6 ms·

How about making ads go away? FB appears locked in to a business model that relies on continually pushing the limits of invasiveness. Does that model have a b

How about making ads go away? FB appears locked in to a business model that relies on continually pushing the limits of invasiveness. Does that model have a breaking point? Does FB know where that point lies?

ben_jones 9y ago
I think I would pay $1-2/mo for a custom algorithm that eliminated ads and sorts content the way I want. But Facebook probably makes more money on certain users then that anyways.
- ghostbrainalpha 9y ago
  I am surprised this doesn't get brought up more. I also would pay $24 a year for a 'premium Facebook' ad free experience.
  - IAmEveryone 9y ago
    Google tried it. Nobody used it.
    - dragonwriter 9y ago
      Google tried to charge for ad-free Facebook? That doesn't seem likely.
- CharlesW 9y ago
  Facebook had an ARPU of $6.18 in Q4'2017, so ~$2/mo.
- JoshMnem 9y ago
  It wouldn't be difficult to build a downloadable tool that kept your data on your own machine. RSS/Atom feeds + machine learning based on your own votes. You could integrate things like your email inbox and chats if you wanted to have a private timeline of what was going on in your life. It would be a good Free software project.
notatoad 9y ago
there's really only two possible revenue models for a company like facebook: using your data to target their own advertising, like they currently do, or selling your data to other ad networks and other parties who feel they could get some value out of it. Do you really want ads to go away, when the alternative is selling your data directly?
- jlgaddis 9y ago
  Alternative? What makes you think they don't already do both?
tomc1985 9y ago
Why is this being downvoted? Destroying Facebook's business model is the red herring that noone brings up. Their ability or need to make money is not sacred and the company has failed its assumed role as a steward over the worlds' intimate details. What needs to be done cannot be articulated in more unequivocal terms: mass data collection needs to die, starting with Facebook.
feelin_googley 9y ago
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16770774 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16770774 https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/social-media/users-would-have-pay-opt-out-all-facebook-ads-sheryl-n863151 https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/social-media/users-would-have-p...

ben_jones 9y ago

I think I would pay $1-2/mo for a custom algorithm that eliminated ads and sorts content the way I want. But Facebook probably makes more money on certain users then that anyways.

ghostbrainalpha 9y ago
I am surprised this doesn't get brought up more. I also would pay $24 a year for a 'premium Facebook' ad free experience.
- IAmEveryone 9y ago
  Google tried it. Nobody used it.
  - dragonwriter 9y ago
    Google tried to charge for ad-free Facebook? That doesn't seem likely.
CharlesW 9y ago
Facebook had an ARPU of $6.18 in Q4'2017, so ~$2/mo.
JoshMnem 9y ago
It wouldn't be difficult to build a downloadable tool that kept your data on your own machine. RSS/Atom feeds + machine learning based on your own votes. You could integrate things like your email inbox and chats if you wanted to have a private timeline of what was going on in your life. It would be a good Free software project.

notatoad 9y ago

there's really only two possible revenue models for a company like facebook: using your data to target their own advertising, like they currently do, or selling your data to other ad networks and other parties who feel they could get some value out of it. Do you really want ads to go away, when the alternative is selling your data directly?

jlgaddis 9y ago
Alternative? What makes you think they don't already do both?

tomc1985 9y ago

Why is this being downvoted? Destroying Facebook's business model is the red herring that noone brings up. Their ability or need to make money is not sacred and the company has failed its assumed role as a steward over the worlds' intimate details. What needs to be done cannot be articulated in more unequivocal terms: mass data collection needs to die, starting with Facebook.

feelin_googley 9y ago

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16770774 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16770774 https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/social-media/users-would-have-pay-opt-out-all-facebook-ads-sheryl-n863151 https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/social-media/users-would-have-p...