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Instagram Is Estimated to Be Worth More Than $100B

bloomberg.com

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Re: Instagram Is Estimated to Be Worth More Than $100B

#301

Post by mateo411 »

pc86 wrote: post #268
flamtap wrote: post #260

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was targeted by an ad for those Gravity Blankets (as I'm sure many others were). I bought one as a gift for my SO. The whole time I was looking at the Gravity Blanket website, I was thinking to myself "dammit, they got me." What I was even more impressed by is that after I bought one, I never saw another Gravity Blanket ad again.

I've never thought about that last bit until now. Do you think the ad targeting is being updated with actual purchasers on such a regular basis, or is that baked into whatever tracking cookie(s) were used, e.g. the FB pixel?

Yes, they measure the conversion rate of the ad campaign. If you bought the Gravity Blanket, then you were part of the cohort that converted.

Re: Instagram Is Estimated to Be Worth More Than $100B

#302

Post by AznHisoka »

airstrike wrote: post #118
AznHisoka wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And shame on the government for not doing any due diligence in trying to prevent this acquisition/monopoly.

Shame on the government for allowing an enterprise to become so successful. We should all protest for a worse economy! Fewer goods and services! Unemployment! That's what we want!

Actually, I want some of that to be true :) Some unemployment would lower house prices and make buying a new one a bit more affordable :)

Re: Instagram Is Estimated to Be Worth More Than $100B

#303

Post by mateo411 »

coldtea wrote: post #286
PerfectElement wrote: post #222

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was able to build a legitimate business that improves people's lives. In order to make my product discoverable, I had to spend some money on advertising (not on Facebook in particular). There was no other reliable way to reach my target audience. I have also bought many products from other businesses that have made my life better. In most instances, I have only become aware of these products because these businesse…

> I have also bought many products from other businesses that have made my life better. In most instances, I have only become aware of these products because these businesses have spent money on ad campaigns. That could have been a valid argument in 1970. Today we have the internet. Instead of advertising it's not perfectly possible and easy to have other means of discoverability: a) professional product reviews - a…

I like how you brought up all of those examples for means of discovery. However, I think that almost all of those are a form of advertising. Perhaps the forum where people are giving advice would not be advertising.

If any of these are on the internet, then people there will be pixel trackers, and people are going to measure the distinct number of impressions. I don't think this is a bad thing.

Re: Instagram Is Estimated to Be Worth More Than $100B

#304

Post by eric_h »

sdf43543t345 wrote: post #266
fullshark wrote: post #211

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I guess people pirating music is about greed, then being content with spotify instead because it's easier is about sloth.

re Piracy, its Pride -- for the technical challenge of getting something gratis. the fact it cost money ('greed') doesn't factor into it. Proud of the ability to acquire at no cost to the individual.

For me that's what it was - I gathered quite a collection of shit I never even used or played (apps, media), just because I could (before Napster). For the friends of mine with no technical chops who I taught how to pirate, there was no pride, it was pure greed.

Re: Instagram Is Estimated to Be Worth More Than $100B

#305

Post by gaurgo »

drb91 wrote: post #131
dao- wrote: post #66

Social pressure to be on instagram seems to be growing. For years I could get by with facebook, and my phone number / whatsapp for close enough friends. I'm now on instagram after a bunch of people I met independently in Berlin, Amsterdam and San Francisco in the last few weeks expected me to have an account there. I told the youtube UX person who I met in SF that I noticed this trend and don't fully understand it, a…

> instagram is just how you write messages these days, as if this was totally obvious and not a side feature of instagram. At times, I just give up on my ability to participate in society because of shit like this.

If you have a message to get across, that's where the eyeballs are

Re: Instagram Is Estimated to Be Worth More Than $100B

#306

Post by humbleMouse »

vowelless wrote: post #134

I am quite privacy conscious. I have deleted my FB account. On principle, I dislike targeted ads, user tracking, etc. BUT, I hate to admit this, the ads I get in Instagram are the most relevant I have ever gotten. I actually look forward to them, to discover new products. They are perfectly tailored to me. Dammit.

Instagram listens to what you say around your phone to serve you ads. It's kind of fucked up. I would get rid of instagram on my phone if it wasn't for all the quality memes.

To all the downvoters - are you saying instagram doesn't use your phone microphone to serve you ads? It definately does. It's happened to me countless times.

Re: Instagram Is Estimated to Be Worth More Than $100B

#307

Post by fullshark »

xkjkls wrote: post #169
lowq wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Millennial here, deleted my account a few days ago. Unlike most platforms, Instagram cuts strait to the most depressing part: pictures. I've had enough with social media, and I envy those who never created a Facebook.

Why do pictures depress you so much? Honestly, I think if that's the case, it says that you have some unresolved issues you probably should deal with. Part of what makes social media seem depressing is your attitude with it.

Social media is depressing because all your friends seem to have much more interesting and entertaining lives than you do.

Re: Instagram Is Estimated to Be Worth More Than $100B

#308

Post by pkamb »

nmeofthestate wrote: post #167

I simply do not understand the attraction of Instagram. My brother posts photos on it, and the quality of the pictures is rubbish. They're small, with compression artifacts. The app itself doesn't even let you pinch to zoom without snapping back when you let go (fair enough given how low resolution the pictures are). Obviously I'm looking at this wrong - it's clearly not an app for posting photos, because it sucks at…

Instagram is by far the best big social network for "good photography"; I don't see how you can miss that. It might be due to just following / seeing pictures from your brother or IRL friends. Go follow some random accounts that post great photos related to your interests and you'll quickly discover the joy.

Re: Instagram Is Estimated to Be Worth More Than $100B

#309

Post by DogOnTheWeb »

soared wrote: post #290
DogOnTheWeb wrote: post #265

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In brief: 1. Products reliant on advertising for revenue are incentivized to increase the amount of ads shown (per user and in total). This leads to product strategy which prioritizes growth and engagement above all. The line between "highly engaging" and "addictive" products becomes very thin, arguably disappearing entirely. 2. In order to provide highly targeted ads, companies must necessarily collect, store and or…

1. All products are reliant on advertising. full stop. But even then, they are not incentivized to increase the total amount of ads per user, that would be inefficient. They'd prefer better targeted ads over more ads (point 2). 2. Source? Outside of a few edge cases (china) I don't think this is a real concern. The same can happen with financial (or any) data, but I don't see people saying the data is the problem. Ra…

1. Subscription products are not reliant on advertising. Payment technologies are not. Neither are ecommerce operations, or in-person services. Just because a firm can advertise their products does not mean it is reliant on advertising. A firm advertising is not the same as it having an advertising revenue business model.

Advertising revenue is ad CPM (how valuable the ad is and how well it's targeted) multiplied by ad impressions (which is why people measure page views, time on site, minutes watched, etc.) Both matter in the model.

2. Beyond China and other authoritarian governments, the Cambridge Analytica affair is perhaps the defining example of this. It showcased nonconsensual data harvesting with malicious use of the data against those users to impact politics both domestically and internationally: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/04/us/politics/cambridge-ana...

Here another example from just a week ago: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/19/climate/koch-brothers-pub...

> "Central to the work of Americans for Prosperity is i360, the Kochs’ data operation, which profiles Americans based on their voter registration information, consumer data and social media activities."

Re: Instagram Is Estimated to Be Worth More Than $100B

#310

Post by majewsky »

artursapek wrote: post #132
lowq wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Millennial here, deleted my account a few days ago. Unlike most platforms, Instagram cuts strait to the most depressing part: pictures. I've had enough with social media, and I envy those who never created a Facebook.

> I envy those who never created a Facebook. what? is it some virus you can't cure from your mind now? just stop using it. I stopped about 6 years ago and have never missed it.

"Deleting Facebook" is the new "giving up smoking".
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