When It's Free, You Are the Product

Navigating the new ad-free frontier in the online landscape.

Previously, on Giuseppe’s Glimpse: In the last episode, we explored digital immortality through holograms and avatars. If you are curious to learn more about it, click here.

Ever been stuck in a "Did I just talk about that?" moment? I sure have! Last week, I was scrolling through social media, contemplating a spontaneous weekend getaway to the mountains. Lo and behold, my screen was flooded with ads for cosy chalets and hiking gear! It felt like my phone peeked into my thoughts. Scary? Maybe a tad. 😳

This got me pondering the very essence of advertising and its evolution in our current digital era.

From the earliest days, advertising has always ridden on a simple premise: build an audience, monetise it later. It doesn't matter if it's newspapers, radio shows, websites, or that gigantic billboard towering over the city – the aim is to grab eyeballs to hawk stuff.

Once upon a time, with fewer content creators and limited user options, advertising was a walk in the park. But fast forward to today, and we're smack in the middle of what's often called the attention economy.

Forget all the noise about the information economy; in the contemporary digital age, attention is the real gold mine – the scarce currency we all fight for.

Today, thanks to the internet’s aid, we've all become mini-publishers, churning out content for our dedicated audiences.

The result? Our attention span has split into a thousand tiny pieces.

Advertisers, desperate to capture our fleeting attention, rely on data wizardry for hyper-targeting. It's the internet’s big trade-off: free services, but at the cost of ads knowing more about us than our closest friends. 🤖

Going ad-free: Fair or exclusive?

Yet, here's the twist: the new rulebook in the ad game is turning the tables towards an ad-free experience. 

Meta is offering ad-free subscriptions to Facebook and Instagram in Europe for €9.99 a month. TikTok, X, Snapchat - they're all taking a stab at ad-free options too. YouTube Premium, with its €11.99 per month no-ads deal, snagged 80 million subscribers last year. Mobile games are shying away from ads, embracing in-app purchases and memberships. Even Apple and Netflix are diving into ad-free game subscriptions. (Click here to learn more about this!) 📱💰

Sounds like a breath of fresh air, right? At last, we break free from companies exploiting our data, feeling liberated and empowered.

But is this new system actually fair?

Spoiler alert: it’s not. This ad-free internet experience goes against the very essence of the internet – a space meant to be open for everyone. 

Unfortunately, not everyone can afford an ad-free digital escapade. This luxury is mainly for the well-off crowds, creating a new digital divide, a far cry from the internet's egalitarian promise. 💸🔒

Put a price on it

So, let's mull over some meaty questions: 

Is it fair to limit an ad-free experience to those with thicker wallets? 

How can companies connect with audiences who choose to dodge traditional ads?

And what in the world might be the new business model for ads?

The traditional marketing playbook might need a complete overhaul, redefining how brands connect with consumers in this new frontier of advertising.

Plus, slapping a price tag on ads is a reminder of the true value of our time and privacy. Meta's data mastery means they can charge brands big bucks to sling ads at the customers most likely to bite. Facebook rakes in around $18 a month per user in the US, while it's about $6 in Europe. 

If you want to ditch those snooping ads, it’ll cost you.

We all like to groan about targeted ads, but putting a number on them makes us face the truth of the matter: they foot the bill for many services we use free of charge. 

Do I enjoy YouTube bombarding my kids with attractive hyper-targeted ads? Nope. But am I ready to pay €11.99 a month for ad-free YouTube Premium? Not yet – though I’m considering the cheaper alternative of tossing the iPad out of the window. 🤷‍♂️

What’s your take on this massive shift in advertising? Are you ready to dive into a subscription model for a clutter-free online world? The conversation's wide open – I’m all ears for your thoughts on this digital ad shake-up! 🗣️💬

Stay curious! 🙌🏽

-gs

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