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Does anyone know of any startups or upcoming projects that are trying to compete with Facebook (i.e building a social network?). I still haven't managed to wra

Does anyone know of any startups or upcoming projects that are trying to compete with Facebook (i.e building a social network?). I still haven't managed to wrap my head around how exactly facebook makes money. Do so many people actually click on ads? And this somehow makes billions? I find it very hard to imagine (for myself).

sfifs 10y ago
The objective of much of the advertizing money in the world is to get impressions and not clicks. Clicks are chased by companies who are primarily selling products and services on the web - and that is really a small part of the economy. Think of companies like beverage giants, car manufacturers, large consumer products giants, financial institutions etc or almost anyone who advertizes on superbowl on TV. Their primary objective is to build awareness & a certain brand perception among a large segment of consumers so that when you buy their category, you will choose their brand. Coca Cola doesn't necessarily want you to buy it that instant online you see the ad (though if you do, it's a nice bonus). Rather the objective is to build an equity that will make you think of yourself as a "Coke person" instead of say "Pepsi person". Remember that bulk of the advertizing money in the world comes from such players. They pay facebook a premium for being able to deterministically show your advertizing to a given target audience.
freax4evar 10y ago
There's diaspora [0] and GNU social [1], but those haven't yet managed to pop up into the mainstream. Network effects should ensure that they do not anytime soon. With that said, the mounting controversy over Facebook and Twitter's moderation may end up pushing marginalized groups into these platforms. [0]: https://diasporafoundation.org/ https://diasporafoundation.org/ [1]: https://www.gnu.org/software/social/ https://www.gnu.org/software/social/
- zyxley 10y ago
  Both of these are doomed in the mainstream until you can "just join" instead of having to pick from a list of servers you know nothing about anyway.
kkanojia 10y ago
Yes so many people click on ads. Brands also pay to get higher on users wall posts. To evaluate what brands do, try creating an advertising account and check for yourself how much they charge you and how good their targeting is.
erdevs 10y ago
To me it doesn't seem hard to believe that people will click on ads (mistakenly or purposefully), nor that bot traffic is so significant, nor that advertisers are willing to pay for brand presence even without clicks. What does continue to amaze me is that users tolerate how much data FB collects, how they use the data, how duplicitous they have been over time with users, and how they manipulate your feeds/user experience to benefit their revenue/advertising income. But I have come to realize most people just don't seem to care about privacy that much.
deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
shubhamjain 10y ago
Even if you don't click on ads, it's not possible for you to cut them out of your sight. People see ads. They learn about the brand. If they are interested, they click on it to see more about it and if not, the brand getting registered in someone's mind is in itself a valuable asset. I believe that's the genius of Facebook, they have made the ad experience so seamless and intuitive. Note that, people generally don't buy things the first time they see a banner about it. The process of today's digital marketing involves nurturing at multiple levels. For eg, I learned about the brand from Facebook. Then, I stumbled upon a blog post written by them. "Wow. Who are these guys? Why do I keep hearing about them?". I learned more about them and maybe bought something from them after a while. Undoubtedly, Facebook uninterrupted ads will (have?) become a major part of this funnel.
- igk 10y ago
  Not possible to cut them out of your sight... unless you use adblock
  - nl 10y ago
    Which is why lots of people are very bullish on FB. No adblockers on the FB app, and so the more AdBlockers take off the more it helps FB.
  - em3rgent0rdr 10y ago
    use uBlock Origin instead, since adblock has a problematic "acceptable ads" policy.
    - gruez 10y ago
      Or, you know... Uncheck a box
      - em3rgent0rdr 10y ago
        But the problem is I want to recommend a plugin to my non-technical friends, who need something that protects privacy out-of-the-box without having to figure out how to open the plugin's settings and uncheck a particular box.
Silhouette 10y ago
Do so many people actually click on ads? On sites like Facebook? Yes. There's a lot of criticism, much of it justified, about spammy ads online. However, with a system like Facebook's or something like a search engine, the ads being shown are normally for something that might genuinely interest the viewer. That makes a favourable reaction much more likely, and it means far fewer resources are wasted showing ads to people who aren't likely to be interested.
20years 10y ago
Yes people do click on Facebook ads and they convert extremely well when utilizing Facebooks targeting correctly. I have ran very targeted ads on FB that have achieved a 20% CTR and 10x ROI. This was for a product appealing to 8 to 12 year olds. I targeted Moms with kids in this age range in specific locations and who fell within a certain income. Other small business ads such as local coffee shops, restaurants, etc. that advertise deals/coupons also convert very well and get shared like crazy.
- Throwaway23412 10y ago
  Facebook has nearly two billion users. The average user only needs to make FB $20 through a few ad purchases made on a whim and you've already doubled FB's yearly revenue. I've spent more money using restaurant coupons that came through the mail. It wouldn't even be that hard to target the average HN user: "20% off a GTX 1080!" Boom, done.

sfifs 10y ago

The objective of much of the advertizing money in the world is to get impressions and not clicks. Clicks are chased by companies who are primarily selling products and services on the web - and that is really a small part of the economy. Think of companies like beverage giants, car manufacturers, large consumer products giants, financial institutions etc or almost anyone who advertizes on superbowl on TV. Their primary objective is to build awareness & a certain brand perception among a large segment of consumers so that when you buy their category, you will choose their brand. Coca Cola doesn't necessarily want you to buy it that instant online you see the ad (though if you do, it's a nice bonus). Rather the objective is to build an equity that will make you think of yourself as a "Coke person" instead of say "Pepsi person". Remember that bulk of the advertizing money in the world comes from such players. They pay facebook a premium for being able to deterministically show your advertizing to a given target audience.

freax4evar 10y ago

There's diaspora [0] and GNU social [1], but those haven't yet managed to pop up into the mainstream. Network effects should ensure that they do not anytime soon. With that said, the mounting controversy over Facebook and Twitter's moderation may end up pushing marginalized groups into these platforms. [0]: https://diasporafoundation.org/ https://diasporafoundation.org/ [1]: https://www.gnu.org/software/social/ https://www.gnu.org/software/social/

zyxley 10y ago
Both of these are doomed in the mainstream until you can "just join" instead of having to pick from a list of servers you know nothing about anyway.

kkanojia 10y ago

Yes so many people click on ads. Brands also pay to get higher on users wall posts. To evaluate what brands do, try creating an advertising account and check for yourself how much they charge you and how good their targeting is.

erdevs 10y ago

To me it doesn't seem hard to believe that people will click on ads (mistakenly or purposefully), nor that bot traffic is so significant, nor that advertisers are willing to pay for brand presence even without clicks. What does continue to amaze me is that users tolerate how much data FB collects, how they use the data, how duplicitous they have been over time with users, and how they manipulate your feeds/user experience to benefit their revenue/advertising income. But I have come to realize most people just don't seem to care about privacy that much.

deleted 10y ago

[deleted]

shubhamjain 10y ago

Even if you don't click on ads, it's not possible for you to cut them out of your sight. People see ads. They learn about the brand. If they are interested, they click on it to see more about it and if not, the brand getting registered in someone's mind is in itself a valuable asset. I believe that's the genius of Facebook, they have made the ad experience so seamless and intuitive. Note that, people generally don't buy things the first time they see a banner about it. The process of today's digital marketing involves nurturing at multiple levels. For eg, I learned about the brand from Facebook. Then, I stumbled upon a blog post written by them. "Wow. Who are these guys? Why do I keep hearing about them?". I learned more about them and maybe bought something from them after a while. Undoubtedly, Facebook uninterrupted ads will (have?) become a major part of this funnel.

igk 10y ago
Not possible to cut them out of your sight... unless you use adblock
- nl 10y ago
  Which is why lots of people are very bullish on FB. No adblockers on the FB app, and so the more AdBlockers take off the more it helps FB.
- em3rgent0rdr 10y ago
  use uBlock Origin instead, since adblock has a problematic "acceptable ads" policy.
  - gruez 10y ago
    Or, you know... Uncheck a box
    - em3rgent0rdr 10y ago
      But the problem is I want to recommend a plugin to my non-technical friends, who need something that protects privacy out-of-the-box without having to figure out how to open the plugin's settings and uncheck a particular box.

Silhouette 10y ago

Do so many people actually click on ads? On sites like Facebook? Yes. There's a lot of criticism, much of it justified, about spammy ads online. However, with a system like Facebook's or something like a search engine, the ads being shown are normally for something that might genuinely interest the viewer. That makes a favourable reaction much more likely, and it means far fewer resources are wasted showing ads to people who aren't likely to be interested.

20years 10y ago

Yes people do click on Facebook ads and they convert extremely well when utilizing Facebooks targeting correctly. I have ran very targeted ads on FB that have achieved a 20% CTR and 10x ROI. This was for a product appealing to 8 to 12 year olds. I targeted Moms with kids in this age range in specific locations and who fell within a certain income. Other small business ads such as local coffee shops, restaurants, etc. that advertise deals/coupons also convert very well and get shared like crazy.

Throwaway23412 10y ago
Facebook has nearly two billion users. The average user only needs to make FB $20 through a few ad purchases made on a whim and you've already doubled FB's yearly revenue. I've spent more money using restaurant coupons that came through the mail. It wouldn't even be that hard to target the average HN user: "20% off a GTX 1080!" Boom, done.