6 ms·

In my opinion it definitely is zero. Word of mouth is more than enough to learn of good new things.

by GekkePrutser 4y ago

tomrod 4y ago
That is a form of advertising.
- GekkePrutser 4y ago
  I guess but not initiated by sales and marketing people trying to flog stuff I don't need, but actual satisfied customers who I can trust because they're my friends.
  - tomrod 4y ago
    I'm against most advertising as well, but affiliate advertising is a very known thing. Consider MLMs as a model (a disgusting one at that) but friend-marketing is a thing. Advertising that informs can be a net positive. Advertising that does anything else is a large waste of resources, IMHO.
    - em-bee 4y ago
      that's a good point. i don't like advertising either. but friends trying to sell me stuff so they can make a living somehow feels worse. or imagine advertisements be replaced with door-to-door salespeople. i think a good way would be more markets. imagine "market-day" on a tech conference. everyone at a conference who is selling services in a room sitting at a table, and you can walk up to them if we are looking for some service.
  - endgame 4y ago
    If you ban all other forms of advertising, you will get fake "friends" trying to sell you stuff. I suppose "influencers" and MLMs are existing versions of this, but they are rightly seen as tacky and parasocial. Do you really want to force all advertising down that route?
- JumpCrisscross 4y ago
  > is a form of advertising In modern parlance, word of mouth is a form of marketing. Advertising is “an openly sponsored, non-personal message to promote or sell a product, service or idea” [1]. (Also, word of mouth has strong incumbency bias. The printing press was revolutionary for a reason.) [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advertising https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advertising
  - tomrod 4y ago
    I disagree with that definition. Webster's has the more common definition, of which the definition on wikipedia is a subset[0]: > the action of calling something to the attention of the public especially by paid announcements For example, this current comment advertises for Merriam-Webster's definition of advertising by calling attention to it. [0] https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/advertising https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/advertising
    - JumpCrisscross 4y ago
      > especially by paid announcements There isn’t a single correct answer, because English. But in modern parlance, particularly in policy and commercial contexts, the paid part is key. “Word of mouth” encapsulates the difference: if they’re paid, they’re a spokesperson. If your friend pitching a product doesn’t disclose they’re paid, most would consider that dishonest.

In my opinion it definitely is zero. Word of mouth is more than enough to learn of good new things.

tomrod 4y ago

That is a form of advertising.

GekkePrutser 4y ago
I guess but not initiated by sales and marketing people trying to flog stuff I don't need, but actual satisfied customers who I can trust because they're my friends.
- tomrod 4y ago
  I'm against most advertising as well, but affiliate advertising is a very known thing. Consider MLMs as a model (a disgusting one at that) but friend-marketing is a thing. Advertising that informs can be a net positive. Advertising that does anything else is a large waste of resources, IMHO.
  - em-bee 4y ago
    that's a good point. i don't like advertising either. but friends trying to sell me stuff so they can make a living somehow feels worse. or imagine advertisements be replaced with door-to-door salespeople. i think a good way would be more markets. imagine "market-day" on a tech conference. everyone at a conference who is selling services in a room sitting at a table, and you can walk up to them if we are looking for some service.
- endgame 4y ago
  If you ban all other forms of advertising, you will get fake "friends" trying to sell you stuff. I suppose "influencers" and MLMs are existing versions of this, but they are rightly seen as tacky and parasocial. Do you really want to force all advertising down that route?
JumpCrisscross 4y ago
> is a form of advertising In modern parlance, word of mouth is a form of marketing. Advertising is “an openly sponsored, non-personal message to promote or sell a product, service or idea” [1]. (Also, word of mouth has strong incumbency bias. The printing press was revolutionary for a reason.) [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advertising https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advertising
- tomrod 4y ago
  I disagree with that definition. Webster's has the more common definition, of which the definition on wikipedia is a subset[0]: > the action of calling something to the attention of the public especially by paid announcements For example, this current comment advertises for Merriam-Webster's definition of advertising by calling attention to it. [0] https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/advertising https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/advertising
  - JumpCrisscross 4y ago
    > especially by paid announcements There isn’t a single correct answer, because English. But in modern parlance, particularly in policy and commercial contexts, the paid part is key. “Word of mouth” encapsulates the difference: if they’re paid, they’re a spokesperson. If your friend pitching a product doesn’t disclose they’re paid, most would consider that dishonest.