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Meta launches Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp subscriptions

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Re: Meta launches Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp subscriptions

#51

Post by lukeschlather »

tim-projects wrote: post #19
pj_mukh wrote: post #11

I would pay $49.99/mo for an unlimited plan that brings me only my friends' status updates (not their hyper-political likes and comments), just their life updates. Daily stories are great too. But JUST that, no influencers, no ads. I realize Meta's data shows that our user revealed preferences tells them that we like all the dopamine hijacking garbage but that's like saying "Well users like drugs, so we gave them mor…

Pay each of your friends $50 one per month, to switch to signal. Problem solved

Signal is designed with the assumption that data is sensitive and you should err on the side of destroying it.

Facebook is designed more as a shared scrapbook, with the assumption that data is precious and you want to share it with your community, and you should err on the side of oversharing so you don't lose any precious moments. Signal is in no way a replacement for Facebook.

Re: Meta launches Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp subscriptions

#52

Post by ro_bit »

YesBox wrote: post #6

Discord subscriptions seem to be working. People like to customize their profile (ie express themselves), even though profiles are not something frequently interacted with (that's the surprising part!) I have a server (for my game) with about 1000 people. Out of the 300 people logged in, 50 of them have custom profiles. So, it seems like a good idea for Meta.

You can get free profile decorations these days from watching ads (discord “orbs”). It would be interesting to know how many of those users have the nitro subscription badge next to their name

Re: Meta launches Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp subscriptions

#53

Post by CuriouslyC »

Honestly don't know how Meta keeps customers. Facebook is hanging on for dear life with geriatrics and marketplace. Insta is a cesspool of fake content that needs to die in a dumpster fire. Not sure why you'd use WhatsApp over alternatives like Signal now.

It's almost like the people still using Meta services are metaphorical bots or low agency human beings.

Re: Meta launches Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp subscriptions

#54

Post by lukeschlather »

fontain wrote: post #23
YesBox wrote: post #6

Discord subscriptions seem to be working. People like to customize their profile (ie express themselves), even though profiles are not something frequently interacted with (that's the surprising part!) I have a server (for my game) with about 1000 people. Out of the 300 people logged in, 50 of them have custom profiles. So, it seems like a good idea for Meta.

The main problem is that premium subscriptions don’t generate that much revenue when compared to ads alone. The users who pay are the most valuable users to advertisers and the users who don’t pay are the least valuable. Discord generates about $1 in revenue per user compared to Facebook at closer to $100. For Discord at $1 per user, any subscription that’s a few dollars or more is probably paying for the lost advert…

I actually cancelled my Discord subscription because they've gradually been adding more intrusive ads and subscriptions don't protect you from ads.

Re: Meta launches Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp subscriptions

#55

Post by fsflover »

dreamcompiler wrote: post #38
fsflover wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or, better, Mastodon or Matrix, which don't rely on a single, easy-to-target server.

This works for friends and family members who are computer geeks. Signal for everybody else.

I don't see what's missing in Matrix. Yes, the verification may be somewhat cumbersome, but I helped to deal with it, and it just works now.

Re: Meta launches Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp subscriptions

#56

Post by Starman_Jones »

drnick1 wrote: post #46

Just stop using Meta products. It's really not as hard as it seems. Nobody needs FB to communicate with friends and family. Send texts or emails or use your phone.

The hardest part about not using Meta products is deciding not to use meta products. When I stopped using Facebook, I had resigned myself to spending a lot of time and effort to stay in touch with my friends and family. As it turns out, all I had to do was mention that I was using Signal, and the people closest to me, then pretty close to me, then kinda close to me all started using that too. The network effect cuts both ways.

Re: Meta launches Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp subscriptions

#57

Post by YesBox »

ro_bit wrote: post #52
YesBox wrote: post #6

Discord subscriptions seem to be working. People like to customize their profile (ie express themselves), even though profiles are not something frequently interacted with (that's the surprising part!) I have a server (for my game) with about 1000 people. Out of the 300 people logged in, 50 of them have custom profiles. So, it seems like a good idea for Meta.

You can get free profile decorations these days from watching ads (discord “orbs”). It would be interesting to know how many of those users have the nitro subscription badge next to their name

I just counted 35 online profiles with nitro. Same ~300 people online currently

Re: Meta launches Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp subscriptions

#58

Post by john01dav »

fsflover wrote: post #55
dreamcompiler wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This works for friends and family members who are computer geeks. Signal for everybody else.

I don't see what's missing in Matrix. Yes, the verification may be somewhat cumbersome, but I helped to deal with it, and it just works now.

Everything about matrix is cumbersome and glitchy. I have last tried to use it a few years ago and it seemed that Riot/Element had the only decent clients, and those were all Electron on desktop and also seemingly for profit. Signal has the electron problem, as well as many others (like the backup UI being abhorrent), but at least the core functionality works without fuss.

Re: Meta launches Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp subscriptions

#59

Post by rkomorn »

lostlogin wrote: post #40
freedomben wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

$50 per month for unlimited, not $50 per friend, so your solution only works if you only have 1 friend, so it would work for me (self-deprecating joke) but may not for GP.

> Pay each of your friends $50 one per month It an outlay of $50 a moth. Probably better to pay 50/number of friends though.

$50 a moth? How about just a lightbulb and an open window?

Re: Meta launches Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp subscriptions

#60

Post by YesBox »

sillysaurusx wrote: post #48
YesBox wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They're players, not devs.

Yeah, I was asking how you got so many players.

Forgive me for not wanting to write up the history of the game's development. It boils down to product market fit, innovation, and fantasy fulfillment/fun.

See for yourself: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2287430/Metropolis_1998/

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