Advertising Is a Cancer on Society • Hacker News Board

Re: Advertising Is a Cancer on Society

#321

Post by scarface74 » Wed, Jul 31, 2019, 9:07 PM UTC

jerf wrote: post #315

scarface74 wrote: post #248

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So how do over the air networks convince people to pay for them? Do you want them to encrypt the signals and sell a decryption box? So instead of having information that anyone can access for free, people who can’t afford a monthly subscription should lnt watch tv?

"Do you want them to encrypt the signals and sell a decryption box?" You sound like you think this is some sort of impossibility, but that's exactly how cable provided multiple packages back in the analog days.... The reason OTA networks aren't allowed to do that is that the spectrum is considered a public resource and the government made that a term of their lease. There's nothing impossible about that idea.

I’m aware of this. But that’s the point. By advocating getting rid of advertising, you’re advocating DRM.

Re: Advertising Is a Cancer on Society

#322

Post by aeternus » Wed, Jul 31, 2019, 9:10 PM UTC

CamperBob2 wrote: post #276

aantix wrote: post #255

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thank god, an argument against universal healthcare. I’ll eat the snacks I want. I’ll pay for the healthcare I want and need. You do what you need. And neither one of us is responsible for the other. Now leave me be.

Problem with this argument is: what do you do when someone who can't pay shows up at the ER. They will die without treatment. They can be saved, but not for free. What action, if any, do you recommend?

Leave it up to the hospital. They are best equipped to assess the cost and likelihood of being able to save the person. They also are most responsible for the repercussions in terms of positive/negative publicity and reputation.

Re: Advertising Is a Cancer on Society

#323

Post by JoshTriplett » Wed, Jul 31, 2019, 9:10 PM UTC

cm2012 wrote: post #154

JoshTriplett wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> without any advertising at all it would be really hard to know what products or out there or even that there is a restaurant on the other end of the block There's a huge difference between reviews, directories, and advertising. You can seek out information without being pushed advertisements. Another facet: whether payment from the entity being promoted is involved and affects placement.

Most review sites and directories are funded by advertising.

Reputable ones aren't paid for placement or review results, though.

Re: Advertising Is a Cancer on Society

#324

Post by krapp » Wed, Jul 31, 2019, 9:11 PM UTC

SpicyLemonZest wrote: post #316

Fnoord wrote: post #295

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I would have agreed in the past but now that my SO has started an escape room, if your ideal world existed, she would be bankrupt right now. In the old days, if her product -in this case escape room- would be good, she'd get enough customers by word of mouth alone.

Why is that necessarily so? Maybe some products inherently can't be sustained by word of mouth, and in a world without widespread commercial advertising they wouldn't exist at all.

>Maybe some products inherently can't be sustained by word of mouth, and in a world without widespread commercial advertising they wouldn't exist at all.

Maybe those products shouldn't exist, then. Just because someone has an idea or wants to sell yet another iteration on an existing product or service, doesn't mean they deserve to. Maybe advertising allows markets to be far more diverse and saturated than they should be?

Also, maybe advertising isn't as necessary as it once was in a world where search engines and online stores exist and you can literally see a product and its competition all listed in one place if you're looking for something.

Re: Advertising Is a Cancer on Society

#325

Post by anoncake » Wed, Jul 31, 2019, 9:11 PM UTC

SpicyLemonZest wrote: post #316

Fnoord wrote: post #295

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I would have agreed in the past but now that my SO has started an escape room, if your ideal world existed, she would be bankrupt right now. In the old days, if her product -in this case escape room- would be good, she'd get enough customers by word of mouth alone.

Why is that necessarily so? Maybe some products inherently can't be sustained by word of mouth, and in a world without widespread commercial advertising they wouldn't exist at all.

If a product can't be sustained by word of mouth, it's because it doesn't fill a need that wasn't artificially created by advertising. These products shouldn't exist.

Re: Advertising Is a Cancer on Society

#326

Post by buboard » Wed, Jul 31, 2019, 9:11 PM UTC

derg wrote: post #58

wpietri wrote: post #23

He doesn't quite say it by name, but most advertising is a classic arms race. Especially given how the internet now makes information easily available, a great deal of advertising is about manipulating consumers to pick company A's products over those from competitors B, C, and D. This forces those other companies to spend to get and keep customers. It's pure waste. For example, everybody on the planet is now familia…

I constantly think about how the world would look if even a fraction of the people doing creative for ads were free to be creative elsewhere.

They are free to. There s just no money in that.

Re: Advertising Is a Cancer on Society

#327

Post by megaman821 » Wed, Jul 31, 2019, 9:12 PM UTC

TeMPOraL wrote: post #290

blodovnik wrote: post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I note the author is very much involved in companies projects and social media platforms that all depend on advertising. http://jacek.zlydach.pl/index.html I'd respect his position more if he was not on LinkedIn or Facebook and did not work on commercial projects.

I'm not involved in those, I merely use them for obvious reasons almost everyone uses them - network effect. Facebook is the XXI century rolodex (also, I was very young when I got on it, and it looked differently then); LinkedIn account I maintain for the off chance it could be useful in finding a job. Also, that doesn't mean I like how these services work. I fortunately avoided being ever involved in anything direct…

It is almost like your are advertising yourself on these networks. Couldn't people just find you from word of mouth?

Re: Advertising Is a Cancer on Society

#328

Post by officeplant » Wed, Jul 31, 2019, 9:12 PM UTC

dheera wrote: post #303

TeMPOraL wrote: post #294

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> and point out that ad-blockers can be installed on Chrome On desktop, yes (not for much longer). But not on Android.

FireFox on mobile can run plugins including ad-blockers. The lack of plugins on mobile Chrome is starting to become a deal-breaker for me.

IIRC Firefox Mobile is not going to allow extensions anymore within the near future. Although finding the article that brought it up is proving difficult.

Re: Advertising Is a Cancer on Society

#329

Post by iamaelephant » Wed, Jul 31, 2019, 9:12 PM UTC

blodovnik wrote: post #204

iamaelephant wrote: post #187

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My brother has the same view of advertising as this author but also loves MotoGP and other motorsports and doesn't see the conflict staring him right in the face as sponsor-branded bikes fly past. I agree it's childish and short-sighted, and I'm certain the author would have a different viewpoint if the time came to market his own small business.

Does he own any motorbike brand related stuff?

Of course, he rides bikes relevant to the series and wears gear from the sponsors involved. Not to mention all of the non-motorbike sponsors like energy drink companies, insurance companies, tech companies etc...

Re: Advertising Is a Cancer on Society

#330

Post by DevKoala » Wed, Jul 31, 2019, 9:12 PM UTC

cousin_it wrote: post #129

megaman821 wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You don't think they have ever tried that. They stopped ad spend in certain locations and in those locations sales went down. People don't have time to research every single choice in their lives. At some point you just go with brand trust. When I see Uncle Floyd's Cola and CocaCola, I just go with what I know. Advertising establishes brand trust.

Some advertising, like Superbowl ads, does establish brand trust - because you know a fly-by-night company couldn't afford a Superbowl ad. But targeted advertising, which is the whole point of adtech, cannot do that - because you never know if it was shown to a million people or just you.

All advertising is targeted; the granularity and fidelity of targeting are what changes. Also, the systems used to calculate conversions from Superbowl ads, TV ads, cross-reference multiple data sources that often contain more private information than whatever data sources are consumed by your regular targeted banner advert.