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You are correct in saying there's no free lunch. However, I disagree with a couple things. 1) We, as consumers, do not pay for the ad tech infrastructure - the
by temuze 13y ago
You are correct in saying there's no free lunch. However, I disagree with a couple things.
1) We, as consumers, do not pay for the ad tech infrastructure - the publishers do. Their purpose is to make the inventory more valuable and allow publishers to get more money than they normally would. Better targeted ads mean less ads.
2) The Dalton Caldwell argument doesn't hold up. Do television programs design for advertisers? Yes, but they also need to design for consumers. A television show that has commercials all the time will get less views and so will an ad infested website with a terrible experience. That fear of alienation is why Facebook isn't a giant display ad.
3) Websites aren't necessarily backed by the purchase of products through ads. There are such things as "brand recognition" ads that do not rely on instant action. After all, most television ads are not informomercials or "buy now" ads. I think we'll see more brand recognition ads online in the next couple years and online ads will become more mainstream. You'll see less scummy ads as the internet continues to grow more influential and the social cost will diminish.
- eevilspock 13y ago1) Where do you think publisher's get the money to pay for the infrastructure? Where do you think advertisers who pay publishers get that money? 2) Sure, they can't totally treat consumers as tools. But the product is less than what it would be if it were purely designed for users. Have you heard the argument that advertisers are Google's true customers, that we are the product? Google's once famous clean and neutral search results are now cluttered and biased (see [1]). From a Wired article [2]: "Lloyd made his pitch, proposing a quantum version of Google’s search engine whereby users could make queries and receive results without Google knowing which questions were asked. The men were intrigued. But after conferring with their business manager the next day, Brin and Page informed Lloyd that his scheme went against their business plan. “They want to know everything about everybody who uses their products and services,” he joked." 3) See #1 above. Why do brands spend money on brand recognition, and where does that money come from? You say you agree that there is no free lunch but your disagreements contradict that claim. --- [1] http://arstechnica.com/business/2013/10/new-banner-ads-push-actual-google-results-to-bottom-12-of-the-screen/ http://arstechnica.com/business/2013/10/new-banner-ads-push-... [2] http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2013/10/computers-big-data/all/ http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2013/10/computers-big-data...