6 ms·

This is exactly correct. Sure there are "clean" portions of Tumblr, but from what I can tell the real purpose is to host adult content. And there's nothing wr

by b1r6 8y ago

This is exactly correct. Sure there are "clean" portions of Tumblr, but from what I can tell the real purpose is to host adult content. And there's nothing wrong with that! It's a fantastic magnet for eyes, with which to show ads. They're basically killing themselves with this.

x0x0 8y ago
The vast vast majority of advertisers do not want to be displayed next to porn. Think of tumblr as nothing but a way to get pageviews for Cheerios and Volvo ads. It explains their decisions perfectly.
- michaelchisari 8y ago
  Every day results in another example of why free platforms supported by advertising might not be viable a long term solution. I've always said that cheap is better than free. If all services like Tumblr had debuted at a nominal $0.25 or $0.50 a month and that had become normalized as a way to support the platform without mining data or being at the whims of advertisers, the internet might be in a better place. Instead we have clickbait, engagement addiction and users as products and not customers.
  - jotm 8y ago
    Maybe pay per (full) view? Granular to 1 view if possible, with thumbnails? People would conserve their views but still watch/view the stuff they like. Better than shitty Chinese ads that make me wary of even opening the Youtube app.
  - Hoasi 8y ago
    > Every day results in another example of why free platforms supported by advertising might not be viable a long term solution. Not just free platforms. No publication supported by advertising is a viable long-term solution let alone a desirable one. Advertising-based publishing was never a good idea. The current state of the press is a good example of that too. Unfortunately, there are not that many viable alternatives. People would pay for good journalism, not sure they would or should pay to reblog memes and other people's posts.
    - reaperducer 8y ago
      No publication supported by advertising is a viable long-term solution Define what you mean by “long-term.” America has a number of ad-supported publications that have been publishing for over 250 years. There are probably older ones in Europe and elsewhere.
      - Hoasi 8y ago
        Yes, thank you, I should have been more precise. Within the context of this Tumblr discussion, that comment refers to online platforms and I believe the comment above does too. Indeed the ad-supported model is or was viable in print for a long time, although we started to see a shift there as well. Today the print media is struggling, ad revenue may no longer be enough to keep most publications afloat. The fact this model still works for some titles and was viable for centuries doesn't make it particularly good either. With an ad-based structure, the independent press ideal was flawed from the start.
  - curuinor 8y ago
    you can see something awful and metafilter as examples. they're miniscule and dying now, but somehow despite being the bonafide scum of the internet 2000-2010, something awful has chilled out (and metafilter was always pretty chill)
- buboard 8y ago
  > The vast vast majority of advertisers do not want to be displayed next to porn. This i dont understand though. Who wouldn't their product to be subconsciously associated with sexual satisfaction?
  - ams6110 8y ago
    Subconscious is fine. It's overt porn they don't want.
    - notyourday 8y ago
      https://www.google.com/search?q=we+are+slingers https://www.google.com/search?q=we+are+slingers
  - jotm 8y ago
    Probably the same reason kissing in public is OK, but fucking is not. "Sex sells" doesn't actually mean what it seems to mean. I'm also wondering why super-targeted advertising (showing actually relevant, and deeper integrated ads for different pages/posts/videos/etc) is still not a thing, there was a movement towards it but it kind of died down, even as everyone is shouting about ML and AI everywhere.
  - pvarangot 8y ago
    The click through for non-porn ads besides porn is, in my experience, almost non-existant.
    - 666lumberjack 8y ago
      Wasn't there an experiment where a sandwich company bought ads next to videos on Pornhub to target hungry people who'd just gotten off and were hugely successful? Found it: https://blog.eat24.com/how-to-advertise-on-a-porn-website/ https://blog.eat24.com/how-to-advertise-on-a-porn-website/
      - bilbo0s 8y ago
- rurp 8y ago
  If that's the goal, then why buy a platform that's rife with porn in the first place?
  - dec0dedab0de 8y ago
    well I think they bought yahoo, and tumblr just came with it.
- zimpenfish 8y ago
  I follow only SFW blogs on Tumblr and the adverts I get are mostly way more sexualised (scantily clad ladies reclining to sell perfume, etc.) and full screen on the iOS app (revealed as you scroll the content). I'm surprised they'd have any problems with NSFW content.
- bk8335 8y ago
  Except people who watch porn also buy Cheerios and Volvo's - I've never understood why such a massive market is always immediately ruled out in such an ad hungry world.
  - evgen 8y ago
    Because the people who sell Cheerios and Volvo's do not want people posting pics of their ads in some camgirl site and annoying the larger audience who don't (admit to) watch porn. Head on over to pornhub, marvel at what must be absolutely mammoth page view counts, and then wonder at the below-the-bottom-of-the-barrel ads that the site is filled with.
    - number_six 8y ago
      I eat cheerios. I wouldn't not eat cheerio's just because I saw that bee next to a gangbang...
  - jazzyjackson 8y ago
    I think the disconnect here is that advertising has a tacit endorsement of the site, everyone knows Volvo and General Foods is writing a check to the pornography host to display their ads. Brands were so freaked out to have their dish detergent show up next to an ISIS video because whoever uploaded the video gets their check for $5 or whatever, and then they're literally supporting terrorism.
  - x0x0 8y ago
    The world is nothing like ad-hungry. Ad rates are falling to the floor. Advertisers in the current environment can be as picky as they want to be.
- JohnJamesRambo 8y ago
  Do you think porn watchers don't buy Cheerios and Volvos?
- notyourday 8y ago
  > The vast vast majority of advertisers do not want to be displayed next to porn. https://www.nycpride.org/sponsors/ https://www.nycpride.org/sponsors/ You should see what happens on and slightly off the floats.
- odessacubbage 8y ago
  honestly nsfw pages should just be grouped as their own package which could be sold on the basis of attracting higher potential views but also the risk of being associated with controversial content. this could be a great avenue for smaller brands who don't want to have their ads compete with nike & coca-cola for eyeballs. trying to homogenize the audience so that they fit the needs of advertisers is a fundamental failure to understand why people come to these platforms in the first place, and that isn't good for anyone's business
- est 8y ago
  so no ads for adult tumblrs then. Why shutting them down? You can't tag adult content or you can't write a SELECT...WHERE filter?
alexis_fr 8y ago
Maybe Verizon just signed a deal with Instagram to shut down?

by b1r6 8y ago

x0x0 8y ago

The vast vast majority of advertisers do not want to be displayed next to porn. Think of tumblr as nothing but a way to get pageviews for Cheerios and Volvo ads. It explains their decisions perfectly.

michaelchisari 8y ago
Every day results in another example of why free platforms supported by advertising might not be viable a long term solution. I've always said that cheap is better than free. If all services like Tumblr had debuted at a nominal $0.25 or $0.50 a month and that had become normalized as a way to support the platform without mining data or being at the whims of advertisers, the internet might be in a better place. Instead we have clickbait, engagement addiction and users as products and not customers.
- jotm 8y ago
  Maybe pay per (full) view? Granular to 1 view if possible, with thumbnails? People would conserve their views but still watch/view the stuff they like. Better than shitty Chinese ads that make me wary of even opening the Youtube app.
- Hoasi 8y ago
  > Every day results in another example of why free platforms supported by advertising might not be viable a long term solution. Not just free platforms. No publication supported by advertising is a viable long-term solution let alone a desirable one. Advertising-based publishing was never a good idea. The current state of the press is a good example of that too. Unfortunately, there are not that many viable alternatives. People would pay for good journalism, not sure they would or should pay to reblog memes and other people's posts.
  - reaperducer 8y ago
    No publication supported by advertising is a viable long-term solution Define what you mean by “long-term.” America has a number of ad-supported publications that have been publishing for over 250 years. There are probably older ones in Europe and elsewhere.
    - Hoasi 8y ago
      Yes, thank you, I should have been more precise. Within the context of this Tumblr discussion, that comment refers to online platforms and I believe the comment above does too. Indeed the ad-supported model is or was viable in print for a long time, although we started to see a shift there as well. Today the print media is struggling, ad revenue may no longer be enough to keep most publications afloat. The fact this model still works for some titles and was viable for centuries doesn't make it particularly good either. With an ad-based structure, the independent press ideal was flawed from the start.
- curuinor 8y ago
  you can see something awful and metafilter as examples. they're miniscule and dying now, but somehow despite being the bonafide scum of the internet 2000-2010, something awful has chilled out (and metafilter was always pretty chill)
buboard 8y ago
> The vast vast majority of advertisers do not want to be displayed next to porn. This i dont understand though. Who wouldn't their product to be subconsciously associated with sexual satisfaction?
- ams6110 8y ago
  Subconscious is fine. It's overt porn they don't want.
  - notyourday 8y ago
    https://www.google.com/search?q=we+are+slingers https://www.google.com/search?q=we+are+slingers
- jotm 8y ago
  Probably the same reason kissing in public is OK, but fucking is not. "Sex sells" doesn't actually mean what it seems to mean. I'm also wondering why super-targeted advertising (showing actually relevant, and deeper integrated ads for different pages/posts/videos/etc) is still not a thing, there was a movement towards it but it kind of died down, even as everyone is shouting about ML and AI everywhere.
- pvarangot 8y ago
  The click through for non-porn ads besides porn is, in my experience, almost non-existant.
  - 666lumberjack 8y ago
    Wasn't there an experiment where a sandwich company bought ads next to videos on Pornhub to target hungry people who'd just gotten off and were hugely successful? Found it: https://blog.eat24.com/how-to-advertise-on-a-porn-website/ https://blog.eat24.com/how-to-advertise-on-a-porn-website/
    - bilbo0s 8y ago
rurp 8y ago
If that's the goal, then why buy a platform that's rife with porn in the first place?
- dec0dedab0de 8y ago
  well I think they bought yahoo, and tumblr just came with it.
zimpenfish 8y ago
I follow only SFW blogs on Tumblr and the adverts I get are mostly way more sexualised (scantily clad ladies reclining to sell perfume, etc.) and full screen on the iOS app (revealed as you scroll the content). I'm surprised they'd have any problems with NSFW content.
bk8335 8y ago
Except people who watch porn also buy Cheerios and Volvo's - I've never understood why such a massive market is always immediately ruled out in such an ad hungry world.
- evgen 8y ago
  Because the people who sell Cheerios and Volvo's do not want people posting pics of their ads in some camgirl site and annoying the larger audience who don't (admit to) watch porn. Head on over to pornhub, marvel at what must be absolutely mammoth page view counts, and then wonder at the below-the-bottom-of-the-barrel ads that the site is filled with.
  - number_six 8y ago
    I eat cheerios. I wouldn't not eat cheerio's just because I saw that bee next to a gangbang...
- jazzyjackson 8y ago
  I think the disconnect here is that advertising has a tacit endorsement of the site, everyone knows Volvo and General Foods is writing a check to the pornography host to display their ads. Brands were so freaked out to have their dish detergent show up next to an ISIS video because whoever uploaded the video gets their check for $5 or whatever, and then they're literally supporting terrorism.
- x0x0 8y ago
  The world is nothing like ad-hungry. Ad rates are falling to the floor. Advertisers in the current environment can be as picky as they want to be.
JohnJamesRambo 8y ago
Do you think porn watchers don't buy Cheerios and Volvos?
notyourday 8y ago
> The vast vast majority of advertisers do not want to be displayed next to porn. https://www.nycpride.org/sponsors/ https://www.nycpride.org/sponsors/ You should see what happens on and slightly off the floats.
odessacubbage 8y ago
honestly nsfw pages should just be grouped as their own package which could be sold on the basis of attracting higher potential views but also the risk of being associated with controversial content. this could be a great avenue for smaller brands who don't want to have their ads compete with nike & coca-cola for eyeballs. trying to homogenize the audience so that they fit the needs of advertisers is a fundamental failure to understand why people come to these platforms in the first place, and that isn't good for anyone's business
est 8y ago
so no ads for adult tumblrs then. Why shutting them down? You can't tag adult content or you can't write a SELECT...WHERE filter?

alexis_fr 8y ago

Maybe Verizon just signed a deal with Instagram to shut down?