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I'm hopeful that platforms like Brave Browser/BAT (Basic Attention Token) will take off, to allow people to more directly monetize their attention, so that 'unp

I'm hopeful that platforms like Brave Browser/BAT (Basic Attention Token) will take off, to allow people to more directly monetize their attention, so that 'unpaid microwork' will become 'microwork.' I don't know how much demand there is for it though, since people seem content to consume endless amounts of social media for free. On the advertising (rather than consumption) side, people will advertise stuff in hopes of getting free stuff or some type of sponsorship opportunity. It's crazy how much advertising they will do for free. Brands have to be making bazillions off of this type of advertising. Recently, I noticed that Instagram has tweaked their algorithm so that likes (and story views) are doled out in a more spread out fashion. If you post something, you won't get a bunch of likes at once, now, you're more likely to get them over the course of 24-48 hours to get you back checking the app over the entire window. I figure they have always done this, but the window seems to have grown substantially. It seems like they are reaching further and further to get engagement. Will FB be able to infinitely increase their engagement, or will they run out, and be left with a bunch of zombie addicts who are no longer valuable to them, since they've effectively killed their host? It seems like drugs sometimes have this end game. Personally, I'm moving away from using any more unpaid platforms to host my data or work. If a platform has a free option, I choose to pay for it. I no longer trust companies that rely solely on advertising revenue (err, maybe that means I shouldn't be using HN :) )

Bartweiss 8y ago
> Will FB be able to infinitely increase their engagement, or will they run out, and be left with a bunch of zombie addicts who are no longer valuable to them, since they've effectively killed their host? It seems like drugs sometimes have this end game. Perhaps more saliently, microtransaction mobile games already have this pattern. They grow aggressively, stabilize after consuming all easily reached users, then slowly peter out. Rather than unbounded growth, we actually see something a lot like bacterial growth in a closed culture: lag, log, plateau, death. [1] It's (part of) what killed Zynga: their long-term engagement predictions didn't pan out and they couldn't cycle users to new apps fast enough. Subsequent companies like Supercell have learned to EOL apps like Clash of Clans - they draw down their advertising and onboarding efforts in favor of monetizing their existing players, and eventually wind down in favor of the next big thing. I'm not sure whether Facebook will end up like this - they have a real advantage because their users generate new content without requiring corporate effort. But I and several of my friends have abandoned FB less out of any moral principle than out of sheer disinterest in their increasingly unfriendly, cash-focused product. My suspicion is that they'll emphasize daily time per user and monetization, but slowly bleed daily users in return. [1] http://academic.pgcc.edu/~kroberts/Lecture/Chapter%206/growth.html http://academic.pgcc.edu/~kroberts/Lecture/Chapter%206/growt...
0xADADA 8y ago
> I don't know how much demand there is for it though, since people seem content to consume endless amounts of social media for free. It is my hope that this changes over time as people realize the value of their attention. > I'm hopeful that platforms like Brave Browser/BAT (Basic Attention Token) will take off. I wrote about Brave BAT in more detail: https://0xadada.pub/2017/12/10/how-do-not-track-and-gdpr-promise-to-disrupt-the-future-of-web-advertising/#technology-pushes-back-against-tracking https://0xadada.pub/2017/12/10/how-do-not-track-and-gdpr-pro...

Bartweiss 8y ago

> Will FB be able to infinitely increase their engagement, or will they run out, and be left with a bunch of zombie addicts who are no longer valuable to them, since they've effectively killed their host? It seems like drugs sometimes have this end game. Perhaps more saliently, microtransaction mobile games already have this pattern. They grow aggressively, stabilize after consuming all easily reached users, then slowly peter out. Rather than unbounded growth, we actually see something a lot like bacterial growth in a closed culture: lag, log, plateau, death. [1] It's (part of) what killed Zynga: their long-term engagement predictions didn't pan out and they couldn't cycle users to new apps fast enough. Subsequent companies like Supercell have learned to EOL apps like Clash of Clans - they draw down their advertising and onboarding efforts in favor of monetizing their existing players, and eventually wind down in favor of the next big thing. I'm not sure whether Facebook will end up like this - they have a real advantage because their users generate new content without requiring corporate effort. But I and several of my friends have abandoned FB less out of any moral principle than out of sheer disinterest in their increasingly unfriendly, cash-focused product. My suspicion is that they'll emphasize daily time per user and monetization, but slowly bleed daily users in return. [1] http://academic.pgcc.edu/~kroberts/Lecture/Chapter%206/growth.html http://academic.pgcc.edu/~kroberts/Lecture/Chapter%206/growt...

0xADADA 8y ago

> I don't know how much demand there is for it though, since people seem content to consume endless amounts of social media for free. It is my hope that this changes over time as people realize the value of their attention. > I'm hopeful that platforms like Brave Browser/BAT (Basic Attention Token) will take off. I wrote about Brave BAT in more detail: https://0xadada.pub/2017/12/10/how-do-not-track-and-gdpr-promise-to-disrupt-the-future-of-web-advertising/#technology-pushes-back-against-tracking https://0xadada.pub/2017/12/10/how-do-not-track-and-gdpr-pro...