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WhatsApp introduces ads in its app

nytimes.com

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Re: WhatsApp introduces ads in its app

#711

Post by averageRoyalty »

hocuspocus wrote: post #652
evrimoztamur wrote: post #637

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We do not need federated messaging at the consumer app level, we need a replacement that's available at the cellular network level (just like SMS). RCS ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rich_Communication_Services ) is trying to do this, but it might be too little too late.

In practice RCS is entirely run by Google outside China, the path to federation was killed around 2019 when Google decided every MNO should eventually move to Jibe if they wanted access to a global interconnected RCS, same on the client side. I don't think it's too late as iOS finally supports RCS. But so far Google hasn't shown willingness to let unsanctioned clients connect to Jibe.

What?

In practice, RCS is run by carriers in most of the world. They connect to hubs, the same way SMS hubs work and also have Universal Profiles.

Jibe is not small, but it hardly runs the worlds RCS. Maybe you're conflating the US with the world?

Re: WhatsApp introduces ads in its app

#712

Post by thowier4342334 »

Okay, but wasn't this expected ?

We all hate ads, but what did we expect ? That some rando will pay for all those server and personnel bills out of the goodness of his "heart" ? Please. I wish the culture of Silicon valley wasn't so full of bullshit that this'd have become obvious a long time back.

(For a more egregious eg. of ads, look at LINE which is all the rage in Japan. Or indeed Google, whose entire Android/Chrome business is made to subtly feed data back into its ads business).

Re: WhatsApp introduces ads in its app

#713

Post by reedlaw »

seydor wrote: post #704
elric wrote: post #605

Can we get a federated messenger already? Sure, we have email, but the MS/Google duopoloy has effectively unfederated that, with their inscrutable block lists and nonexistent appeals processes, allegedly in order to protect you from spam. Sure, XMPP is a thing, which has been mostly dead for well over a decade. Sure, Matrix is a thing, but every time I look at it, all I see is criticism of its specifications and poor…

Easy, expand SMTP. If the target doesn't have smtp messenger, send as email. No need to reinvent the wheel. But who are we kidding, of course we will

Sounds like https://delta.chat/

Re: WhatsApp introduces ads in its app

#714

Post by prmoustache »

shufflerofrocks wrote: post #672
prmoustache wrote: post #459

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What are the telegram features that whatsapp or signal users are missing? I've tried it in the past and all that could be done was due to the platform not having e2e encryption on standard chats.

I shifted to Telegram a few years ago, and it was such a rich experience for me. Off the top of my head: - much much better performance - a good desktop client - open source message clients - scheduling messages - better search - many small gestures/UX features that feel thoughtfully implemented - better channels - message threads - chat folders - very easily programmable & deployable bots for moderation or implement…

I guess all this is available through the business version of whatsapp.

Re: WhatsApp introduces ads in its app

#715

Post by Yeri »

guappa wrote: post #684
Yeri wrote: post #583

Earlier quoted context omitted.

SMS is definitely not free. You may have a bundle that includes X (or unlimited) amount of SMS, but there are plenty of subscriptions out there (maybe not in the US) that charge by the SMS, or come with bundles of only having, say, 50 free SMS per month. In all fairness, no one uses SMS, and no one uses iMessage (outside of the US maybe?). WhatsApp is omnipresent in Singapore. For example, every business, every suppo…

Not like whatsapp works decently if you have 2 sim cards… you can use 1 phone number per phone and the other one is just ignored.

Fair enough, but it keeps working with your (old) sim. iMessage deregisters every time, and it stops working for me. And you have to head back in settings and register again.

I've found the process to be very buggy and rarely works.

Re: WhatsApp introduces ads in its app

#716

Post by Crosseye_Jack »

phyrex wrote: post #658
b0a04gl wrote: post #427

everyone saw this coming the day facebook bought it, but the real issue isn't ads in status . it's that the platform is now locked into meta's attention monetization engine. the founders explicitly said no ads. now not only ads, but paid channels, algorithmic exposure, and user segmentation creeping in. most people won't switch because of network effects, so meta can keep tightening the screws. this isn't about reven…

It's been 11 years. If they hadn't been bought they'd have found a different monetization model long ago

They kinda did. Before facebook brought them, the app cost $1/£1 per year (iirc your first year was free). Thing is back then MMS and/or texts across borders was expensive, so if you were regularly sending picture messages to people the $1/£1 sub was a no brainer.

Lets wave a magic wand and presume 50% of the user base thought it was also worth $1 a year and it grew just as well as it did (It was growing very well in the UK before the takeover just by word of mouth). That's still just a messaging app that would be raking in $1.5B per year today, and that's before you bolt on any paid cosmetics or upgrades (small things that users don't mind dropping a few more bucks on).

Re: WhatsApp introduces ads in its app

#717

Post by ben_w »

averageRoyalty wrote: post #706
_Algernon_ wrote: post #440

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Translation: After going through a far too large number of focus groups that didn't want it we finally found one that phrased a reply in such a way, that after removing context and playing Chinese whispers up the management chain, can be interpreted as them wanting ads.

Australian? We're one of only a few countries[1] who call the game Chinese Whispers. 1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telephone_game

Not the OP, but FWIW I'm British and we also called it that in the late 80s.

Re: WhatsApp introduces ads in its app

#718

Post by MiddleEndian »

dgellow wrote: post #666
ndriscoll wrote: post #653

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Except RCS doesn't work on anything except phones, while XMPP works perfectly fine everywhere. IM was vastly better on computers back when you could use applications like pidgin or kopete.

The time when XMPP was supported by google (and Facebook IIRC?). Running jabber for small groups was pretty simple, and you had Adium and pidgin, both were simple to use and just neat software

Adium was by far the best messaging experience I've ever had. It was good looking, fast, customizable, and super well-intgrated into OS X.

Re: WhatsApp introduces ads in its app

#719

Post by dotancohen »

EbNar wrote: post #527
d3vmax wrote: post #426

Alice Newton-Rex, head of product at WhatsApp: “Alongside of private messaging, people were saying they wanted to hear more about topics, teams and organizations across WhatsApp.” - I am pretty sure NO ONE asked to hear about more topics and organizations across whatsapp.

I'd literally PAY for a mod taking away the "updates" tab. I don't care about stories nor I want channels shoved in my face. I just need to message someone, from time to time.

You'll love Telegram, then.

And I fully expected to be contradicted by people telling me that they can't live without WhatApp because their contacts use it. I've never installed WhatsApp and my contacts can either contact me on any non-spyware app they choose, or by SMS. It actually works, telling people that you don't have WhatsApp.

Re: WhatsApp introduces ads in its app

#720

Post by sebastiennight »

TheAceOfHearts wrote: post #516
b0a04gl wrote: post #427

everyone saw this coming the day facebook bought it, but the real issue isn't ads in status . it's that the platform is now locked into meta's attention monetization engine. the founders explicitly said no ads. now not only ads, but paid channels, algorithmic exposure, and user segmentation creeping in. most people won't switch because of network effects, so meta can keep tightening the screws. this isn't about reven…

The next one to enshittify will be Threads. Right now it's in the honeymoon stage where there aren't any ads so people are encouraged to use it and help grow the platform.

Ha! You jinxed it!

Introducing ads in Threads: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44297875

Just got an email about it today from Meta, inviting us to bid on the new platform.

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