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The ad-based internet is dying, and it's getting worse in the process [video]

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Re: The ad-based internet is dying, and it's getting worse in the process [video]

#91
post #9

I think we really need microtransactions. Pay $0.05 to read this article? Sure. Whoever figures out the infrastructure for that (seems like it would be right up Stripe’s alley) is going to make trillions.

15 years ago I worked at Radio Shack in a mall. A woman and her daughter were looking for a cell phone. We sold Verizon cell phone them with a 2 year contract which got you around 400 off the price. The cheapest phone with a contract was $29.00 In the mall were kiosks that sold a slight lower model phone with a tmobile contract but it was free. She asked me if we had any free phones, I said no, and she made a noise a…

Verizon coverage isn't important to everyone: if you don't go to rural areas, it won't be that useful to you.

Re: The ad-based internet is dying, and it's getting worse in the process [video]

#92
post #9

I think we really need microtransactions. Pay $0.05 to read this article? Sure. Whoever figures out the infrastructure for that (seems like it would be right up Stripe’s alley) is going to make trillions.

We already have enough content farms.

Content farms work right now because ad views can't be refunded; by the time you've loaded the page (and realized you got tricked by clickbait/spam), it's too late and they already got paid.

A micropayment system where you are able to request refunds/dispute payments will break that model.

Re: The ad-based internet is dying, and it's getting worse in the process [video]

#93

Good. The internet was really fun before the ads and monetization came. We had forums and personal web sites. Weird blogs everywhere you looked. Some semblance of anonymity. A sense of community that wasn't about growing a following.

The toothpaste is out of the tube though, sorry to say.

Re: The ad-based internet is dying, and it's getting worse in the process [video]

#94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> His two examples are Twitter and Reddit whose ad revenue is dying because those two companies have made huge blunders. Elon seems to almost actively be killing Twitter I disagree. Elon doesn't care about ad revenue. He stated multiple times that the goal is to make Twitter a superapp.

Haha, what is a superapp?

AOL but in the 21st century. Possibly minus the ISP part.

All the shit you do on the web, but controlled by one company, in their app, so they can rent-seek the hell out of everyone else's business.

Re: The ad-based internet is dying, and it's getting worse in the process [video]

#96
post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I look forward to a future where these videos can get auto-transcribed (accurately) so I don't have to watch the damn video.

I have been incredibly impressed with whisper.cpp. A bit of legwork to transcribe a youtube video, but the results are very accurate.

Do you have an end to end tool that integrates whisper to translate Youtube videos? Share! (Or make us pay for it lol)

Re: The ad-based internet is dying, and it's getting worse in the process [video]

#97
post #5

His two examples are Twitter and Reddit whose ad revenue is dying because those two companies have made huge blunders. Elon seems to almost actively be killing Twitter (which the poster even states). Reddit screwed Apollo and then many of the most popular subreddits protested and did things like show porn on otherwise usually SFW content to prevent Reddit from showing ads and thus killing their profits. Those are big…

I keep asking this because I don’t understand - how is Elon “killing” twitter? I’ve frankly not seen any difference, at all. If anything there’s slightly more activity

Driving away lucrative advertising, replacing with much less sustainable premium subscriptions. Then there's cutting the moderation and safety teams to the bone.

Re: The ad-based internet is dying, and it's getting worse in the process [video]

#98
post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your coworker is wise. Economic theory holds that in a truly efficient market, profits approach 0.

does that mean that investment is fundamentally beholden to market inefficiency?

no more than engineering is fundamentally beholden to imperfect science.

Re: The ad-based internet is dying, and it's getting worse in the process [video]

#99
post #5

His two examples are Twitter and Reddit whose ad revenue is dying because those two companies have made huge blunders. Elon seems to almost actively be killing Twitter (which the poster even states). Reddit screwed Apollo and then many of the most popular subreddits protested and did things like show porn on otherwise usually SFW content to prevent Reddit from showing ads and thus killing their profits. Those are big…

The real issue IMO is that users do not understand that ads pay for their apps. They don't want to see ads and the ads they do see they want them to be uninformed and general. They want everything free. This just encourages subscriptions. Which we're seeing become more and more common.

Re: The ad-based internet is dying, and it's getting worse in the process [video]

#100
post #5

His two examples are Twitter and Reddit whose ad revenue is dying because those two companies have made huge blunders. Elon seems to almost actively be killing Twitter (which the poster even states). Reddit screwed Apollo and then many of the most popular subreddits protested and did things like show porn on otherwise usually SFW content to prevent Reddit from showing ads and thus killing their profits. Those are big…

The YouTube channel Second Thought recently put out a video ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gSzzuY1Yw0 ) whose thesis was that even being cheaper than fossil fuels is not / will not be enough for green energy to win, because under capitalism a cheap thing that also has low profit margin will not attract investment compared to a bit more expensive thing which can be exploited for more profit. I wonder if a similar…

Amusing video. 0/

I have a different theory.

But first...

New projects have stalled because of permitting bottlenecks. 1/

Investment in '22 was $1.1 trillion dollars. Another record. https://about.bnef.com/new-energy-outlook/ 2/

There's plenty of other investors. Like utilities, NGOs, govts, and customers. Here's the list of projects in Bhadla Solar Park. https://cms.mercomindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/List-... Where's Big Oil, Vanguard, Blackrock? Scanning some dozen other marque projects tells a similar story.

Further, IIRC, the ROI for mega projects are largely predetermined via PPAs and such. Think of them as bonds. There seems to be no shortage of investors (for feasible projects).

Okay, back to my theory...

Big Oil knows this is the end game. But they want to compensated for all their soon-to-be stranded assets, real and (more likely) imaginary.

So this is a hostage negotiation. They've redoubled their efforts to up the stakes. "Pay us! Or we kill the planet!"

It's just straight up extortion.

I have no sense for how it'll play out.

My vote is for nationalizing all the fossil fuel companies. Then put all their execs (say Director on up) and board members in solitary confinement for life. Stage some show trials at The Hague for ecocide or whatever, to add a veneer of legitimacy.

Though I recognize opinions may differ.

--

0/ I prefer my socialism to be advocacy-oriented, vs whinging, but tastes differ.

1/ Separately, post IRA, the billionaire funded reactionary astroturf campaign is now in full swing. For instance, every single offshore wind farm has been opposed, farmers adopting solar are being harassed, ad nauseum. So even as permitting is reformed, brain worms will likely slow our transition.

2/ Early reports post-IRA suggest new investment, in everything, has gone bonkers. With potential for even more as the Biden Admin firms up the implementation. David Roberts' Volts podcast is one of my primary sources, highest recommendation. https://www.volts.wtf/podcast/archive?sort=new

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