| > The REAL issue is accountability. True information lockdown rarely benefits anyone, but openness without accountability is useless and downright dangerous. Google is accountable. The problem is that they are accountable to advertisers, currently to the tune of about $55 billion per year. For consumers to hold Google accountable, they have to fight against their addiction to free web content and services, and start directly paying for what they consume. It's important to note that "Google is free!" is an outright lie, and in fact we are paying more for Google through advertising than if we just paid straight up[1]. > We should instead be spending our breath advocating for greater accountability in the system as a whole. The best way to do that is to advocate against ad-supported websites and services, and to advocate (and invent if missing) honest ways to get necessary revenue[2]. - [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7485773 [2] I avoid the term "monetization" which to me is a word invented to make it easier to be dishonest. [EDIT] Sigh. As usual, either Google or advertising apologists are downvoting without supplying a reason. Upton Sinclair said, "It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it." Too many people here have a salary dependent on advertising, or an identity dependent on Google fanboyism. |
I like this. I mean, not gonna lie I love free stuff as much as the next guy but most services that offer to remove ads for a subscription (Spotify/Pandora for example) I pay for.
Even journalism - support your local NPR!