Chum, of course, is strong-smelling bait made from oily fish parts, guts, bone and blood. Fishermen throw it into the ocean to attract fish. “Chum” gives us “chumbox,” the term (along with “chumbucket”) for the ubiquitous internet grids of often suggestive thumbnails and psychologically probing captions that lurk at the bottoms and sides of webpages far and wide, attracting “eyeballs,” clicks, and fractional percentages of profits. Today, you can find chumboxes on almost any ad-supported website, especially publishers, from the prestigious to the completely dumpy. While we’re all familiar with these grids and their repetitive tactics (“One weird trick”), we never seem to want to acknowledge them. What’s going on down there, below the surface?
Chumbox is a new newsletter taking a critical look at the baser instincts and darker forces that drive media, advertising, business, and culture today.
Chumbox will take as its remit the trends, companies, and people shaping our media- and advertising-rich culture. It will report on current events as well as more timeless concerns.
I’ve been thinking for a long time about a place to put my thoughts about all of these connected things. I finally decided to start putting them down here.
The first real post is coming soon, then new posts will come out more or less every week. I’m sure the format will change and grow as it goes.
Welcome to Chumbox.
I hope you enjoy the trip.