With the recent moves from #Twitter, #Reddit, and even #Youtube, I think it’s becoming clear that ads are not a sustainable business model in the long run (and yes, I know I run a YouTube channel funded by ads 😅)
I took a look at a few examples, at how this decline is also making the web worse for everyone, at alternative platforms, and tried to imagine what an internet without ads to fund content creation and big platforms could look like:
@thelinuxEXP In the early days of internet advertising, many websites offered a list of topics where you could click on your interests. Advertising was then displayed from these clicked subject areas. There were often very interesting products that made me curious. Today, however, there is almost only personalized advertising, which I see as a bubble. I am no longer made aware of new interesting products. In the past advertising was sometimes interesting. An old saying goes: Less is often more!
@thelinuxEXP Might want to check out floatpane (from the crazy Canadian), might be an option? As for giving even one dime to Youtube/Alphabet, that's something I'll never do, so I signed up for your patreon instead, just leave my name of the end credits, that's cringe :P
@thelinuxEXP Honestly that’s sadly been the case for a while. I think YouTube and Reddit will start charging fees just to access sites, due to the exclusive mountain of info they have.
@thelinuxEXP
It's pretty unfortunate that a lot of awesome creators will lose their jobs as a result of this. And that the web itself will turn crappy as a result.
That said, I also look forward to people finding a new revenue model. One that isn't privacy invasive or obtrusive. Maybe sponsorships will get more popular, maybe subscriptions will get more popular.
Hell maybe something entirely new may also come up.
@thelinuxEXP this is a really good video on the state of things! I’m definitely sharing it around. I know plenty of people who don’t understand ads pay for things on the “free” internet.
I really don’t mind paying for things in a subscription model for the stuff I rely on. Though I’ve come to find that some content creators want to charge A$10+ a month for their content, which I get but I can’t afford to do that for all my creators I follow the currently do it. It is hard to want to support people but also have (most) everyone asking for $10 or more a month.
@thelinuxEXP I think (hope?) that in the future the content creators will cut the middleman and start doing the distribution themselves so they will be dealing with advertisers/sponsors directly.
So in your case, you'd be getting "your own" Peertube and your revenue could come from insertions instead of pre-rolls, or "gated" content for subscribers.
@thelinuxEXP There’s a distinction to be made between ads. There’s the ads that people (like you) get in direct sponsorship, because they’re in the video/podcast/etc, and there’s the “ad tech” ads stapled on to websites, videos, or podcasts by clever machines. I think the latter is what’s under actual threat. The former will only grow, because people like you are incentivized to make ads that don’t drive away their viewers. I pay for YT Premium, but I still see your ads.
@thelinuxEXP Those ads you run are definitely small fish compared to other revenue streams. Makes sense that ads are dying and subscriber sponsorship and federated social media is growing in its place
@thelinuxEXP is it that ad revenue isn't sufficient, or is it this new era of insatiable corporate profit? No amount seems to be enough at the moment, even if these platforms only showed adverts it would continue to spiral.
@thelinuxEXP This is a good video and I mostly agree with the three outcomes. One minor point is that I believe the loss of professional media could exacerbate the disinformation/misinformation system as bad actors in that space are not operating for profit and they would then have free reign to spread their message without a strong and professional response/debunking.
@thelinuxEXP I'd add conspiratorial organizations like anti-vaxx orgs would do well also, they don't raise their money on subscriptions or advertising.
@thelinuxEXP Being real, I just miss when profanity and music were things that weren't up to question. It has an effect no one really acknowledges critically because most have sort of just resigned with a "it is what it is". At worst it's basically gutted the quality of some shows on YouTube. And all in the name of ads!
@thelinuxEXP
Just watched, great content as usual.
Above the all mentioned companies that run proficts through ads, Meta seems to be untouched by this decline. Why do you think it is so? Is it possible that their ads targeting is more effective because it's better integrated with teir platform content? (For example, advertisement videos that look like reels on Instagram?)
@pH3ra Meta is losing tons of profit since privacy laws were voted, and since Apple basically blocked tracking in iOS apps. They’re still making money, but their business has taken a big dive!
I think they have a critical size that allows them to make it work, but for how long?
@thelinuxEXP Seems legit. So do you think Meta opening yet another social network (Threads) is more like a gamble for more profit rather than a well thought financial move?
@pH3ra I don’t think they have a plan apart from « once people use it we’ll sell ads in there », since they collect enormous amounts of data from Threads!
@thelinuxEXP@pH3ra Just wanted to point out that Apple also has a huge ads business their trying to push. Apple is often shown by many "a-list" journalists as a hero, but Apple also wants to make money
@thelinuxEXP Having ads on sites pushes visitors away thus making it a horrible experience and with adblockers being killed off slowly I agree with your thoughts totally mon cher ami..
@thelinuxEXP Qu'est que tu as comme montre ? Avec toute cette gesticulation, on voit pas. T'as du sang italien 😂😂 En tout cas le bracelet nato à l'air vraiment sympa 👍
@thelinuxEXP I don't understand why Ad providers are so much fixated to show personalized Ads...
Most of them are crap (at least for me), the biggest example being Amazon suggesting things that I've already bought earlier...
No, I don't need 100 pieces of the same thing.
I'd instead prefer that you show me related Ads to the content that's present on a specific web page... Google crawlers already know what the page is about, so the Ads can be served without an Ad profile at all...
@karbuziran Yeah, but like I say in the video, if I only had Peertube, I couldn’t make as many videos, at least not as a day job. With a “real job” instead, I’d make maybe 1 video per week tops :/
@thelinuxEXP
Of course the money made from the ads and views feeding the algorithm there really is an important income-factor as long as there is no better alternative (yet).
This will probably continue until the whole #degrowth and #GreenGrowth/#GreenReGrowth has been happening and our global #Economy has been "re-designed" - either voluntarily or by force of "circumstances". :mastomonocle:
So, we'll see where all this is going and as long as you can deal with it morally, I think it's 👍 ❕
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