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Hmmm, that's a possibility I haven't considered. I suppose because I'm having trouble imagining what that in-between space looks like. If an ad is targeted at

by nathcd 9y ago

Hmmm, that's a possibility I haven't considered. I suppose because I'm having trouble imagining what that in-between space looks like. If an ad is targeted at a user, doesn't that necessarily mean they were tracked to some degree (i.e. some data is known about them, and an ad is being shown to them based on whatever that known data is)? Conversely, if nothing is known about the user (they haven't been tracked at all), how can an ad be targeted at them (besides knowing they are viewing a webpage on a certain topic, but then we're back at being content-targeted)? The only possibility I can think of that's somewhat in-between, is a site tracking a user across their own site (first-party only), and targeting ads based on that collected data, rather than contracting that out to Google who can follow you across many sites. Is this what you have in mind? Other than this, I'm having trouble thinking of possibilities that exist between content-targeted and user-targeted via tracking. It's interesting to consider though.

wolfgang42 9y ago
The parent isn't arguing against content-targeted advertising, just pointing out that it doesn't have to be baked immutably into the content the way YouTube/Podcast sponsorship messages are. One example of this is the https://www.projectwonderful.com/ https://www.projectwonderful.com/ model of auctioning ad slots the same way you would sell e.g. a billboard. The only targeting in this model is based on demographics of the content's audience at large (e.g. advertising Bobcat in a Box on Explain XKCD).
kakarot 9y ago
When Linus Media Group sells advertising segments (an example of baked-in advertising), they don't provide user data. The advertisers purchase segments with the knowledge of the kind of crowd Linus Media Group attracts. Linus isn't going to open a video talking about women's pantyhose. He will open a video talking about an accessory, peripheral, or computer part that a viewer is actually more likely to buy. This is very effective advertising. Since most of LMG's content is medium and long format and doesn't rely on complete artistic integrity in each of its videos as part of the value, baked-in advertising is acceptable and understandable. While baked-in advertising still doesn't work for other kinds of creators, it doesn't mean some form of targeted advertising can not be done in an ethical fashion.

by nathcd 9y ago

wolfgang42 9y ago

The parent isn't arguing against content-targeted advertising, just pointing out that it doesn't have to be baked immutably into the content the way YouTube/Podcast sponsorship messages are. One example of this is the https://www.projectwonderful.com/ https://www.projectwonderful.com/ model of auctioning ad slots the same way you would sell e.g. a billboard. The only targeting in this model is based on demographics of the content's audience at large (e.g. advertising Bobcat in a Box on Explain XKCD).

kakarot 9y ago

When Linus Media Group sells advertising segments (an example of baked-in advertising), they don't provide user data. The advertisers purchase segments with the knowledge of the kind of crowd Linus Media Group attracts. Linus isn't going to open a video talking about women's pantyhose. He will open a video talking about an accessory, peripheral, or computer part that a viewer is actually more likely to buy. This is very effective advertising. Since most of LMG's content is medium and long format and doesn't rely on complete artistic integrity in each of its videos as part of the value, baked-in advertising is acceptable and understandable. While baked-in advertising still doesn't work for other kinds of creators, it doesn't mean some form of targeted advertising can not be done in an ethical fashion.