I was wondering what Unsplash's business model was, and I stumbled onto [1]: > Nor is it going to slap banner ads on every page of its website. Yes, it’s unvei

I was wondering what Unsplash's business model was, and I stumbled onto [1]: > Nor is it going to slap banner ads on every page of its website. Yes, it’s unveiling a digital advertising business, but Unsplash is taking a specific approach — working with companies to create branded photos, which will then appear on desirable searches. > Square, for example, could upload photos of the Square Register, which will then show up when Unsplash users search for “cash register” and other terms. > Brands working with Unsplash will get prominent placement in relevant searches, as well as their own brand channel, but Cho said the real impact only begins on the Unsplash website. So basically, without you realizing it, you may end up with paid product placement in your presentations and (pointless) header images on your Medium articles. Sometimes I wonder of the answer to the Fermi Paradox and the Great Filter is: eventually all alien civilizations end up converting their entire society and economy into advertising monetization, all corporations consolidate into one giant inert behemoth, all real progress stops, and the species converts its entire planet into fuel for AdCoin cryptomining and winks out of existence. I miss the days where people just, like, started businesses that charged people for stuff, and people bought that stuff, and the business stayed in business without having to be acquired or snuffed out by a megacorp. [1]: https://techcrunch.com/2019/12/10/unsplash-for-brands/ https://techcrunch.com/2019/12/10/unsplash-for-brands/