6 ms·

Unsolicited advertising in general is immoral. Personal recommendations and solicited advice/help are not. Good ideas spread naturally, they don't need unsolic

Unsolicited advertising in general is immoral. Personal recommendations and solicited advice/help are not. Good ideas spread naturally, they don't need unsolicited advertising.

deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
darawk 8y ago
> Unsolicited advertising in general is immoral. So you specifically requested to every media outlet and person that you know, that they inform you if and when someone starts manufacturing small rectangles capable of computing and communicating wirelessly? > Good ideas spread naturally, they don't need unsolicited advertising. This is simply false. There are plenty of good ideas that don't spread even with advertising. If you actually believe this, it doesn't seem like you've actually given this very much thought at all.
- KozmoNau7 8y ago
  Just because you personally disagree, that does not mean my ideals are somehow thoughtless or not fully formed. I bought my first mobile phone because I needed to call people when not near a landline, and I chose a Nokia because that's what my parents had and recommended. I got my first smartphone at work, because they wanted us to have email and a web browser available on the go (I work at a major telco), they chose the specific model for me (and have done so for every one of my work phones since). I bought my first smartphone for similar reasons, which I chose because it was the next version of one I had at work. My current phone was chosen because it has longer battery life than the other phones I looked at, which I discovered by looking at spec sheets. Advertising did not play into it, I had specific needs that I wanted to cover, and I sought out the information I needed to make an informed choice. You seem to think that advertising is the primary (or only) source of information about new products and services, which is just blatantly false. I live my life as free from advertising as I can possibly make it. Will some ads inevitably sneak in, as paid-for articles or the like? Sure, but I do try to avoid them whenever possible, it is usually relatively easy to spot product placement or fluff pieces. Everyone should try living without ads everywhere. It's rather nice. I don't care about buying stuff just because I've heard of it. I only buy things if I have specific needs that I need to cover, and I don't impulse buy anything.
  - darawk 8y ago
    Advertising absolutely played into it. You just aren't thinking more than one step out. How did your company know about them? How did your parents? > Everyone should try living without ads everywhere. It's rather nice. I don't care about buying stuff just because I've heard of it. I only buy things if I have specific needs that I need to cover, and I don't impulse buy anything. I'm sure that I see similarly few ads to you. I use an adblocker. I don't watch television. But if a product is good enough, it will bubble up to me through the culture. However, even though i'm not directly viewing the advertisements, those advertisements are still necessary to bootstrap that bubbling process. Without advertising, it is extremely difficult for disruptive companies to get off the ground. Companies that create enormous amounts of value for lots of people.
    - KozmoNau7 8y ago
      Sure, advertising could have played a role. My point is that none of that advertising was actually necessary.
      - darawk 8y ago
        I guess we have different definitions of necessary. Advertising takes many forms. One form of advertising is product placement on shelf space in your drug store. To go back to the example of razor blades...without explicit advertising, someone has to have the prominent shelf space. Shelf space in drug stores is limited. What that means is that the shelf space is going to go to the highest bidder. How then is a cheap razor blade company going to get on the shelves? The answer is that they aren't. Which means that the only channel they are going to be able to distribute through is one like the internet. If you are running your cheap razor blade company which unequivocally benefits everyone who buys it (the razors are just as good, but cost dramatically less) how do you reach your customers without advertising? How does that company get bootstrapped? Do you think that company wasn't worthwhile, or do you think that it could have happened without advertising?

Unsolicited advertising in general is immoral. Personal recommendations and solicited advice/help are not. Good ideas spread naturally, they don't need unsolicited advertising.

deleted 8y ago

[deleted]

darawk 8y ago

> Unsolicited advertising in general is immoral. So you specifically requested to every media outlet and person that you know, that they inform you if and when someone starts manufacturing small rectangles capable of computing and communicating wirelessly? > Good ideas spread naturally, they don't need unsolicited advertising. This is simply false. There are plenty of good ideas that don't spread even with advertising. If you actually believe this, it doesn't seem like you've actually given this very much thought at all.

KozmoNau7 8y ago
Just because you personally disagree, that does not mean my ideals are somehow thoughtless or not fully formed. I bought my first mobile phone because I needed to call people when not near a landline, and I chose a Nokia because that's what my parents had and recommended. I got my first smartphone at work, because they wanted us to have email and a web browser available on the go (I work at a major telco), they chose the specific model for me (and have done so for every one of my work phones since). I bought my first smartphone for similar reasons, which I chose because it was the next version of one I had at work. My current phone was chosen because it has longer battery life than the other phones I looked at, which I discovered by looking at spec sheets. Advertising did not play into it, I had specific needs that I wanted to cover, and I sought out the information I needed to make an informed choice. You seem to think that advertising is the primary (or only) source of information about new products and services, which is just blatantly false. I live my life as free from advertising as I can possibly make it. Will some ads inevitably sneak in, as paid-for articles or the like? Sure, but I do try to avoid them whenever possible, it is usually relatively easy to spot product placement or fluff pieces. Everyone should try living without ads everywhere. It's rather nice. I don't care about buying stuff just because I've heard of it. I only buy things if I have specific needs that I need to cover, and I don't impulse buy anything.
- darawk 8y ago
  Advertising absolutely played into it. You just aren't thinking more than one step out. How did your company know about them? How did your parents? > Everyone should try living without ads everywhere. It's rather nice. I don't care about buying stuff just because I've heard of it. I only buy things if I have specific needs that I need to cover, and I don't impulse buy anything. I'm sure that I see similarly few ads to you. I use an adblocker. I don't watch television. But if a product is good enough, it will bubble up to me through the culture. However, even though i'm not directly viewing the advertisements, those advertisements are still necessary to bootstrap that bubbling process. Without advertising, it is extremely difficult for disruptive companies to get off the ground. Companies that create enormous amounts of value for lots of people.
  - KozmoNau7 8y ago
    Sure, advertising could have played a role. My point is that none of that advertising was actually necessary.
    - darawk 8y ago
      I guess we have different definitions of necessary. Advertising takes many forms. One form of advertising is product placement on shelf space in your drug store. To go back to the example of razor blades...without explicit advertising, someone has to have the prominent shelf space. Shelf space in drug stores is limited. What that means is that the shelf space is going to go to the highest bidder. How then is a cheap razor blade company going to get on the shelves? The answer is that they aren't. Which means that the only channel they are going to be able to distribute through is one like the internet. If you are running your cheap razor blade company which unequivocally benefits everyone who buys it (the razors are just as good, but cost dramatically less) how do you reach your customers without advertising? How does that company get bootstrapped? Do you think that company wasn't worthwhile, or do you think that it could have happened without advertising?