4 ms·

Without ad revenue some free services may no longer be free.

• jleyank 4y ago
  Understood. But then people would be able to evaluate their worth, and if smaller it’s possible that “small, tailored companies” might be able to thrive or survive without being killed or consumed.
• dredmorbius 4y ago
  That would be an improvement. It's also not the only option. Public funding or a mechanical royalties paid in large part through broadband providers (ISPs / telcos / wireless providers), possibly along the lines of ASCAP / Harry Fox, might be an option. "Free" Internet is not free. Advertising support is paid through spending on consumer products. That works out to north of $117/year per person in FB's most lucrative markets (US/EU/Japan), of about 1 billion people. That's $468 for a household of four. For Facebook alone. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32118404 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32118404 Total global ad spend was $600 billion as of a few years back, or $2,400 for that household of four. Are you realy getting $2,400 worth of value via clickbait, disinformation, outrage media, and the like? Keep in mind that substantive content fares quite poorly under the "attention economy". I've suggested an ISP-based content fee, indexed to regional wealth (more expensive in higher-income / higher-wealth areas). See: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28329203 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28329203