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I can imagine a world without advertising quite easily. If you could snap your fingers and make all advertising disappear the world would be a better place. S

by oldpond 11y ago

I can imagine a world without advertising quite easily. If you could snap your fingers and make all advertising disappear the world would be a better place. Sure, TV and Radio would disappear, but who needs it? I stopped listening to Radio years ago,and people are fleeing from TV in droves. I remember the internet before the "make a buck off the internet" crowd showed up. They can all fall out as far as I'm concerned. The beauty of the internet is that you don't have to see advertising if you don't want to. And if the day comes when it can't be avoided I'm turning it off. Wouldn't miss what the internet has become now anyway, just another form of TV.

frik 11y ago
No ads would mean you will have to pay per page view like in MicrosoftNetwork/MSN95 (Bill Gates plan of the "information highway" that failed in 1995 thanks to the free internet), and Teletext based systems from the 1980s like BTX in Germany.
- WorldWideWayne 11y ago
  I think the point is that who needs them? Most news networks serve up propaganda and useless bullshit anyway IMO. Endpoints that don't depend on advertising dollars to keep the servers running will always be there (like GitHub, Hacker News, IRC, Amazon, eBay, Craigslist, etc.) if people want them.
  - oldpond 11y ago
    Right. News is a commodity. I am sure nobody would be surprised to learn that the results on google news are mostly media outlets that use google's doubleclick service. As long as it's easy to donate to sites you find valuable on the internet then advertising free sites will flourish.
jgmmo 11y ago
What makes you think TV and radio would disappear? Can't content creators monetize their shows with other methods than third-party ads? Like selling their own goods and services?
- oldpond 11y ago
  Sure, there might be a trickle of user supported programming. I don't know how successful satellite radio is these days. The whole reason TV and radio exist is to bring advertising into our homes and cars. Those "commercial free' stations are there to attract the audience back to the channel. For example, Game of Thrones on HBO is there because Time Warner wants to keep it's TV audience for it's other advertising channels. In other words, commercial free shows are there to keep the medium alive.
- hvs 11y ago
  Their "goods and services" ARE the shows. The show isn't free to produce.
blumkvist 11y ago
The Internet will disappear too. So will many, many companies. Many non profits, who make a real difference.
mrweasel 11y ago
There is one positive aspect of ads on the internet. They provide an initial cash flow for start ups, where the consumers do not yet see the value proposition of the product/website. Sadly the transition for ad driven to user supported almost never happen. If you even listen to the No Agenda podcast, which is 100% listener supported, you'd know how hard it can be to get people to pay, even for a product they love.

by oldpond 11y ago

frik 11y ago

No ads would mean you will have to pay per page view like in MicrosoftNetwork/MSN95 (Bill Gates plan of the "information highway" that failed in 1995 thanks to the free internet), and Teletext based systems from the 1980s like BTX in Germany.

WorldWideWayne 11y ago
I think the point is that who needs them? Most news networks serve up propaganda and useless bullshit anyway IMO. Endpoints that don't depend on advertising dollars to keep the servers running will always be there (like GitHub, Hacker News, IRC, Amazon, eBay, Craigslist, etc.) if people want them.
- oldpond 11y ago
  Right. News is a commodity. I am sure nobody would be surprised to learn that the results on google news are mostly media outlets that use google's doubleclick service. As long as it's easy to donate to sites you find valuable on the internet then advertising free sites will flourish.

jgmmo 11y ago

What makes you think TV and radio would disappear? Can't content creators monetize their shows with other methods than third-party ads? Like selling their own goods and services?

oldpond 11y ago
Sure, there might be a trickle of user supported programming. I don't know how successful satellite radio is these days. The whole reason TV and radio exist is to bring advertising into our homes and cars. Those "commercial free' stations are there to attract the audience back to the channel. For example, Game of Thrones on HBO is there because Time Warner wants to keep it's TV audience for it's other advertising channels. In other words, commercial free shows are there to keep the medium alive.
hvs 11y ago
Their "goods and services" ARE the shows. The show isn't free to produce.

blumkvist 11y ago

The Internet will disappear too. So will many, many companies. Many non profits, who make a real difference.

mrweasel 11y ago

There is one positive aspect of ads on the internet. They provide an initial cash flow for start ups, where the consumers do not yet see the value proposition of the product/website. Sadly the transition for ad driven to user supported almost never happen. If you even listen to the No Agenda podcast, which is 100% listener supported, you'd know how hard it can be to get people to pay, even for a product they love.