wow just wow while i can't say i didn't see this one coming but it always amazes me where greed could lead someone
this post was submitted on 01 Jul 2023
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Piracy: ꜱᴀɪʟ ᴛʜᴇ ʜɪɢʜ ꜱᴇᴀꜱ
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While I agree in theory, Youtube has been a money pit for Google for its entire existence. It feels a little odd for them to suddenly start caring now.
Beyond that, I've seen a lot of discussion lately about how ads have gotten worse over time, and I agree. The old, entirely text, adwords ads that didn't try to masquerade as content are one thing. I'd be a lot more likely to allow that type. Instead, most ads now are obnoxious video, animated, scroll highjacking, etc. We've entered a crappy feedback loop where ads aren't as effective, so companies are more likely to make obnoxious ads to get the most ROI, so people who might use adblockers are more likely to use them to try and preserve a smooth browsing experience.
There's also an argument to be made that despite the absurd amount of data collection going on, ad targeting is still pretty shitty. If I was getting ads for things I was interested in, I might be more likely to allow them.
Ultimately I think the genie is out of the bottle on this. People who are likely to use ad blockers aren't likely to change without a large overhaul in the ad industry, and the ad industry can't afford to make those changes while still maintaining profits.
All internet companies have been caring a lot more about service profitability since the rise in interest rates. Unprofitable companies are scrambling to make money and profitable companies are killing divisions that don't have a clear path to profitably.
The Internet being so abundant that everything would be free hasn't really come about. The costs to serve a video may be fractions of a cent, but it is still not something you can round to zero yet.