3 ms·

Agreed. I am so tired of this notion that software (and other things too) need to be free and supported by ads. What the hell is wrong with with just paying f

Agreed. I am so tired of this notion that software (and other things too) need to be free and supported by ads. What the hell is wrong with with just paying for something so that you don't have to get bombarded by psychological warfare designed to cause you to purchase shit you don't need? I am worried that this is direction the internet is going. Its starting to just be a huge system to drive consumerism. Really though everything is being designed around designed around better advertising. Even the holy grail of the internet, real time search, is really just about better ads.

ahoyhere 16y ago
Don't worry, it's cyclical. Don't remember the advertising crash of 2000/2001? It was going the same way: banners will support everything! FREEEEEEE! Then the bottom fell out of the banner market, because it trackable, very clear how little the banners returned. Then those businesses all went out of business. A year or two later we small-time "Average Joes" (eg. not customers of SAP) saw the first true SaaS aimed at us. The main reason Google ads worked so well for so long is because they are topical and their format was new. Word on the vine is that the click-through rates for most text ads is falling... History repeats. The prevailing popular opinion? Doesn't matter. Everybody's a poker player. A BAD poker player. They say they won't pay, but they will. I'm sure if you told people they could have free food, they would turn around and tell the next restaurant that they wouldn't pay. But when they got hungry outside of the free food hours, or they really felt like indian tonight instead of food caplets, they would. I think geeks, having a slightly better than average ability to get software for free, BELIEVE their own poker-playing, but of course, they will also pay. The proof is there.

3 ms·

Agreed. I am so tired of this notion that software (and other things too) need to be free and supported by ads. What the hell is wrong with with just paying f

by jpdbaugh 16y ago

ahoyhere 16y ago
Don't worry, it's cyclical. Don't remember the advertising crash of 2000/2001? It was going the same way: banners will support everything! FREEEEEEE! Then the bottom fell out of the banner market, because it trackable, very clear how little the banners returned. Then those businesses all went out of business. A year or two later we small-time "Average Joes" (eg. not customers of SAP) saw the first true SaaS aimed at us. The main reason Google ads worked so well for so long is because they are topical and their format was new. Word on the vine is that the click-through rates for most text ads is falling... History repeats. The prevailing popular opinion? Doesn't matter. Everybody's a poker player. A BAD poker player. They say they won't pay, but they will. I'm sure if you told people they could have free food, they would turn around and tell the next restaurant that they wouldn't pay. But when they got hungry outside of the free food hours, or they really felt like indian tonight instead of food caplets, they would. I think geeks, having a slightly better than average ability to get software for free, BELIEVE their own poker-playing, but of course, they will also pay. The proof is there.