3 ms·

not everyone agrees that your capital allows you to deserve our attention

zdragnar 4y ago
People have been demanding your attention to sell you things since people had things to sell - vendors shouting out from market stalls to storefront displays to door to door sales to newsprint, radio and television ads. Getting your attention has literally always been a part of selling things.
- mschuster91 4y ago
  One might be tempted to wonder how a communist or at least strongly government-regulated economy would fare. When you have only one supermarket chain, for example, why do advertising at all? Why have dozens of variations of the same products, just with different brands, assaulting your eyes the whole time you walk through a supermarket? Or worse, not just our eyes but also our ears with "store radio" yelling at us to try the new novelty super-soft toilet paper? That is maybe the worst side effect of the USSR collapse: once the counter-example went away, capitalism had free rein in going as excessive as it wanted, because the alternative (not being blared at by ads all the time) simply didn't exist any more. We literally can't imagine such a place any more... it reminds me of 1984, with the difference that we don't lack the words to describe that, instead we know that without a worldwide revolution, there will be no realistic way of turning the wheels.
  - zdragnar 4y ago
    The USSR had tons of advertising. Instead of a product, it was pitching the government. Instead of advertising, it was called agitprop. Instead of 12 kinds of toilet paper, you were lucky to have any to pick from. If you wanted furniture, or a car, or any other big ticket purchase, you'd have a years long wait (I've seen others mention 10 years to get a car) to get your order fulfilled. I'll be honest, nostalgia for the glories of command economy USSR is not really what I expected to see today when I woke up.
    - deleted 4y ago
      [deleted]
    - mschuster91 4y ago
      The USSR was all but glory, I agree, and yet it kept rabid capitalism in the West in check.
aspyct 4y ago
I never said that. However my capital - acquired through hard work - affords me a way to at least show you my offer. Whether it retains your attention is up to you.
- wahnfrieden 4y ago
  Dumb myth that capital and hard work have any connection at scale. You’re suggesting the power to control attention is earned through merit or labor (or making a “not all” argument) which is obnoxiously wrong
  - aspyct 4y ago
    Again, I never said that. Simply replying to your snarky remark and trying to remind you that I'm a human too and what you call angrily my "capital" is basically my savings I worked hard for myself. Can you please stop interpreting what I say as if I were some kind of surveillance asshole? Look, I hate surveillance as much as the next guy, but I have a one man show business I believe in, and ads are the only effective way for me to tell the world about my services. That's all.
    - wahnfrieden 4y ago
      sorry, I meant to comment on politics rather than your individual situation - I have no grudge against you as an individual, best of luck with your business
      - aspyct 4y ago
        Thanks!

People have been demanding your attention to sell you things since people had things to sell - vendors shouting out from market stalls to storefront displays to door to door sales to newsprint, radio and television ads. Getting your attention has literally always been a part of selling things.

mschuster91 4y ago
One might be tempted to wonder how a communist or at least strongly government-regulated economy would fare. When you have only one supermarket chain, for example, why do advertising at all? Why have dozens of variations of the same products, just with different brands, assaulting your eyes the whole time you walk through a supermarket? Or worse, not just our eyes but also our ears with "store radio" yelling at us to try the new novelty super-soft toilet paper? That is maybe the worst side effect of the USSR collapse: once the counter-example went away, capitalism had free rein in going as excessive as it wanted, because the alternative (not being blared at by ads all the time) simply didn't exist any more. We literally can't imagine such a place any more... it reminds me of 1984, with the difference that we don't lack the words to describe that, instead we know that without a worldwide revolution, there will be no realistic way of turning the wheels.
- zdragnar 4y ago
  The USSR had tons of advertising. Instead of a product, it was pitching the government. Instead of advertising, it was called agitprop. Instead of 12 kinds of toilet paper, you were lucky to have any to pick from. If you wanted furniture, or a car, or any other big ticket purchase, you'd have a years long wait (I've seen others mention 10 years to get a car) to get your order fulfilled. I'll be honest, nostalgia for the glories of command economy USSR is not really what I expected to see today when I woke up.
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
  - mschuster91 4y ago
    The USSR was all but glory, I agree, and yet it kept rabid capitalism in the West in check.

aspyct 4y ago

I never said that. However my capital - acquired through hard work - affords me a way to at least show you my offer. Whether it retains your attention is up to you.

wahnfrieden 4y ago
Dumb myth that capital and hard work have any connection at scale. You’re suggesting the power to control attention is earned through merit or labor (or making a “not all” argument) which is obnoxiously wrong
- aspyct 4y ago
  Again, I never said that. Simply replying to your snarky remark and trying to remind you that I'm a human too and what you call angrily my "capital" is basically my savings I worked hard for myself. Can you please stop interpreting what I say as if I were some kind of surveillance asshole? Look, I hate surveillance as much as the next guy, but I have a one man show business I believe in, and ads are the only effective way for me to tell the world about my services. That's all.
  - wahnfrieden 4y ago
    sorry, I meant to comment on politics rather than your individual situation - I have no grudge against you as an individual, best of luck with your business
    - aspyct 4y ago
      Thanks!