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Facebook Will Introduce Ads as Videos Start, a Move Long Resisted

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Re: Facebook Will Introduce Ads as Videos Start, a Move Long Resisted

#141
post #32

Facebook has become almost completely useless to me yet I waste so much time on it every day. No one posts anything on it except like 3 guys who post 10 times a day that I barely know yet find their extremist political posts mind numbingly amusing. The news on there is trash, I much prefer the WSJ and if I want sensationalist things I'll go to Reddit and my tastes are more niche now so I have some forums I visit occa…

I was off Facebook for awhile but rejoined this past year. I primarily use it to follow some organizations that post updates I'm interested in.

If a "friend" posts something political or something that annoys me, I just Unfollow them. That means I've unfollowed most of my friends, but I have no interest in partaking in the outrage.

Re: Facebook Will Introduce Ads as Videos Start, a Move Long Resisted

#142
post #140
post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The greatest thing I did was delete Facebook off my phone. Here are the benefits I discovered: - I didn't miss anything. Turns out there wasn't any real quality content on there anyway. - My battery lasts 2x longer. - I seem to be happier. No joke. With all the rage articles and click bait headlines gone, I am far more happier. - I am way more informed now. I visit allsides.com and get the news there. I quickly get u…

> allsides.com Wow, I've been looking for something like this. Wish they did more than just the USA.

Yeah, I'd like something like this for Europe.

Re: Facebook Will Introduce Ads as Videos Start, a Move Long Resisted

#143

I got rid of my TV in 2003, I'd just lost my job and thought it'd be a good idea to lose a distraction. It worked and was not particularly hard. Now I did unleash an enormous amount of smugness towards everyone about how good it was to not have a TV. Being snobbish about the choice I made with a side of judgement to other people not having the same preference. I think a lot of people here do something similar as soon…

Not using Facebook is definitely the "I don't even own a TV" of Hacker News recently.

Re: Facebook Will Introduce Ads as Videos Start, a Move Long Resisted

#144
post #103
post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This was the plan from the start though. Zuck took all that money in 2005 from VCs and the like specifically to corner the market on Social Media (or at least be #2 in the space). The entire idea with these start-ups is to become a monopoly by being really good at it, and then when the competition is dead, crank up the money making portion of the service to the point at which people will just not use it. These are 'U…

This is really sad. Makes me want to start a lean, open source social network that keeps the good stuff and does away with the bloat. I bet it could be popular with intelligent people! Anyone interested, email me (see profile) :p

https://github.com/diaspora/diaspora

Re: Facebook Will Introduce Ads as Videos Start, a Move Long Resisted

#145
I'm already blowing over my data allowance each month thanks to things like facebook, I don't see this helping me. I'd say "well, it's time to get off Facebook then!" like so many people say, except the actual execution of that plan is what seems to fail me.

Re: Facebook Will Introduce Ads as Videos Start, a Move Long Resisted

#146
post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's the point; it'd be nice to have something similar to Facebook without all of the addictive trash. In my opinion, the concept of a social network in itself isn't bad - it's just the monetisation bit that they've got terribly wrong, along with the use of addictive media to bolster ad revenues.

I'm less bullish on that idea. The issue is the cost of the service. You have to pay for those servers somehow and for updating the site to the latest versions of iOS or Windows or whatever. There have been MANY attempts at implementing a 'paid FB' or just a straight attempt to tackle FB outright (Ello comes to mind). None have thus far worked. Not saying you can't try, but talk to the other creators out there first…

You're right, but I'm tempted to do it anyway! Who's with me? Anyone? Guess it's just me!

Seriously though, I know monetisation is tricky, but there must be a better alternative to ads. I'm thinking something which can perhaps enrich the quality of a user's experience for a fee, rather than earning via ads while annoying the user.

Re: Facebook Will Introduce Ads as Videos Start, a Move Long Resisted

#147
post #60

They're dying, it may be a very slow death but the process has begun. They will become like Yahoo, Myspace, Aol, etc. They are not a Google that can pivot and do a number of different things. Also I've come to realize that Google has a much different relationship with it's users, Google doesn't try to suck up all your time it just tries to give you what you want when you want it, Facebook tries to gamify everything s…

Google doesn't try to suck up all your time it just tries to give you what you want when you want it Yea, and spy you out completely in the process, then sell your data to the highest bidder. Can't decide if I'm more creeped out by FB or big G.

Wonder who knows more about us at this point, FB or Google?

Re: Facebook Will Introduce Ads as Videos Start, a Move Long Resisted

#149
post #56
post #32

Facebook has become almost completely useless to me yet I waste so much time on it every day. No one posts anything on it except like 3 guys who post 10 times a day that I barely know yet find their extremist political posts mind numbingly amusing. The news on there is trash, I much prefer the WSJ and if I want sensationalist things I'll go to Reddit and my tastes are more niche now so I have some forums I visit occa…

The greatest thing I did was delete Facebook off my phone. Here are the benefits I discovered: - I didn't miss anything. Turns out there wasn't any real quality content on there anyway. - My battery lasts 2x longer. - I seem to be happier. No joke. With all the rage articles and click bait headlines gone, I am far more happier. - I am way more informed now. I visit allsides.com and get the news there. I quickly get u…

Anyone know how to block a particular website like FB on Android without being rooted or signing up for a subscription to some security or parental-control app? A google search just turns up a million people recommending editing the host file with ES File Explorer (which doesn't work unless you're rooted) or using the TrendMicro Mobile Security app (which requires a subscription).

Why in the hell is this so hard?

Re: Facebook Will Introduce Ads as Videos Start, a Move Long Resisted

#150
post #64
post #27

If I was Facebook, I'd start to think about how to add more value to people's lives. Their monetisation strategy is becoming increasingly annoying and their service is not adding enough value to counter that. People will eventually leave if you irritate them enough (see also comments on https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15922022 )

I think Google realized this a long time ago and it's also part of why they failed with Google plus. They just weren't willing to go down into the gutter the way Facebook is and try to suck up people's time to a ridiculous extent. They have remained too concerned, if you will, with providing actual value and Facebook, from day one, has never had that as a concern as their only concern is getting you to use the app as…

One factor that turned me away from Google+ when they were hyping it was their usage model. Having context-sensitive associations "circles" was nice, but they ruined it by not also having context-sensitive identity. Instead there was all that stuff about requiring real names everywhere.

In the real world we traditionally rely on other factors to keep out identities separate. A dirty joke told to some friends doesn't get archived and indexed and re-shared with metadata back to your boss. It gets forgotten or attributed to "a guy I know." So it's relatively safe to give your real name in both contexts, and maintain the separation between studious-worker in one context and bawdy-clown in another.

But online, maintaining that "freedom to be a different kind of person" isn't reliably safe when both things come from the same user-ID.

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