5 ms·

I use FB as an easy way to garner news from several locations at once. Of course FB uses that to litter my 'news feed' with junk (eg suggestions of all kinds).

I use FB as an easy way to garner news from several locations at once. Of course FB uses that to litter my 'news feed' with junk (eg suggestions of all kinds). So I'm two minds about this being a problem for me (an Aussie). However, when I read this sob story by FB : > publishers willingly choose to post news on Facebook, as it allows them to sell more subscriptions, grow their audiences and increase advertising revenue. ...I know that's not the truth. A lot of the news I read is the same as the free-to-air news that I get across all tv channels (sbs, abc*), so this notion that they'll be losing money anyway is a bit of a misnomer. *abc is the same as the US's pbs

SpicyLemonZest 6y ago
I'm confused how you know that's not the truth. Why are the publishers posting on Facebook if not because they expect it'll get them more readers?
- dannyr 6y ago
  In some countries, Facebook has a monopoly in online distribution that publishers have no other choice aside from Facebook to get readers.
  - anonAndOn 6y ago
    Is that because they're legally forbidden from setting up their own website or is it because they're unwilling to spend money on some decent developers and build a homepage worth checking everyday?
pantsforbirds 6y ago
Except its obvious that posting news articles drives readership towards the links. You get very detailed statistics from Facebook on clickthrough rates and its not hard to see who clicks through that already has an account for your site (and is likely already a regular reader). Some simple business analysis would show that having a strong presence on Facebook drives value to the company. Look at a company like the American Right Wing outlet DailyWire. They have a massive presence on Facebook and they do a good job of getting people to comment and share articles and it has caused the valuation of the company to explode. (see Now This for a left wing example).

SpicyLemonZest 6y ago

I'm confused how you know that's not the truth. Why are the publishers posting on Facebook if not because they expect it'll get them more readers?

dannyr 6y ago
In some countries, Facebook has a monopoly in online distribution that publishers have no other choice aside from Facebook to get readers.
- anonAndOn 6y ago
  Is that because they're legally forbidden from setting up their own website or is it because they're unwilling to spend money on some decent developers and build a homepage worth checking everyday?

pantsforbirds 6y ago

Except its obvious that posting news articles drives readership towards the links. You get very detailed statistics from Facebook on clickthrough rates and its not hard to see who clicks through that already has an account for your site (and is likely already a regular reader). Some simple business analysis would show that having a strong presence on Facebook drives value to the company. Look at a company like the American Right Wing outlet DailyWire. They have a massive presence on Facebook and they do a good job of getting people to comment and share articles and it has caused the valuation of the company to explode. (see Now This for a left wing example).