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Show HN: I built a podcast app that skips over the ads

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Re: Show HN: I built a podcast app that skips over the ads

#191

Post by ilikehurdles »

PascLeRasc wrote: post #178
adskipprod wrote: post #117

Founder here: I think that many people already skip the ads using the 30 second skip forward button. I know I did before building this app. I'm also thinking about safety -- people driving their car and reaching for their phone to skip the ads.

Come on, safety is a huge stretch. You built this because you want to profit off of other peoples' work.

An ad-supported internet is not an open internet. It is an internet of content that caters to the sponsors with the deepest pockets, for fear of losing their attention.

Re: Show HN: I built a podcast app that skips over the ads

#193

Post by ilikehurdles »

iamdbtoo wrote: post #142
adskipprod wrote: post #117

Founder here: I think that many people already skip the ads using the 30 second skip forward button. I know I did before building this app. I'm also thinking about safety -- people driving their car and reaching for their phone to skip the ads.

The biggest issue here for me is that you're charging for this app. You're basically asking me to pay you for your hard work of removing ads from someone else's hard work of creating content.

You're welcome to pay someone else making the content, aren't you? And then throw this developer another $1.99 so that the other creator doesn't have to put in more hard work to make a special ad-free stream for you.

Re: Show HN: I built a podcast app that skips over the ads

#194

Post by faissaloo »

throwGuardian wrote: post #85

This is why we can't have nice things. Podcasts rely on advertising for revenue, and given the static nature of pre-recorded ads, they are the least intrusive in this era of AI driven hyper real-time ad-targeting. Reminiscent of print ads on newspapers. So respect the effort of the creator and stop automating ad skipping. Heck, I even implore you to listen to the ads that make your favorite shows available for free,…

It's my device, what I do is none of their business. I do not want to be advertised to, period.

Re: Show HN: I built a podcast app that skips over the ads

#195

Post by danShumway »

DataGata wrote: post #32
nickthegreek wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So its ethical to manually skip the ads but not to automate the process?

Podcasts and podcast advertisers know we can skip them, they accept this. If they see a lot of users skip ALL of them, it isn't okay.

Take this a step farther.

Advertisers care about conversions -- this is why promo codes exist. If podcast advertisers don't see a steady tick of users spending money via the promo codes they distribute, they'll stop advertising. The impressions are way less valuable than conversions are.

So is it unethical (or "un-strategic" if you prefer) to not buy from brands that are mentioned by your favorite podcaster? If people en-mass start making educated purchasing decisions and ignoring openly silly ads from WeWork or matress companies, is that harmful to the industry?

Advertising itself in its current state is harmful. People treat it like, "you listen for ads and you get the content for free." But no -- the ads manipulate you. If on average most people are not being manipulated, then the system doesn't work. The manipulation is the part that advertisers care about. It's not free. Objectively, if advertising was not manipulating your purchasing decisions in a non-optimal way, it would not be worth doing.

From that perspective, I'm more than happy to burn advertising to the ground, even if it means taking out a few podcasters.

You can also take the perspective that advertising is a zero-sum game where nobody wins and consumers aren't affected, but every business has to spend just to keep up with each other. In which case, I'm also happy to burn the industry to the ground to reduce pointless corporate waste and reduce the cost of entry for new businesses.

Re: Show HN: I built a podcast app that skips over the ads

#196

Post by adskipprod »

iamdbtoo wrote: post #142
adskipprod wrote: post #117

Founder here: I think that many people already skip the ads using the 30 second skip forward button. I know I did before building this app. I'm also thinking about safety -- people driving their car and reaching for their phone to skip the ads.

The biggest issue here for me is that you're charging for this app. You're basically asking me to pay you for your hard work of removing ads from someone else's hard work of creating content.

It's not removing the ads. The ads are still in there. It skips over them. I think that many people are already pressing the 30 second forward button to skip. This app skips for you automatically, at exactly the right place. It saves the user from having to do it manually.

Re: Show HN: I built a podcast app that skips over the ads

#197

Post by faissaloo »

ajayyy wrote: post #175

Cool project, interesting decision to monetize something like this though. I made SponsorBlock ( https://sponsor.ajay.app/ ), which is a similar premise for YouTube videos except free, open source, and with a publicly downloadable database. I posted about it on HN back in August. I'd be curious if you'd be willing to do what I've done here and make it more open. When you are dealing with things like this (ad blocking…

Hey dude just wanted to say your extension makes my YouTube experience hugely more enjoyable

Re: Show HN: I built a podcast app that skips over the ads

#198

Post by post_break »

rahuldottech wrote: post #74
post_break wrote: post #65

I think it's funny the outrage over ad skipping podcasts, but keeping browser ad-blockers installed is ok. I mean there is only so many times I can hear the same casper, generic vpn, eero, ad and not want to pull my hair out. Especially when the podcast boasts about how they use the product and how it's not like anything they've ever tried before.

> but keeping browser ad-blockers installed is ok. That's because web ads track you, can inject malicious code, and are obtrusive. As I said elsewhere in the thread, a lot fewer people would be using ad blockers in browsers if web ads were as simple as podcast ads (the equivalent would be unobtrusive static images with links).

If you bought a DVR and recorded a TV show would you want the one with the commercial break skipper feature?

Re: Show HN: I built a podcast app that skips over the ads

#199

Post by adskipprod »

TomWhitwell wrote: post #6

Next you could make an app that lets you go into small independent stores and shoplift things without getting caught.

That is an interesting angle, but I can't see the similarity. Podcasts are open and freely available to download. People are already skipping the ads with a 30 second forward button. This app skips automatically.

Re: Show HN: I built a podcast app that skips over the ads

#200

Post by tus88 »

pembrook wrote: post #149
tus88 wrote: post #114

I think people are making too big a deal out of this. Popular podcasters do make money through Patreon for example, not everything comes down to advertising. And for frank, honest commentary, I think I would rather not have advertiser influence over podcasts, just like the news. And many people do podcasts just out of passion or a hobby...they are more like blogs than anything else.

> I think I would rather not have advertiser influence over podcasts So you're willing to pay the creators instead? > many people do podcasts just out of passion or a hobby...they are more like blogs than anything else ...ahhh I guess not. Nevermind then. Ads it is!

I am not a huge podcast listener, but I understand some of the most supported people on Patreon are podcasters. I also use Patreon, however I support YouTubers as I find videos much more engaging than podcasts. So in general yes, I am willing to pay creators through platforms like Patreon, as I guess millions of people are.
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