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I agree with all your critique of Google/YouTube, so I was surprised to read that > I pay for YouTube Premium So you're aware that you're the product even if

• jiggawatts 6y ago
  A hen will lay eggs, which have a fairly direct monetary value. It doesn't mean the farmer treats their chickens like customers. In a poor town, a shopkeeper may accept barter instead of cash. Their customers might pay them with eggs, and they would be treated like valued customers even if they're too poor to use trade with real money. It's a matter of corporate culture on how the consumers are viewed. For largely advertising-driven companies their users are products, even if they pay. For largely product and sales-driven companies their users are customers, even if they're in a free tier or a trial account or whatever.
  • tracker1 6y ago
    In the case of YouTube Premium, you're paying in lieu of advertisements, so you're the customer again. ;-) Also, my understanding is for most Premium users the creators get a bigger slice than they tend to get from ad views.