referring to the u=
>> se of (fish) meat as a lure for fish.
>> =97=97
>> 
>> 7. Wikipedia has two citations providing this etymology, but neither provid=
>> e citations proving the relationship to the fish. The following provides ch=
>> um porn:
>> 
>> https://www.theawl.com/2015/06/a-complete-taxonomy-of-internet-chum/ <https=
>> ://www.theawl.com/2015/06/a-complete-taxonomy-of-internet-chum/>
>> A Complete Taxonomy of Internet Chum
>> 4 June 2015
>> John Mahoney
>> 
>> =97=97
>> This is a chumbox. It is a variation on the banner ad which takes the form =
>> of a grid of advertisements that sits at the bottom of a web page underneat=
>> h the main content.
>> =97=97
>> 
>> 8. https://www.cbc.ca/radio/spark/330-reality-isn-t-real-utopia-is-creepy-1=
>> .3792237/diving-into-internet-chum-yes-it-s-as-bad-as-you-d-expect-1.379421=
>> 3 <https://www.cbc.ca/radio/spark/330-reality-isn-t-real-utopia-is-creepy-1=
>> .3792237/diving-into-internet-chum-yes-it-s-as-bad-as-you-d-expect-1.379421=
>> 3>
>> 

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org



More information about the Ads-l mailing list