Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

Advertising: the Internet's Original Sin

posted by LaminatorX on Monday August 18 2014, @11:22PM   Printer-friendly
from the TV-ate-the-apple dept.

germanbird writes:

The Atlantic has posted an interesting article on internet advertising calling it The Internet's Original Sin. Written by Ethan Zuckerman, who worked at Tripod during the birth of online ads, the article does a good job identifying the issues with relying on ads as the primary source of funding behind the internet. Ethan also speculates on some possible solutions to the problem—which mostly lean toward subscriptions as funding.

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Advertising: the Internet's Original Sin | Log In/Create an Account | Top | 26 comments | Search Discussion
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.

  • (Score: 2, Insightful) by GWRedDragon on Tuesday August 19 2014, @12:46AM

    by GWRedDragon (3504) on Tuesday August 19 2014, @12:46AM (#82849)

    Slow down on the capslock there :)

    There have always been, and continue to be, tons of not for profit sites which are run as a hobby by enthusiasts. These tend to be the best sites anyway, and when they become commercialized to the point that they are no longer fit for purpose then people defect.

    Often, when these sites have ads at all, they are directly contracted with businesses. This type tends to be the most useful and least obtrusive form of ads on the Internet.

    The great thing about liberty is that people are free to choose the business model that best fits their needs; if there are enough people willing to volunteer their time, free happens. If you as a consumer demand things which cannot be done by hobbyists, then you should expect to pay in some manner, because you are asking for something of value.

    And just in case you were going to say there are no hobbyist sites on the Internet, keep in mind that you are using one right now. Also keep in mind that things run for free by volunteers will tend to be more ephemeral than ones making a profit, but that by no means makes them an inferior choice. Slashdot, for instance, was a great site for awhile, and most of us got a lot of enjoyment out of it. Now, on to the new.

    --
    [Insert witty message here]
    Starting Score:    1  point
    Moderation   +1  
       Insightful=1, Total=1
    Extra 'Insightful' Modifier   0  
    Total Score:   2  

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 19 2014, @03:21AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 19 2014, @03:21AM (#82893)

    The Green Site's beta program was the LAST straw for me and I found my way here.

    Thanks, NCcommander! :D

    If you HAVE to 'sell out' to keep SN going, please read this first:

    http://soylentnews.org/comments.pl?sid=3447&cid=82880 [soylentnews.org]

    If you have to 'sell out' FOR REAL as /. did years ago, SN faces the similar fate of its users leaving for another site elsewhere on the internet like SN is RIGHT NOW at the time of this post....