Re:Paying for it doesn't make it a market
by karmakaze on Monday April 22, 2024 @10:14AM
(#40114589)
> the person/organization who decides if the product is getting purchased
This fits well with my understanding that Apple's customers are not those who have an Apple product, but rather those who don't and want it. That's why they look even better than they work, it's serving the primary customer who will buy it (not who has bought it).
Re:Paying for it doesn't make it a market
by bryanlarsen on Monday April 22, 2024 @10:34AM
(#40114783)
AFAICT that's a restatement of Doctorow's point -- it's the lock-in that's significant, not who writes the cheques.
It is better to define the customer as the person/organization who decides if the product is getting purchased or not.
This makes sense with breakfast food where advertising likes to targets kids (instead of the parents who pays for it) as it is the kids who decides what gets bought.
When advertisers do not have any choice and can only advertise on Facebook to reach customers, then the advertisers have no decision power and are therefore not customers.
In the case of FB, it might now be the policians who are the customers as due to their growing power on what FB (and advertisers) can do. So you will see the FB leadership focusing on WashingtonDC instead of the advertisers.