7 ms·

In related news I have noticed that most things I search on Google don't show any ads at all. I went hunting for it and found that common household items are sh

by DenisM 7y ago

In related news I have noticed that most things I search on Google don't show any ads at all. I went hunting for it and found that common household items are showing ads, but other things don't. And most certainly there is no obnoxiousness like an entire page of ads before the content.

xhkkffbf 7y ago
I think Google and Facebook are going to deliver a very surprising result.
- CydeWeys 7y ago
  Well, ad revenue is gonna be off a cliff in the next quarterly earnings, but I don't think that's going to be a surprise. Good thing they have so much cash saved up.
  - xhkkffbf 7y ago
    Amazon is going to have big profits. IT's clear, though, that GOOG and FB are losing major ad clients. The entire travel industry is not advertising and they spent bank trying to convince you to try some new hotel chain.
- dx034 7y ago
  For a few quarters. They'll survive and be back where they are now when the economy bounces back (whenever that may be). They could take a 100% cut for several quarters without cutting expenses. Small ad companies are the ones that will really suffer. They don't have Google's deep pockets and diversification.
  - frockington1 7y ago
    Facebook will be in a great position with people having more and more phone time due to the quarantine. Might be a short term hit but a big boost down the road
    - AznHisoka 7y ago
      Maybe I am missing something, but how will it be a big boost? Most users who use Messenger, Instagram and FB already are familiar with the platform. Them using it more during the lockdown is not introducing them to new features or new content. It is unlike a product like Netflix, where you delve more into their content (ie international stuff u may have not ventured in) or Zoom, which some ppl may not have known about previously.
    - dx034 7y ago
      Facebook doesn't live off views, they live off ad spend. Unless people continue to use it more when they have to go back to work, I don't believe FB will profit here.
    - CydeWeys 7y ago
      Big tech companies like Google and Facebook are seeing record usage (i.e. increased costs) at exactly the same time that advertising revenue is plunging. YouTube watches are at record highs while pays per view might be at record lows. This just means that the expenses go up even as revenue falls. It's not a good thing for profitability.
      - nostrademons 7y ago
        That's why they've stockpiled $105B and $55B in cash respectively, though. Facebook could run the company for 1.5 years if their revenue went to zero; Google could run it for 2 years. They know how the business works and position themselves to weather and profit from downturns. Some weaker shareholders may sell if they're only interested in quarterly numbers, but in the long term their revenues go back up to what their userbase justifies.
  - DeathArrow 7y ago
    Until then people might learn that an online experience without ads is possible.
    - Noos 7y ago
      until a lot of the sites go belly up, as well as many of their content creators.
    - CydeWeys 7y ago
      The current online experience is not remotely possible without ads. I'm willing to wager that the vast majority of content that you consume online is advertising supported, not directly supported by you. All of that is gonna start going away without advertising revenue.
      - banads 7y ago
        >The current online experience is not remotely possible without ads The current online experience is horrendous because of the ad industry.
- blaser-waffle 7y ago
  Wait until the political ads start to pick up the slack. Cheap ad space and a serious need to own the libs? You better believe we'll be seeing the propaganda machine roll out in the next ~6 months.
  - magsnus 7y ago
    aren't "the libs" outspending trump atleast 2:1?
labster 7y ago
uBlock Origin and DuckDuckGo user here, not noticing any change at all in website ads.
- kccqzy 7y ago
  You know that, through your choice of software, your observation is not at all meaningful in this discussion?
  - imron 7y ago
    That's the joke!
    - CydeWeys 7y ago
      It's not funny, it's just tired and repetitious, and HN discourages joking around anyway because it leads to low quality conversations and contests over who can be funnier instead of who can contribute the most meaningfully to a conversation.
      - randallsquared 7y ago
        I think it was more of a humorously-worded suggestion.
      - pbourke 7y ago
        Let’s not let any humor distract from the pedants, bores and scolds doing yeoman’s work.
      - serf 7y ago
        If you think a comment is inappropriate, flag it. Don't complain about it -- the guidelines ask you not to. Just flag it. I found that guideline when looking for the 'discourage joking' guideline. I never found the joking one, though. I don't think that it exists. I sort of get what you mean that it's discouraged, but I don't think it's something as broad as 'joking', more like "Jokes require substance and relatability to the topic, class, and cleverness". HN has quite a few funny people.

by DenisM 7y ago

xhkkffbf 7y ago

I think Google and Facebook are going to deliver a very surprising result.

CydeWeys 7y ago
Well, ad revenue is gonna be off a cliff in the next quarterly earnings, but I don't think that's going to be a surprise. Good thing they have so much cash saved up.
- xhkkffbf 7y ago
  Amazon is going to have big profits. IT's clear, though, that GOOG and FB are losing major ad clients. The entire travel industry is not advertising and they spent bank trying to convince you to try some new hotel chain.
dx034 7y ago
For a few quarters. They'll survive and be back where they are now when the economy bounces back (whenever that may be). They could take a 100% cut for several quarters without cutting expenses. Small ad companies are the ones that will really suffer. They don't have Google's deep pockets and diversification.
- frockington1 7y ago
  Facebook will be in a great position with people having more and more phone time due to the quarantine. Might be a short term hit but a big boost down the road
  - AznHisoka 7y ago
    Maybe I am missing something, but how will it be a big boost? Most users who use Messenger, Instagram and FB already are familiar with the platform. Them using it more during the lockdown is not introducing them to new features or new content. It is unlike a product like Netflix, where you delve more into their content (ie international stuff u may have not ventured in) or Zoom, which some ppl may not have known about previously.
  - dx034 7y ago
    Facebook doesn't live off views, they live off ad spend. Unless people continue to use it more when they have to go back to work, I don't believe FB will profit here.
  - CydeWeys 7y ago
    Big tech companies like Google and Facebook are seeing record usage (i.e. increased costs) at exactly the same time that advertising revenue is plunging. YouTube watches are at record highs while pays per view might be at record lows. This just means that the expenses go up even as revenue falls. It's not a good thing for profitability.
    - nostrademons 7y ago
      That's why they've stockpiled $105B and $55B in cash respectively, though. Facebook could run the company for 1.5 years if their revenue went to zero; Google could run it for 2 years. They know how the business works and position themselves to weather and profit from downturns. Some weaker shareholders may sell if they're only interested in quarterly numbers, but in the long term their revenues go back up to what their userbase justifies.
- DeathArrow 7y ago
  Until then people might learn that an online experience without ads is possible.
  - Noos 7y ago
    until a lot of the sites go belly up, as well as many of their content creators.
  - CydeWeys 7y ago
    The current online experience is not remotely possible without ads. I'm willing to wager that the vast majority of content that you consume online is advertising supported, not directly supported by you. All of that is gonna start going away without advertising revenue.
    - banads 7y ago
      >The current online experience is not remotely possible without ads The current online experience is horrendous because of the ad industry.
blaser-waffle 7y ago
Wait until the political ads start to pick up the slack. Cheap ad space and a serious need to own the libs? You better believe we'll be seeing the propaganda machine roll out in the next ~6 months.
- magsnus 7y ago
  aren't "the libs" outspending trump atleast 2:1?

labster 7y ago

uBlock Origin and DuckDuckGo user here, not noticing any change at all in website ads.

kccqzy 7y ago
You know that, through your choice of software, your observation is not at all meaningful in this discussion?
- imron 7y ago
  That's the joke!
  - CydeWeys 7y ago
    It's not funny, it's just tired and repetitious, and HN discourages joking around anyway because it leads to low quality conversations and contests over who can be funnier instead of who can contribute the most meaningfully to a conversation.
    - randallsquared 7y ago
      I think it was more of a humorously-worded suggestion.
    - pbourke 7y ago
      Let’s not let any humor distract from the pedants, bores and scolds doing yeoman’s work.
    - serf 7y ago
      If you think a comment is inappropriate, flag it. Don't complain about it -- the guidelines ask you not to. Just flag it. I found that guideline when looking for the 'discourage joking' guideline. I never found the joking one, though. I don't think that it exists. I sort of get what you mean that it's discouraged, but I don't think it's something as broad as 'joking', more like "Jokes require substance and relatability to the topic, class, and cleverness". HN has quite a few funny people.