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I think that phrase ought to be retired simply because even if you are paying money you often still are “the product.”
by emodendroket 1y ago
I think that phrase ought to be retired simply because even if you are paying money you often still are “the product.”
- kube-system 1y agoIf you're paying money, you still might not be a company's real customer: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1093781/distribution-of-googles-revenues-by-segment/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/1093781/distribution-of-...
- emodendroket 1y agoI don’t think it’s even right to think that there’s one “real” customer and one “fake” one really. It seems like an oversimplified model that doesn’t accurately describe how anybody operates besides a mom-and-pop.
- kube-system 1y agoThe "unsimple" answer is: 1. if you don't have leverage with your vendors, they will not bend over backwards for you 2. companies are not incentivized to respond to complaints with no revenue at risk (e.g. you're going to use youtube anyway)
- pier25 1y agoAbsolutely. See TVs for example. Price has gone down because they sell the data of what you're watching.
- techjamie 1y agoDrop tens of thousands on a new vehicle at a stealership and you'll get sketchy companies offering warranties on your exact vehicle within a week and then forever-more afterwards. The way I understand it, usually either the dealership, the software they take your information in, or both typically sell off your data after the sale. Also I get calls and letters from places asking to buy a vehicle I haven't owned since 2018 regularly.
- nuodag 1y agoYes, and a way out of that is open source, where you aren't a customer…
- josefritzishere 1y agoThis is the most important thread here. I don't think even Andrew Lewis saw this coming. Now we are always the product because we lack digital rights. It's all been legislated away.