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I've been using YouTube less because of ads. Partially consciously after a set of two long ads to send the message that this harms engagement, partially I just

by Aachen 4y ago

I've been using YouTube less because of ads. Partially consciously after a set of two long ads to send the message that this harms engagement, partially I just get annoyed and stay away naturally. If they're ramping it up.... crap. It's not like there's an alternative and I'm not that fond of making the monopolist more entrenched by giving google, of all companies, more money in a subscription and tying the account to a real-world identity, also when considering all the other stuff google already collect on me. (I've tried Nebula and CuriosityStream which many creators I watch constantly promote(d). Was done with the interesting content in one week and its size means there's very little fresh material, and also it doesn't run on the tv which I could work around with extra hardware if it were amazing but...)

nomel 4y ago
An alternative is, of course, YouTube Premium. Their pricing always seemed very high to me, but now I wonder if it was meant to be in the context of this number of ads.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- Aachen 4y ago
  Yeah I realized that I should add why that seems even worse to me, so I edited that in. To elaborate a little, I pay for Spotify, Netflix, F-Droid, OsmAnd, Simple Mobile Tools, FairEmail, K9, Internet Archive, and other software and services I use.... independent companies and creators that don't already track me to hell. Giving money to google would be out of necessity, not to help them strengthen their position if I can avoid it. If YouTube spins off as an independent firm where you can have an account that has independent guidelines and everything, I'd sign up in a heartbeat. They make a good product and have good content, the only downside is that there's zero competition but that's not a deal breaker by itself.
  - christophilus 4y ago
    I’m in the same boat. I watch YouTube via Brave or uBlock + Firefox. If YouTube spun out of Google, I’d pay for premium. I get a lot of value out of it. I just can’t bring myself to pay Google for anything. I know it’s not really rational, and in a way, ad-blockers feel a little like piracy. But it’s where I am.
    - Aachen 4y ago
      100%. I have a hard time explaining even to myself what makes it feel so wrong to pay google for their monopoly, it's a good product after all and usually that means I feel obliged to make money roll. On pc I indeed also use the ad blocker, but on tv that doesn't work. (I also tried pi hole)
      - brokenmachine 4y ago
        For me it's the lack of customer service. Even paying customers get zero support. I'm not encouraging that.
  - tacotacotaco 4y ago
    This. If YouTube were independent I would also be inclined to buy Premium. I already pay for several other streaming services. I do not want Google tracking my viewing habits (you must log in to use Premium) just so they can sell targeted ads via their other properties.

by Aachen 4y ago

nomel 4y ago

An alternative is, of course, YouTube Premium. Their pricing always seemed very high to me, but now I wonder if it was meant to be in the context of this number of ads.

deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
Aachen 4y ago
Yeah I realized that I should add why that seems even worse to me, so I edited that in. To elaborate a little, I pay for Spotify, Netflix, F-Droid, OsmAnd, Simple Mobile Tools, FairEmail, K9, Internet Archive, and other software and services I use.... independent companies and creators that don't already track me to hell. Giving money to google would be out of necessity, not to help them strengthen their position if I can avoid it. If YouTube spins off as an independent firm where you can have an account that has independent guidelines and everything, I'd sign up in a heartbeat. They make a good product and have good content, the only downside is that there's zero competition but that's not a deal breaker by itself.
- christophilus 4y ago
  I’m in the same boat. I watch YouTube via Brave or uBlock + Firefox. If YouTube spun out of Google, I’d pay for premium. I get a lot of value out of it. I just can’t bring myself to pay Google for anything. I know it’s not really rational, and in a way, ad-blockers feel a little like piracy. But it’s where I am.
  - Aachen 4y ago
    100%. I have a hard time explaining even to myself what makes it feel so wrong to pay google for their monopoly, it's a good product after all and usually that means I feel obliged to make money roll. On pc I indeed also use the ad blocker, but on tv that doesn't work. (I also tried pi hole)
    - brokenmachine 4y ago
      For me it's the lack of customer service. Even paying customers get zero support. I'm not encouraging that.
- tacotacotaco 4y ago
  This. If YouTube were independent I would also be inclined to buy Premium. I already pay for several other streaming services. I do not want Google tracking my viewing habits (you must log in to use Premium) just so they can sell targeted ads via their other properties.