4 ms·

Reputable review sites are better than random advertisements

by Tempest1981 2y ago

etempleton 2y ago
How do those sites make money if advertising doesn’t exist? A major challenge in journalism is because of the collapse in value of banner ads. No one but the very largest newspapers have sustainable businesses in the United States and they only do because of the critical mass they have reached with subscribers.
- polygamous_bat 2y ago
  Good information is valuable. When internet didn’t exist people paid good money for newspaper and magazines because they provided good information which people found valuable.
- halper 2y ago
  I subscribe to a magazine that publishes tests and reviews of everything from lawn fertiliser to spices, via vacuums and mobile phones. It costs money and I trust that they are not bribed. It seems rather certain an end to advertising would mean the death of lots of low-quality "media".
cyberax 2y ago
Then they can't be free, consumers need to pay for them.
- onemoresoop 2y ago
  Or consumers could contribute back to them making them free resources. Remember the early internet? It was free and it had no ads. That until the pop-ups and flashy banner ads showed up murkying the waters. It appears that advertising inherently wants to agressively take all out attention.
  - cyberax 2y ago
    The problem here is that I'm not subscribing to a magazine that reviews lawnmowers, if I need a lawnmower once every 10 years. Some kind of micro-transaction system is needed for this, so that I can easily buy just that one review.
    - Tempest1981 2y ago
      If I couldn't find a reputable reviewer, I would ask my neighbors. More trustworthy than a banner ad.
theamk 2y ago
Do such things exist? I am pretty sure that any review site today has many "inorganic" reviews on them, and products recommended just because vendor paid more.
- rendaw 2y ago
  The context of this thread is that vendors wouldn't be able to pay review sites.
- onemoresoop 2y ago
  Because its not illegal to do shenanigans and they indeed invaded all product review sites with dishonest reviews
singpolyma3 2y ago
Except that reviews are ads...
- dismalpedigree 2y ago
  Yet another reason to ban paid ads.

Reputable review sites are better than random advertisements

How do those sites make money if advertising doesn’t exist? A major challenge in journalism is because of the collapse in value of banner ads. No one but the very largest newspapers have sustainable businesses in the United States and they only do because of the critical mass they have reached with subscribers.

polygamous_bat 2y ago
Good information is valuable. When internet didn’t exist people paid good money for newspaper and magazines because they provided good information which people found valuable.
halper 2y ago
I subscribe to a magazine that publishes tests and reviews of everything from lawn fertiliser to spices, via vacuums and mobile phones. It costs money and I trust that they are not bribed. It seems rather certain an end to advertising would mean the death of lots of low-quality "media".

cyberax 2y ago

Then they can't be free, consumers need to pay for them.

onemoresoop 2y ago
Or consumers could contribute back to them making them free resources. Remember the early internet? It was free and it had no ads. That until the pop-ups and flashy banner ads showed up murkying the waters. It appears that advertising inherently wants to agressively take all out attention.
- cyberax 2y ago
  The problem here is that I'm not subscribing to a magazine that reviews lawnmowers, if I need a lawnmower once every 10 years. Some kind of micro-transaction system is needed for this, so that I can easily buy just that one review.
  - Tempest1981 2y ago
    If I couldn't find a reputable reviewer, I would ask my neighbors. More trustworthy than a banner ad.

theamk 2y ago

Do such things exist? I am pretty sure that any review site today has many "inorganic" reviews on them, and products recommended just because vendor paid more.

rendaw 2y ago
The context of this thread is that vendors wouldn't be able to pay review sites.
onemoresoop 2y ago
Because its not illegal to do shenanigans and they indeed invaded all product review sites with dishonest reviews

singpolyma3 2y ago

Except that reviews are ads...

dismalpedigree 2y ago
Yet another reason to ban paid ads.