50 Of The Funniest And Most Absurd Thumbnails Spotted Online

"Thumbnails are as important to content as covers are to a book. The old adage goes, 'Don’t judge a book by its cover.' But the reason that became an adage in the first place is because that’s precisely what many of us do. It is a simple fact that if the first impression people have of your content is unpleasant, they are vastly less likely to interact with it further," content creator Trev pointed out that most of us are quick to judge.

"To that end, I wouldn’t say a thumbnail is the most important part. If the content itself is garbage, people will still quickly click away and never return. So you have to make sure you’ve got a good product on the other side. But it’s a very symbiotic relationship, the thumbnail and the content. They need each other to thrive." In short, an engaging, quality thumbnail with no good content to back it up will just leave people disappointed. You have to do both parts well.

"Changing an algorithm is a pretty big undertaking. It’s not something companies can pull off every day, or even week. They also understand that changing the algorithm frustrates many of the top users of their platforms. Still, companies are always pressured to 'innovate,' even if something isn’t really broken. This often results in the kinds of changes that perplex many of us on the other side of them. It always comes down to revenue, so any change you’re seeing was a dollar-focused calculation," Trev explained to Bored Panda.

"Usually when a company changes its algorithm, they will announce these changes at a Keynote event or some other business setting. The press generally reports on these developments, particularly tech journalists. I don’t know how many content creators make it a priority to fill their feed with tech journalists, but they would be very wise to do so," he said.

"The news industry was hit particularly hard when Facebook decided to modify its algorithm. Business pages also saw their reaches plummet for a few years. I owe much of my success to staying current with Facebook’s plans, which is how I learned ‘Groups’ would be greatly favored by the algorithm going forward. The pressure is certainly there to stay up-to-date with the trajectory of these platforms, and how your personal brand is compatible within their fluid ecosystems."

Trev told us that he fully believes it's still possible for quality to content to grab peoples' attention despite a bad thumbnail.... "if the title itself is tantalizing enough."

"But it's very rare that a title, no matter how sensational, can carry all of the weight. A thumbnail doesn’t have to be a masterpiece (they almost never are), but it definitely has to be something that can grab the casual scroller’s attention," he noted.

"A good question for a content creator to ask themself is, 'Will this video seem interesting to people who aren’t already interested in the topic?' If you can make a sports thumbnail that would catch the attention of someone who is not a sports fan, that’s a good thumbnail. Generally, you want to strike a balance between expanding your reach without compromising what it’s about in the first place," the broadcaster told us.

However, trying to appeal to everyone might lead you to quickly lose any substance at all, the content creator pointed out. The result? You end up appealling to no one. "But if you’re too niche, or you only care about catering to the people who are already interested, you’re not going to have your content seen by a substantial audience. Some people might be fine with that, but overwhelmingly creators publish content because they want the world to see it."