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Re:What do we really know about the effectiveness of digital... by cameronbrown on Wednesday November 06, 2019 @03:05PM (#21466583)
Hacker News is not mass media. Plus don't forget Y Combinator funded many ad-based platforms. HN isn't free either.
Re:What do we really know about the effectiveness of digital... by ACow_Adonis on Wednesday November 06, 2019 @03:16PM (#21466701)
A fair point.

So I see two takeaway questions: would we be fine/better off without mass media funded by advertising(it's obvious what my answer to this would be since I don't generally listen to it or watch it, though I acknowledge it going away won't likely happen).

And the second, would content we like to consume/ be worthy of consumption be produced anyway, and my contention is that it would still, just like it did in the past and continues in the current (some free, some paid for), as can be seen in the history of books, early internet, street art, leisure, bloggers, hobbyists, cinema, documentaries, etc.

There might be a third point of mine, which is that we're actually suffering from a glut of content and competition for eyeballs: so to me, worrying about that content disappearing is a bit like worrying about dying of thirst while drowning in a freshwater lake.

Re:What do we really know about the effectiveness of digital... by cameronbrown on Thursday November 07, 2019 @04:21AM (#21471668)
I don't know, really. I don't want to go back to a time where artists struggle to eat, to make a metaphor. Independent creators are using advertising revenue now too.