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Facebook Will Introduce Ads as Videos Start, a Move Long Resisted

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Re: Facebook Will Introduce Ads as Videos Start, a Move Long Resisted

#113
I got rid of my TV in 2003, I'd just lost my job and thought it'd be a good idea to lose a distraction. It worked and was not particularly hard.

Now I did unleash an enormous amount of smugness towards everyone about how good it was to not have a TV. Being snobbish about the choice I made with a side of judgement to other people not having the same preference.

I think a lot of people here do something similar as soon facebook is discussed. And I feel we are missing out on having a conversation about how something as transformative as a personalised mediafeed impacts society because signalling not being part of it gives more cred.

We all know that software companies in a very short time has amassed power never seen before. It doesn't matter if you don't take part because at the end of the day it will affect you anyway.

Re: Facebook Will Introduce Ads as Videos Start, a Move Long Resisted

#114
post #62
post #24

Given so much of the video content (at least high 80s percent wise) on Facebook is simply pirated from YouTube and other creators, it seems more than a little unethical for them to start emblazoning them with ads. But, they'll happily sit behind the DMCA Safe Harbor, slowly taking down videos and reaping the ad revenue in the meanwhile without giving any of it back to creators...

It's hard to imagine a less ethical company in silicon valley than Facebook so it's not surprising

A little OT, but I think public perception really muddies this a lot.

To expand on the siblings' example of Uber, the public seems to mostly think Uber=unethical & Lyft=ethical, but really, they engage in many of the same business practices. Uber has a worse reputation because of their sexual harassment scandals and outspoken douchebag former CEO. Lyft tries to brand themselves as the hippie-dippy summer-of-love sharing company, and has done pretty well at maintaining that image. I don't doubt that Lyft is a much better place to work (for employees, not drivers), and I just had to look up their CEO's name because he isn't the raging asshole that Kalanick seems to be and isn't in the news all the time... but that doesn't maybe Lyft the innocent darling many people think they are, especially when it's so easy to compare them favorably against Uber.

So it's easy to demonize Facebook for being "the most unethical", because they're often front-and-center not just in the news, but also in people's daily lives. But consider other companies, like Uber (and Lyft!), Palantir (fuels the surveillance state), Theranos (fraudulent claims about the efficacy of "new" medical lab test procedures), Hampton Creek (had its employees buy their product from stores to pump up sales numbers), and Zenefits (built software that allowed employees to dodge state licensing requirements).

As much as I love Silicon Valley and couldn't imagine working anywhere else, there's also a lot of corruption and unethical behavior here.

Re: Facebook Will Introduce Ads as Videos Start, a Move Long Resisted

#115
post #98
post #86

Facebook is just a feed of only fake promoted posts now. It's become like producthunt but promoting everything indirectly. I can't even see posts of pages I like anymore. Couple of times I found that Facebook automatically unliked pages that I had liked and haven't seen their posts in a year or something.

My wife make crochset things as a hobby, and she has decided to create a facebook page to share the passion and show what she made. Most of the fans are our mutual friends, but it has become sort of a side-income for her (friends like to order some of the stuff she makes). Last year she had lots of likes and orders for Christmas-themed stuff in Nov/Dec. This year all Facebook gave us was nagging to "boost" posts for…

> pay or fade away

Facebook in a nutshell

Re: Facebook Will Introduce Ads as Videos Start, a Move Long Resisted

#116
post #103
post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This was the plan from the start though. Zuck took all that money in 2005 from VCs and the like specifically to corner the market on Social Media (or at least be #2 in the space). The entire idea with these start-ups is to become a monopoly by being really good at it, and then when the competition is dead, crank up the money making portion of the service to the point at which people will just not use it. These are 'U…

This is really sad. Makes me want to start a lean, open source social network that keeps the good stuff and does away with the bloat. I bet it could be popular with intelligent people! Anyone interested, email me (see profile) :p

Intelligence is orthogonal to the basic desires Facebook uses to addict its users

Re: Facebook Will Introduce Ads as Videos Start, a Move Long Resisted

#117
post #94
post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think you just coined the phrase. Let's take a page from the alt-right playbook and meme "No Facebook February" in to existence.

I'm in. Let's make it happen.

Ironically, the best way to promote this would be with a viral Facebook status that says “this will be my last post until March, let’s see if I can make it! I challenge Mark, Sarah, Sam to do the same” etc.

I’m amazed at how easily people obey the challenge memes. I’m guessing a lot of them are instigated by Facebook to increase engagement.

Re: Facebook Will Introduce Ads as Videos Start, a Move Long Resisted

#118

I've noticed that FB started inserting ads about 10 seconds into playing a video. Now when I see the "about to start ad" I just go to the next video and skip it. Ads before videos just means I won't be watching videos on Facebook.

I'm in the same boat for the first part. I'll be thumbing through my feed and see some quasi-interesting video but no matter how great it is, when I see that "about to start ad" text, I just scroll on. Like on YouTube, I could watch a pre-roll if I really, really want to watch it.

Re: Facebook Will Introduce Ads as Videos Start, a Move Long Resisted

#120
post #56
post #32

Facebook has become almost completely useless to me yet I waste so much time on it every day. No one posts anything on it except like 3 guys who post 10 times a day that I barely know yet find their extremist political posts mind numbingly amusing. The news on there is trash, I much prefer the WSJ and if I want sensationalist things I'll go to Reddit and my tastes are more niche now so I have some forums I visit occa…

The greatest thing I did was delete Facebook off my phone. Here are the benefits I discovered: - I didn't miss anything. Turns out there wasn't any real quality content on there anyway. - My battery lasts 2x longer. - I seem to be happier. No joke. With all the rage articles and click bait headlines gone, I am far more happier. - I am way more informed now. I visit allsides.com and get the news there. I quickly get u…

I am off Facebook for a year now.

I think life is a bit better not having facebook -- considered everything is already alright.

I think, however, if someone is depressed, being on Facebook is a huge problem. Which is ironically what I resorted to when I was depressed. It was like living in hell.

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