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This is a pipe dream. Advertising always has existed and always will. It comes and goes in different forms, but people like selling things they make or services

by kyrra 1y ago

This is a pipe dream. Advertising always has existed and always will. It comes and goes in different forms, but people like selling things they make or services they provide. Without a way of getting those things in front of people, nothing new could come to light. I agree that some sites make advertisements a massive eyesore, but that's a problem that can be solved in other ways.

_aavaa_ 1y ago
While that’s technically true it’s not true about the current type of advertising. The ads we see online now (and the tracking that goes with it) are what, 20 years old? The type of marketing and advertising we live with now is a direct descendent of research and work done in the last century (thanks Bernays). The whole point of Google was to get people answers to questions they have. Our current approach to advertising creates the problems in people’s heads only to immediately sell the solution.
idle_zealot 1y ago
> Without a way of getting those things in front of people, nothing new could come to light This argument sounds intuitive, but are we really sure about that? People willingly seek out marketing materials to find things they want to buy. I've seen people flip through coupon books and catalogs as idle entertainment. That plus word of mouth may well be sufficient to keep knowledge of new products and such in circulation. Hell, it might even yield better-informed consumers, allowing the market to function more efficiently.
- wkat4242 1y ago
  One thing I'd worry about is ads would become unviable or banned somehow would be that companies would militarize the word of mouth element. Basically like the old tupperware parties.
- Spivak 1y ago
  Facebook but for product discovery would be amazing. Their algorithm is scary good, let me sit in the driver's seat when I'm shopping around and I'll have no complaints. It's the "every surface your eyes will ever touch will have ads intermixed in" I have a problem with.
scotty79 1y ago
You could say the same about prostitution and gambling. It's still worth to treat it as it should be treated and to try to curb it.
- roscas 1y ago
  How can you compare a prostitue to a marketing person? A prostitute is still a person.
deleted 1y ago
[deleted]
bdangubic 1y ago
Without a way of getting those things in front of people, nothing new could come to light. Most of the things I own / purchase / use… I have neither seen a commercial for nor pursuaded by it if I saw it in passing. So there are other ways. Right now few of the largest companies on the planet contribute little-to-nothing to society other than showing garbage down people’s throats. Perhaps there is some happy medium but I don’t think society can ever reach it any longer
balamatom 1y ago
>Without a way of getting those things in front of people, nothing new could come to light. If my environment was not inundated with advertisement, I'd only be seeing more things that I'd be willing to pay for, not less. >I agree that some sites make advertisements a massive eyesore, but that's a problem that can be solved in other ways. Ads are not simply a way of getting your product in front of people. Ever wonder why ads are the fig leaf for mass surveillance? It's because they constitute some primitive, mild, poorly understood, but completely socially acceptable form of *non-consensual behavior modification*. That this has been tolerated up to now is a historical contigency. Much like other civilizational essentials like tobacco products and leaded gas, as soon as someone prices in the externalities - whether through regulation or through disruption - the societal attitudes to them will quickly change from "unavoidable" towards "inexcusable".

by kyrra 1y ago

_aavaa_ 1y ago

While that’s technically true it’s not true about the current type of advertising. The ads we see online now (and the tracking that goes with it) are what, 20 years old? The type of marketing and advertising we live with now is a direct descendent of research and work done in the last century (thanks Bernays). The whole point of Google was to get people answers to questions they have. Our current approach to advertising creates the problems in people’s heads only to immediately sell the solution.

idle_zealot 1y ago

> Without a way of getting those things in front of people, nothing new could come to light This argument sounds intuitive, but are we really sure about that? People willingly seek out marketing materials to find things they want to buy. I've seen people flip through coupon books and catalogs as idle entertainment. That plus word of mouth may well be sufficient to keep knowledge of new products and such in circulation. Hell, it might even yield better-informed consumers, allowing the market to function more efficiently.

wkat4242 1y ago
One thing I'd worry about is ads would become unviable or banned somehow would be that companies would militarize the word of mouth element. Basically like the old tupperware parties.
Spivak 1y ago
Facebook but for product discovery would be amazing. Their algorithm is scary good, let me sit in the driver's seat when I'm shopping around and I'll have no complaints. It's the "every surface your eyes will ever touch will have ads intermixed in" I have a problem with.

scotty79 1y ago

You could say the same about prostitution and gambling. It's still worth to treat it as it should be treated and to try to curb it.

roscas 1y ago
How can you compare a prostitue to a marketing person? A prostitute is still a person.

deleted 1y ago

[deleted]

bdangubic 1y ago

Without a way of getting those things in front of people, nothing new could come to light. Most of the things I own / purchase / use… I have neither seen a commercial for nor pursuaded by it if I saw it in passing. So there are other ways. Right now few of the largest companies on the planet contribute little-to-nothing to society other than showing garbage down people’s throats. Perhaps there is some happy medium but I don’t think society can ever reach it any longer

balamatom 1y ago

>Without a way of getting those things in front of people, nothing new could come to light. If my environment was not inundated with advertisement, I'd only be seeing more things that I'd be willing to pay for, not less. >I agree that some sites make advertisements a massive eyesore, but that's a problem that can be solved in other ways. Ads are not simply a way of getting your product in front of people. Ever wonder why ads are the fig leaf for mass surveillance? It's because they constitute some primitive, mild, poorly understood, but completely socially acceptable form of *non-consensual behavior modification*. That this has been tolerated up to now is a historical contigency. Much like other civilizational essentials like tobacco products and leaded gas, as soon as someone prices in the externalities - whether through regulation or through disruption - the societal attitudes to them will quickly change from "unavoidable" towards "inexcusable".