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So this is a bit of a tangent, but I'm a bit of a fan of economist Hyman Minsky (fascinating, accessible writing on economics btw). One of the really interestin

by riggins 13y ago

So this is a bit of a tangent, but I'm a bit of a fan of economist Hyman Minsky (fascinating, accessible writing on economics btw). One of the really interesting things that Minsky repeatedly points out is that advertising isn't technologically necessary. It's kinda mind-boggling to step back and think that the main service (advertising) that one of the most valuable companies in world charges for is entirely unnecessary (I put it that way because I think google provides a lot of valuable services they don't charge for). Its always fun to noodle a bit about a world without advertising. I'm sure we'd get along just fine. We'd still figure out what food, clothes, cars, household goods to buy.

freehunter 13y ago
Of course advertising isn't necessary. People will find what they need. The point of advertising is to create a need, and after that, make sure that this need is fulfilled by a specific brand. People might find the best product on their own. But companies don't want you to find the best product. They want you to find their product.
willismichael 13y ago
I don't get the downvotes - I actually found this to be an interesting comment, thinking about what would happen if we had a mechanism for product discovery other than the kinds of advertising that we get today.
mtrimpe 13y ago
What I find even more mind-bending is that since premium brands often come from the same production line as cheaper brands, you're actually paying a company a premium to to convince you they're worth the premium for convincing you even more they're worth ... you get my point.
- jlgreco 13y ago
  Obviously the importance of it depends on the product, and some things don't do it at all, but there is the consideration that although two products came from the same line, they were branded according to how well they passed QA. Sometimes they keep the same overall brand (see: Intel and AMD disabling defective cores) and sometimes nobody even pretends that the product you are buying is not the result of failed QA for another product (bags of broken pretzel bits), but between those you get a fuzzier line. I have heard that consumer batteries do this for example: the weird-brand batteries that come in your remote control from the factory are probably rebranded batteries from a company you have heard of.
bambax 13y ago
I live in a world as free from advertising as I can make it (AdBlock + no tv + no radio), and I do get along fine. What's interesting is that advertising that doesn't concern you isn't as annoying as advertising for products that you're able to buy. I love The Daily Show, but sometimes, for some reason, it only works with AdBlock disabled. All ads on The Daily Show are for American products not available here (fast food brands that aren't present in France, cars that don't exist here) and those ads don't bother me much -- they don't clutter my brain the way an ad for something I could buy does.
- bduerst 13y ago
  I turned adblock off the other day to debug some chromium issues, and forgot I had left it off. Did you know they now have video ads where you have to type the text of the product slogan if you want to skip the ad? It's a bit annoying.
bgilroy26 13y ago
You're right and everything is going to change. On the other hand it isn't technically completely true. Advertising and sales, are product info and persuasive information. Product info is relatively straightforward I think. Persuasive information is credible information about the buyer that explains why the product is needed. The reviews on Amazon serve this need. The websites of camping enthusiasts or cooking enthusiasts etc etc serve this need in Google. They aren't going away, the work is being done by entities other than the manufacturer. They're being outsourced to amazon or the buyers peers, but the work still needs to get done.

by riggins 13y ago

freehunter 13y ago

Of course advertising isn't necessary. People will find what they need. The point of advertising is to create a need, and after that, make sure that this need is fulfilled by a specific brand. People might find the best product on their own. But companies don't want you to find the best product. They want you to find their product.

willismichael 13y ago

I don't get the downvotes - I actually found this to be an interesting comment, thinking about what would happen if we had a mechanism for product discovery other than the kinds of advertising that we get today.

mtrimpe 13y ago

What I find even more mind-bending is that since premium brands often come from the same production line as cheaper brands, you're actually paying a company a premium to to convince you they're worth the premium for convincing you even more they're worth ... you get my point.

jlgreco 13y ago
Obviously the importance of it depends on the product, and some things don't do it at all, but there is the consideration that although two products came from the same line, they were branded according to how well they passed QA. Sometimes they keep the same overall brand (see: Intel and AMD disabling defective cores) and sometimes nobody even pretends that the product you are buying is not the result of failed QA for another product (bags of broken pretzel bits), but between those you get a fuzzier line. I have heard that consumer batteries do this for example: the weird-brand batteries that come in your remote control from the factory are probably rebranded batteries from a company you have heard of.

bambax 13y ago

I live in a world as free from advertising as I can make it (AdBlock + no tv + no radio), and I do get along fine. What's interesting is that advertising that doesn't concern you isn't as annoying as advertising for products that you're able to buy. I love The Daily Show, but sometimes, for some reason, it only works with AdBlock disabled. All ads on The Daily Show are for American products not available here (fast food brands that aren't present in France, cars that don't exist here) and those ads don't bother me much -- they don't clutter my brain the way an ad for something I could buy does.

bduerst 13y ago
I turned adblock off the other day to debug some chromium issues, and forgot I had left it off. Did you know they now have video ads where you have to type the text of the product slogan if you want to skip the ad? It's a bit annoying.

bgilroy26 13y ago

You're right and everything is going to change. On the other hand it isn't technically completely true. Advertising and sales, are product info and persuasive information. Product info is relatively straightforward I think. Persuasive information is credible information about the buyer that explains why the product is needed. The reviews on Amazon serve this need. The websites of camping enthusiasts or cooking enthusiasts etc etc serve this need in Google. They aren't going away, the work is being done by entities other than the manufacturer. They're being outsourced to amazon or the buyers peers, but the work still needs to get done.