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Meta launches Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp subscriptions

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Re: Meta launches Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp subscriptions

#411

Post by jjulius »

bigmadshoe wrote: post #182
tgma wrote: post #173

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People who spew I'd rather pay, I'd rather pay often majorly underestimate how expensive Google and Facebook would have to be in the western world to offset the ad revenue per person. The irony is this is especially true for you if money is no object to you, as you'd be disproportionately valuable to the ad machine. It's not going to be ten bucks folks.

You can actually look this information up! For example, Instagram makes approx $2-50 ad revenue per user per year, depending on the region. Apparently it’s highest in North America. So Of course this would get pretty expensive for all the services we use. But I personally would happily throw $100-$250 per year at my most used apps to stop being advertised to.

>... and stop being the product.

You will not stop being the product if you pay.

Re: Meta launches Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp subscriptions

#413

Post by dgellow »

Traubenfuchs wrote: post #357
dgellow wrote: post #337

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Telegram is fairly common in Western Europe

[flagged]

It's a standard chat application, people are also using Facebook, WhatsApp, etc for illegal/immoral discussions. I've been using it as my main chat client for more than 10y and have never used or felt the need to use the community channels, it's just a great messenger.

Doing illegal stuff in public Telegram channels is extremely stupid, they aren't encrypted, you're pretty much giving your information to law enforcement (I know Telegram is often blocking sharing info on their users to law enforcement, but you can be sure agencies are monitoring your telegram channel discussions).

The Russophile comment is pretty frustrating given Telegram is the most commonly used messenger in Ukraine and lots of Eastern Europe...

Re: Meta launches Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp subscriptions

#414

Post by rcMgD2BwE72F »

dabedee wrote: post #335

It's very difficult to do business in Western Europe without Whatsapp. I have probably asked more than 60 people to switch to Signal and the social burden it introduces (i.e. asking a new acquaintance to install a new app) can have negative signalling effects (e.g. you don't adapt, create more work, why do you care so much about privacy, etc.) I personally abhore Facebook (and IG,Whatsapp) and don't want to use any o…

All my close family now use Signal after me and a sibling pushed for this. That's 30+ persons. The network is growing too, since all children and new partners join in 1:1 and groups.

Re: Meta launches Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp subscriptions

#415

Post by rcMgD2BwE72F »

dabedee wrote: post #335

It's very difficult to do business in Western Europe without Whatsapp. I have probably asked more than 60 people to switch to Signal and the social burden it introduces (i.e. asking a new acquaintance to install a new app) can have negative signalling effects (e.g. you don't adapt, create more work, why do you care so much about privacy, etc.) I personally abhore Facebook (and IG,Whatsapp) and don't want to use any o…

All my close family now use Signal after me and a sibling pushed for this. That's 30+ persons. The network is growing too, since all children and new partners join in 1:1 and groups.

We like having two apps: WA for friends, Signal for family. There are only few reasons to mix the two.

Re: Meta launches Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp subscriptions

#416

Post by vel0city »

vasco wrote: post #375
qqtt wrote: post #98

I'm going to go against the grain here and say this is probably a positive thing for Meta products, and honestly every other "free" service to provide these kinds of revenue avenues. How many times do we hear things like "if the product is free, you are the product" - well, the consequence of that is development resources tend to be pulled into directions that benefit advertisers. By having material subscription reve…

To me this is more like the arc of 1. Get cable TV there's no ads! 2. Everyone switches to cable 3. Cable now has ads too Than what you describe but I feel like it's maybe more positive of a change than that. But just slightly.

In the US, cable had ads from day one. Especially considering originally it was just the OTA broadcasts bundled together.

Several of the first cable-only TV channels were ad supported from the start, and several others started including ads within a few years in.

Re: Meta launches Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp subscriptions

#417

Post by lenerdenator »

Tell ya what. Give me an absolute guarantee - legally-enforced - that you'll never share any of my data ever again (unless subpoenaed or warranted) and will stop using my news feed as an ad feed, and I might consider it.

Fire Mark Zuckerberg into the stratosphere and I'll will you my worldly possessions.

Re: Meta launches Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp subscriptions

#418

Post by bko »

renegade-otter wrote: post #408
bko wrote: post #399

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Isn't that the whole point of social media like Instagram? To convince the world you have disposable income and are living a lavish lifestyle? Personally I like signaling that I have money. Why would you want people to think you're poor or cheap, except maybe when you're shopping for a car.

Why would you want to signal that? It relates in no way as to what kind of person you are. In fact, the richer you are, the more questions I have about how you got it and who got shafted along the way.

> In fact, the richer you are, the more questions I have about how you got it and who got shafted along the way.

What a sad way to live life. Not only because it's untrue (assuming you don't live in North Korea), but it's incredibly dark and destructive.

Re: Meta launches Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp subscriptions

#419

Post by bko »

akdev1l wrote: post #404
bko wrote: post #399

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Isn't that the whole point of social media like Instagram? To convince the world you have disposable income and are living a lavish lifestyle? Personally I like signaling that I have money. Why would you want people to think you're poor or cheap, except maybe when you're shopping for a car.

> Why would you want people to think you're poor or cheap, except maybe when you're shopping for a car. Personally, I don’t generally think about how other people perceive if I have money or not.

Ah, you must be one of those that cuts his own hair, shops strictly at thrift shops and wears bags as shoes.

Re: Meta launches Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp subscriptions

#420

Post by TheOtherHobbes »

renegade-otter wrote: post #408
bko wrote: post #399

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Isn't that the whole point of social media like Instagram? To convince the world you have disposable income and are living a lavish lifestyle? Personally I like signaling that I have money. Why would you want people to think you're poor or cheap, except maybe when you're shopping for a car.

Why would you want to signal that? It relates in no way as to what kind of person you are. In fact, the richer you are, the more questions I have about how you got it and who got shafted along the way.

I wouldn't, you wouldn't, and countless millions also wouldn't.

But there is clearly a demographic who do use social media to signal lifestyle status, often using that lifestyle status to sell products of various kinds.

The erosion of enthusiast fandom into paid influencer "fandom" is whole subculture.

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