No. I'll take an opposing viewpoint. It's not "really" valuable, it's marginally valuable. If your articles aren't yahoo-style clickbait, anything you'd do with that data would just make your future articles less authentic. Alternatively, is your collection and utilization of that information worth invading the privacy of your readers? The printed version of The Economist continues to deliver a fantastic product yet they have no idea how far into each article (or even the entire magazine) I get each week. They simply publish detailed, excellent articles which draw me back, week after week. Why should online articles be any different? An incisive author who has put in the effort to prepare a good, thoughtful article knows it is so before publishing.
Or one can publish thoughtless, banal articles and collect lots of statistics on how long it takes your readers to figure out that the article is a waste of their time.
Distinguishing between the two is precisely what we were taught throughout grade school.
You have absolutely nailed it. The cruft medium provides and calls insight is only valuable to people who want to work out how trick their audience into reading further in articles where they deliver no value.
An interesting note on The Economist is that their digital and print verions are priced the same, despite the higher cost of printing and delivering the printed version. The ads in the print version is simply worth more compared to the digital version.
I’m still not convinced that online ad tech adds nearly as much value as the tracking industry wants us to think. Sure, it’s useful to know if you reader can afford the product wish to promote, but The Economist actually knows roughly what you income is, based on your shipping adress alone, while geo-location online still consistantly place me in the most expensive city in Denmark, but I live in an area where income is average at best.
Or one can publish thoughtless, banal articles and collect lots of statistics on how long it takes your readers to figure out that the article is a waste of their time.
Distinguishing between the two is precisely what we were taught throughout grade school.