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Welcome to the ad-free internet

economist.com

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Re: Welcome to the ad-free internet

#141

Post by zigman1 »

zerbinxx wrote: post #24
Keegs wrote: post #6

This is nothing new but the article hits hard. I don’t want to live in a world where everyone is after my attention but a good chunk of the economy seems to depend on it. There has to be a better future than this?

The solution, at least for me, is finding things/places, both on and off the computer, where you can avoid having your attention stolen and just focus on something you like. I think the ad-saturated parts of the world are one of those things that you don’t really need, you just get trapped by them if you open yourself up to being swayed by them. Nobody is in my kitchen trying to sell me shit when I’m cooking, nobody…

Good luck avoiding all adverts on bilboards in public places while riding your bike

Re: Welcome to the ad-free internet

#142

Post by amadeuspagel »

littlefish444 wrote: post #9

Does anyone know why there doesn't exist a micro-transaction capability to buy one marginal ad-free item at a time? E.g. buy just this Economist article for $0.25 rather than subscribing for the whole month? I know there are significant issues with micro-transaction cost but I figure you could set up a little token service with minimum cash-in and cash-out amounts (say $5). Do companies like the Economist crunch the…

The Economist costs $30 per month, which would be a 120 articles per month. I doubt anyone reads that much. I also doubt more people would pay the $0.25 rather then $30, due to mental transaction costs. I think to some extent this is also just a gym-style business model, where people pay for things they don't end up using that much because they want to be the kind of person that reads the Economist or goes to the gym.

Re: Welcome to the ad-free internet

#143

Post by zo1 »

zigman1 wrote: post #136
avgcorrection wrote: post #116

There’s this local newspaper. While I’m on a logged in account (EDIT: paid) the ads seem to take up at least 25% screen real estate at all times. The best ones are the ones that graciously show up while scrolling, dynamically—it’s like wathing TV (again)! My favorite place though is the gym. Which costs a lot when you just go there to use frickin’ weights and cardio equipment. LCD screens with ads running (for local…

I'd even argue that internet, while it was seen as a counter-balance to the ad infected tv and radio space, has become WORST than watching a TV. If I want to show something on YT to my friend, and I don't know exactly which video is correct, well lots of luck to me to find it in first few tries, as EACH video I click on will first show me a two unskippable ads, no matter how short the video is

Something went wonky with ads in general and it may just be a coincidence that the internet happened at an overlapping time. I fondly remember memorable, interesting and funny ads. It's like shittification happened on the quality of ads, maybe they got lazy because they could just target a specific demographic, maybe it's all the incompetent and lazy gen-whatevers joining the workplace, or maybe we're all collectively not accepting of ads anymore because of their quantity and pervasiveness.

Re: Welcome to the ad-free internet

#144

Post by pjc50 »

littlefish444 wrote: post #9

Does anyone know why there doesn't exist a micro-transaction capability to buy one marginal ad-free item at a time? E.g. buy just this Economist article for $0.25 rather than subscribing for the whole month? I know there are significant issues with micro-transaction cost but I figure you could set up a little token service with minimum cash-in and cash-out amounts (say $5). Do companies like the Economist crunch the…

I like to say that the problem with microtransactions is microfraud.

The cost of having a human investigate is substantial, and independent of how large the transaction is. There's also a substantial fraud problem in advertising, but consumers don't have to get involved with that most of the time. Until they're blocked by cloudflare occasionally deciding they're a bot.

Re: Welcome to the ad-free internet

#145

Post by zigman1 »

Prickle wrote: post #123

The 5 minute airplane ad is nightmare fuel for me. How long until they kick up the brightness to wake you up. Imagine you are stuck in the window seat, forced to watch an ad you can't turn off? I am exaggerating obviously, but I do find it egregious that they would dare show more ads when ticket prices are already extremely high.

Question. Would you be okay with being shown an add if in turns your plane ticket price is noticeably cheaper?

Re: Welcome to the ad-free internet

#146

Post by amadeuspagel »

willwinger wrote: post #10

A 'path to profit' is the time tested lifeline of any enterprise. However this is never highlighted as it doesn't bode well with the general social psyche of humans. For last 20 years, tech enabled startups, chose 'postpone profit' strategy adopting 'free to use' or 'ad supported' approach helped by raising high capital to build moats around the target market. Now this trend can be either seen as a moment where the m…

> 'free to use' or 'ad supported'

These things are completely different. Facebook became profitable 4 years after its funding.

Re: Welcome to the ad-free internet

#147

Post by dist-epoch »

cracrecry wrote: post #122

The problem with ad-free content is that rich people do not just want just "no adds". They do not want to be tracked, in order not to be stalked and harrassed by companies(or individuals like gold diggers or sellers or bankers). And they are rich so companies want to track them. This is the reason you could not trust Google or Meta with ad-free stuff. They are already private intelligence(spying) agencies that alread…

I know from insiders that some sports bookies would look up your address (that you are required by law to provide to betting sites) on Google Maps to figure out if you live in a rich people's house. If so, they would immediately pass the account to their most experienced seller.

Re: Welcome to the ad-free internet

#148

Post by amadeuspagel »

_pvxk wrote: post #113

https://www.datatilsynet.no/en/news/aktuelle-nyheter-2023/th... > the Norwegian Data Protection Authority strongly doubts that Meta's proposed ‘consent’ mechanism, often dubbed ‘pay or okay’, complies with the GDPR. The EDPB’s decision is therefore important to avoid Meta's infringement continuing while the company is exploring its options. https://www.theregister.com/2023/11/28/metas_eu_privacy_fee_... > noyb (None…

Is it illegal to charge money for a service in europe, or is it only illegal if you also offer an ad-supported free version?

Re: Welcome to the ad-free internet

#149

Post by zigman1 »

If anything, I like the fact that big media outlets are picking up on the ever increasing problem of ads on internet. Seems like YT seriously poked something big with their scheme of blocking ad-blockers, I noticed there recently, there were much more articles even on HN about this issue

Re: Welcome to the ad-free internet

#150

Post by 3D30497420 »

zigman1 wrote: post #137
marcus_holmes wrote: post #48

Doesn't this end up spiralling, though? As we've seen with Netflix, nothing stops the service from adding ads to a subscription feed. Sooner or later the pressure to grow revenues is going to force Meta to do ads on their subscription accounts (especially since they can charge a premium on those ads). Then they introduce "premium" subscription accounts with no ads, then those get ads, then there's the "excelsior" sub…

Naive question, but when you sign up to pay for a service you are promised various functions or improvements, one of them is no-ads experience. If company then starts showing ads, isn't that breaking at least some consumer-protection laws?

I imagine it depends on what's in the terms and conditions. I expect companies structure these to provide considerable flexibility.

Plus, I'd guess it also depends on how you define what constitutes an "advertisement". For example, if Amazon/Apple/Netflix puts their newest show at the top of the "Featured" list, is that an ad? What if it is related to another show you watched? What if Facebook suggests trying a new shopping-related feature? To the company, and per their T&C, these may not be "ads".

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