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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]

#211

Post by jeroenhd »

RajT88 wrote: post #7
constantly wrote: post #3

I hope I won’t be faulted for not “reading” the OP, but it’s a 17 minute video. I watched a little, but I don’t understand the thesis. It does seem ironic though that on a video about the ad-based internet dying, there are several ads in the page, the video maker in the first segment has a lengthy ad where he praises whatever he is advertising, probably VPN stuff, there is a bunch of begging for paid subscribers in t…

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

YouTube has pretty decent transcriptions with timestamps, especially for channels that bother implementing actual subtitles. They're hidden by default and not searchable on every platform, but they're excellent for skipping to the important parts.

Independent websites need to get working on something similar. Whisper is pretty good but extremely CPU intensive, but there are lower cost implementations with acceptable transcriptions out there.

I usually watch the introduction and then skip to the 66% mark, those seem to be the places the actual interesting information is stored on YouTube and its competitors.

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

#212

Post by JohnFen »

garciasn wrote: post #192
AltruisticGapHN wrote: post #188

I agree with recent TWiT discussion on this : we've had it good for a while - the promise of free internet but all those services cost money to keep running. I don't have an issue with paying Youtube Premium Lite. Where I have an issue with the subs model is you're pay subs to so many services, YT Netflix Twitch, etc. It adds up pretty quickly, and costs way more than traditional TV used to cost. Then there's the iss…

This is EXACTLY what cable companies predicted would happen when we went a la carte. They were using their monopoly power to drive down the overall price of packaged TV and by de-bundling, we end up paying more overall. For once they were correct and I apologize for questioning it 15 years ago. That said, I am ok with SOME advertisements to keep the web running. There are two big problems with this: 1. Market investo…

> That said, I am ok with SOME advertisements to keep the web running.

Personally, I have no problem with ad-funded stuff. The problem that I have is with the spying that comes along with online ads. I can see no way that could ever be acceptable.

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

#213

Post by seydor »

baron816 wrote: 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.

Maybe we 'll have it with CBDCs which, among others, won't be able to demonetize you for arbitrary reasons

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

#214

Post by MSFT_Edging »

ndriscoll wrote: post #142
jhaenchen wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Most of the apps I use are in fact free, and do not have ads to pay for them. Someone wanted something to exist, so they made it, and then they gave it away for free to everyone because computers are magical and there's no marginal cost to do that. The ad based Internet dying would leave hobby and academic content, significantly cleaning up the signal:noise ratio on the web, which would be great. As a bonus, you woul…

Some of the best content I've found on the internet was a result of someone's hobby and desire to share, typically paired with a complete lack of ads on the page.

Personal blogs, passion sites filled with resources where they might sell a couple products, open source resources built by a community, etc.

I can say its almost rare I get the answer I need on a commercial platform besides reddit, but that's only because reddit replaced forums where ads were generally small and unobtrusive.

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

#215

Post by seydor »

makestuff wrote: post #63
baron816 wrote: 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.

The reason why ads work is consumers do not want to spend money now that they are conditioned to get stuff on the internet for free. Every time an article on here is posted the first comment is a link to archive.is. I agree this would be a better model, but I don’t think it will ever happen. Maybe the Web3 stuff will catch on and this will become sustainable.

> Every time an article on here is posted the first comment is a link to archive.is.

Friction matters. Making an online payment is a slow 10 step procedure currently. If it was a single effortless click it would certinaly be used more. Kind of how arcade machines worked

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

#216

Post by MattGaiser »

seydor wrote: post #204

Online ad spending keeps increasing every year, so it can't be dying https://www.insiderintelligence.com/topics/storage/02a371186... It's just that google + fb are increasingly keeping bigger and bigger piece of the pie for themselves, which among others enriches their workers to the detrimment of content creators. Monopoly is to blame here, not a natural death

Something increasing in spend every year doesn’t mean the overall profits from it are increasing (I am not sure whether or not they are).

People spend more on food delivery every year. The profits remain elusive as the cost also climbs.

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

#217

Post by liminalsunset »

RajT88 wrote: post #7
constantly wrote: post #3

I hope I won’t be faulted for not “reading” the OP, but it’s a 17 minute video. I watched a little, but I don’t understand the thesis. It does seem ironic though that on a video about the ad-based internet dying, there are several ads in the page, the video maker in the first segment has a lengthy ad where he praises whatever he is advertising, probably VPN stuff, there is a bunch of begging for paid subscribers in t…

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

YouTube can be used with youtubetranscript.com (free) which will turn a video into a clickable transcript that takes you to the corresponding section of the video when clicked to see the corresponding visuals. It uses the Google auto transcription so not sure about whether the accuracy will be acceptable for you.

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

#218

Post by bobthepanda »

seydor wrote: post #204

Online ad spending keeps increasing every year, so it can't be dying https://www.insiderintelligence.com/topics/storage/02a371186... It's just that google + fb are increasingly keeping bigger and bigger piece of the pie for themselves, which among others enriches their workers to the detrimment of content creators. Monopoly is to blame here, not a natural death

The divisor is also getting bigger.

Ads were pretty comfy in the age of print (there were only so many physical copies people were willing to buy), but now there is effectively unlimited real estate on the internet, people keep throwing up new sites (real and spam) that fight for the pie, and there are always new people looking to make it as influencers or streamers, which are now the most common answer in the US to “what do you want to be when you grow up”. So now an “easy” way to get money has quickly become a race to the bottom.

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

#219

Post by princevegeta89 »

I mean it already died in my point of view approximately a decade ago, where a significant portion of internet users were using adBlockers for everything, and its usage has only gotten bigger now.

The only place where ads are thriving right now is mobile, and companies had gone over the line from the get-go with obnoxious and intrusive/misleading ads and spyware. It may thrive for a while before the blockers make their way efficiently into the mobile world.

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

#220

Post by MSFT_Edging »

Nasrudith wrote: post #201
washadjeffmad wrote: post #190

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Flip side: Why doesn't YouTube pay users for the work they perform on their platform, re- impressions, interactions, training? The more often and "better" someone interacts with their services, the more "free minutes" without ads they earn. If someone is a big producer of value, they earn access to tiered UHD/4K/8K or "premium" content, or they're cut a check / given credits. YoutTube is making money, somehow, off of…

Good lord, no. "Excess value" is a frankly pants-on-head stupid notion that should have died in the 19th century. It assumes businesses should operate with not only zero profit but zero margin for expenses or growth. It is beyond stupid and I find it unbelievable that there are so many followers who really should know better on several level.

Conversely, profit now is less used for expenses or growth, and redirected to stock buy-backs and shareholders.

Excess value is real, measured not from the margin, or even money that goes back into the org, but value that is 100% extracted from the organization, often at the detriment of the org for the sake of shareholders. Its very often just parasitic.

People are so entitled now, "nooo i need my investments doubled at all costs". I have little sympathy for professional investors that have tied the global economy to short term private gain over long term sustainable growth. Its a rich child's game.

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