[blodovnik]

I note the author is very much involved in companies projects and social media platforms that all depend on advertising.

http://jacek.zlydach.pl/index.html

I'd respect his position more if he was not on LinkedIn or Facebook and did not work on commercial projects.

[AlexandrB]

Do I really need to link Mr. Gotcha on HN[1]?

I think LinkedIn is despicable but I have a LinkedIn account because it’s basically expected that you have one for recruiting purposes by many employers.

[1] https://thenib.com/mister-gotcha

[blodovnik]

So great strength of conviction except for self interest.

This is exactly why it's a childish opinion that ignores the interconnectedness of our society.

Advertising is baked in to the fabric of how our social systems work in an interconnected way.

[Lendal]

This argument that you can't criticize anything if you benefit from it is absurd. If he didn't use any technology that comes from companies that advertise, he would never be able to communicate his message in the first place. In fact he wouldn't even be able to leave his home or feed himself, unless he just farmed off the land and made his own clothing. Ridiculous.

[TeMPOraL]

I'm not involved in those, I merely use them for obvious reasons almost everyone uses them - network effect. Facebook is the XXI century rolodex (also, I was very young when I got on it, and it looked differently then); LinkedIn account I maintain for the off chance it could be useful in finding a job. Also, that doesn't mean I like how these services work.

I fortunately avoided being ever involved in anything directly related to adtech, and I plan on staying that way.

[megaman821]

It is almost like your are advertising yourself on these networks. Couldn't people just find you from word of mouth?

[TeMPOraL]

Using Facebook to talk to your friends is literally a form of exchanging word of mouth. It's not a dating site for me, I don't advertise myself there.

A LinkedIn profile is technically an advertisement, but it's not one I push on people. Someone needs to go and look for it to find it. It's akin to an entry in a product catalog. I consider this kind of advertising to be fine, and I said so in the article.

(Also incidentally, all the jobs I ever had I got through the word of mouth.)