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Not the original commentor but I have the same order. For me it boils down to these companies' business models. Google and Facebook make their money by providi

Not the original commentor but I have the same order. For me it boils down to these companies' business models. Google and Facebook make their money by providing a free service and selling access to the data of their users. In that sense, I am not their customer, but rather their product, being sold to advertisers. My use of Google and Facebook services mostly boils down to a lack of viable alternatives, because nobody can really compete with "free" on the scale these players operate at. Apple's business model is very different. Apple makes their money by selling me hardware, and access to their ecosystem through that hardware. I am the customer, not the product, and that is reflected in how Apple treats their users. Apple are big fans of creating vendor lock-in with a walled-garden approach to their ecosystem, but they also know that they only get away with this as long as their customers are satisfied enough not to look for alternatives. So while I do not find this arrangement ideal, I do find it considerably more honest and palatable than what Facebook is offering.

throwaway1777 4y ago
This is such a common trope I have to push back. FB absolutely depends on user growth so you are a customer as well. Advertisers would leave if you left. If you go to tiktok because meta’s products aren’t as good/fun/cool that is a huge problem. It’s possible for companies to have multiple customers, in fact it’s pretty common.
- babypuncher 4y ago
  TikTok is not really a direct competitor to Facebook. I'm trapped on Facebook because that is were a lot of my friends and family are, and FB Messenger is the only real way I have to talk to a lot of them. TikTok really only competes with a small part of Facebook's business (Instagram). Apple does not enjoy that kind of vendor lock-in. The impetus to move to competitor when you are unhappy is also a lot stronger when staying with your current provider costs you money.
  - LordDragonfang 4y ago
    >TikTok is not really a direct competitor to Facebook. TikTok isn't a direct competitor in your age demographic. Almost no one under the age of 20 has a Facebook account nowadays - when I asked high schoolers a few years ago it was Instagram instead, and TikTok is increasingly getting bigger.
    - babypuncher 4y ago
      I use both. TikTok feels more like YouTube, Twitter, and Instagram. It is a social media platform where most users follow a relatively small number of influencers, rather than interfacing with their peers. Facebook is more of a communication platform between peers. It kind of competes more with email and messaging clients. Facebook losing sight on this and pushing people to larger more impersonal groups and influencers is why I think they are dying, because everyone else already does that better. For my immediate family, Facebook has largely been supplanted by iMessage and iCloud. We hold conversations and group chats in iMessage, and share photos and videos through iCloud. TikTok fills a different purpose entirely.
- dickersnoodle 4y ago
  According to Merriam-Webster, "customer" is defined as "one that purchases a commodity or service" so it isn't really a trope.
- kergonath 4y ago
  > FB absolutely depends on user growth so you are a customer as well This does not follow. KFC depends on chicken production scaling up as well, it does not make the chickens their customers.
GekkePrutser 4y ago
> but they also know that they only get away with this as long as their customers are satisfied enough not to look for alternatives. Which is entirely why they make it as hard to switch as possible, creating an additional barrier over just the user's satisfaction with the ecosystem.
zip1234 4y ago
Allow me to introduce you to Apple search Ads: https://searchads.apple.com/ https://searchads.apple.com/
ipaddr 4y ago
Apple is the least trustworthy and morally punishing of the group. I trust facebook, google than apple. Facebook has been holding personal photos and connecting relationships for years. Google has been collecting search details for years. Both have a similiar business models and want to keep my data to themselves for realtime bidding. If Apple owned facebook everything would be highly censored. If Apple had Google's search all sites would need to be approved by Apple and all content must be family friendly. Apple creates a fake disney walled garden wherever it goes.
- sneak 4y ago
  A minor nit: Facebook is already heavily censored, including private messages.
pishpash 4y ago
On the consumer side, Google has begun charging for services like storage. It also sells Pixel phones and licenses Android. Maybe it's still heavily subsidized but it's not that clear cut.

throwaway1777 4y ago

This is such a common trope I have to push back. FB absolutely depends on user growth so you are a customer as well. Advertisers would leave if you left. If you go to tiktok because meta’s products aren’t as good/fun/cool that is a huge problem. It’s possible for companies to have multiple customers, in fact it’s pretty common.

babypuncher 4y ago
TikTok is not really a direct competitor to Facebook. I'm trapped on Facebook because that is were a lot of my friends and family are, and FB Messenger is the only real way I have to talk to a lot of them. TikTok really only competes with a small part of Facebook's business (Instagram). Apple does not enjoy that kind of vendor lock-in. The impetus to move to competitor when you are unhappy is also a lot stronger when staying with your current provider costs you money.
- LordDragonfang 4y ago
  >TikTok is not really a direct competitor to Facebook. TikTok isn't a direct competitor in your age demographic. Almost no one under the age of 20 has a Facebook account nowadays - when I asked high schoolers a few years ago it was Instagram instead, and TikTok is increasingly getting bigger.
  - babypuncher 4y ago
    I use both. TikTok feels more like YouTube, Twitter, and Instagram. It is a social media platform where most users follow a relatively small number of influencers, rather than interfacing with their peers. Facebook is more of a communication platform between peers. It kind of competes more with email and messaging clients. Facebook losing sight on this and pushing people to larger more impersonal groups and influencers is why I think they are dying, because everyone else already does that better. For my immediate family, Facebook has largely been supplanted by iMessage and iCloud. We hold conversations and group chats in iMessage, and share photos and videos through iCloud. TikTok fills a different purpose entirely.
dickersnoodle 4y ago
According to Merriam-Webster, "customer" is defined as "one that purchases a commodity or service" so it isn't really a trope.
kergonath 4y ago
> FB absolutely depends on user growth so you are a customer as well This does not follow. KFC depends on chicken production scaling up as well, it does not make the chickens their customers.

GekkePrutser 4y ago

> but they also know that they only get away with this as long as their customers are satisfied enough not to look for alternatives. Which is entirely why they make it as hard to switch as possible, creating an additional barrier over just the user's satisfaction with the ecosystem.

zip1234 4y ago

Allow me to introduce you to Apple search Ads: https://searchads.apple.com/ https://searchads.apple.com/

ipaddr 4y ago

Apple is the least trustworthy and morally punishing of the group. I trust facebook, google than apple. Facebook has been holding personal photos and connecting relationships for years. Google has been collecting search details for years. Both have a similiar business models and want to keep my data to themselves for realtime bidding. If Apple owned facebook everything would be highly censored. If Apple had Google's search all sites would need to be approved by Apple and all content must be family friendly. Apple creates a fake disney walled garden wherever it goes.

sneak 4y ago
A minor nit: Facebook is already heavily censored, including private messages.

pishpash 4y ago

On the consumer side, Google has begun charging for services like storage. It also sells Pixel phones and licenses Android. Maybe it's still heavily subsidized but it's not that clear cut.