this post was submitted on 13 Nov 2024
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[–] [email protected] 9 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

I'm just waiting for Bluesky to introduce ads.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 17 minutes ago

Maybe in the future, but for now it looks like they already amnounced their next step to how they'll monetize their platform.

Bluesky has revealed how it plans to start making money without necessarily having to rely on ads. The platform will remain free to use for everyone, though it’s working on a premium subscription that will provide access to profile customization tools (remember when Myspace offered that for free?) and higher quality video uploads.

Source: https://www.engadget.com/social-media/blueskys-upcoming-premium-plan-wont-give-paid-users-special-treatment-193800247.html

[–] [email protected] 39 points 15 hours ago (1 children)

I’m more surprised to discover now that it launched without ads

[–] [email protected] 1 points 42 minutes ago

The goal was to attract Twitter refugees. No ads helps sell the "greener pastures" the users were looking for.

Once those users are comfortable, Threads can do whatever it wants. They know how much it took to get Twitter users to leave Twitter.

People acting like Meta launched Threads out of the kindness of Zuck's heart are dumb as fuck. Threads has the same goal as Facebook: to make money selling your eyeballs to advertisers and your metadata to data brokers.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 15 hours ago (1 children)

More short sighted corporate greed. It's a great period to try and pull in Twitter users but instead let's add ads for a short term bump in profits.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 15 hours ago (1 children)

They'd have to implement ads eventually anyway. Companies do have budgets, and the money to run Threads has to come from somewhere.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 13 hours ago

Companies can and do make a loss to gain market share, they ae currently doing it with the metaverse and AI.

As twitter struggles under the spastic, they should be incentivising the move for users.

[–] [email protected] 50 points 1 day ago

TIL Threads didn't have ads

[–] [email protected] 129 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (3 children)

"Since our priority is to build consumer value first and foremost, there are no ads or monetization features currently on Threads," a Meta spokesperson said in an emailed response.

The spokesperson then continued, "But only until early 2025. Then we'll be throwing consumer value in the trash and lighting it on fire. It will be very exciting."

[–] [email protected] 69 points 1 day ago (2 children)

They’re not even hiding the enshittification strategy. They’re practically teaching you the principles up front.

“First we trap you, then we exploit you. Duh.”

[–] [email protected] 2 points 15 hours ago

Well, this was the Facebook origin story, so anyone on Threads deserves it.

[–] [email protected] 30 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Is it enshittification if it's shit from the start?

[–] [email protected] 23 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I guess you can always make it shittier?

I never understood the appeal of Threads anyway. Like, who leaves Xitter because it’s toxic garbage and goes to something owned by Meta, who practically invented this particular flavor of toxic garbage?

[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 day ago

Sometimes you just grow tired of getting shot in the knee and want to be punch in the face instead

[–] [email protected] 5 points 23 hours ago

Step 2 of the enshittification.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Consumer value as in number of valuable consumers we can grift later

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 day ago

You deserve a raise. Someone get this deadwalker a corner office!

[–] [email protected] 76 points 1 day ago (2 children)
[–] [email protected] 13 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Dear Pikachu, of course you are surprised. Learn how to expect and evade Team Rocket first.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 16 hours ago

How could those two suspiciously familiar faces with light violet and wine colored hairs possibly be Jessie and James from Team Rocket???

[–] [email protected] 23 points 1 day ago
[–] [email protected] 28 points 1 day ago

There aren't any ads on Mastodon. :)

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

yeah that is why i chose not to donate to the instance is that my home any longer.

when they decided to keep federated with threads they decided that they didn't need my donations.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 23 hours ago

You know that blocking threads account-wide on Mastodon 2 clicks and a confirmation?

[–] [email protected] 41 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Still no reason to defederate, huh?

[–] [email protected] 39 points 1 day ago (3 children)

Still no reason to defederate, huh?

No, it's not. Ads can't federate. Threads has no control over my Mastodon feed and Lemmy can't interact with Threads at all. Following Threads accounts from Mastodon is effectively an ad blocker.

[–] [email protected] 30 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

Might be a stupid question, but can't threads just post ads as "posts" via activityPub? On mastodon they would appear as toots?

Was just remembering how reddit introduced ads as basically promoted posts and recall facebook doing the same.

I sure fucking hope not.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Might be a stupid question, but can’t threads just post ads as “posts” via activityPub? On mastodon they would appear as toots?

Ads in Instagram are posts in the timeline from accounts you haven't followed. Ads don't show when you visit a profile and browse its images. So for example a post by Coca-Cola might appear in the main feed even though I never followed it but it has a little "sponsored" marker in a corner to indicate that it's there because Coke paid for it and the ad placement algorithm thinks that I might be interested in that product. As Threads is a spin-off from Instagram, ads there will surely follow the very same model. Sure, you might be able to follow Coca-Cola's Threads account from Mastodon and see the post promoting their drink that way but Threads just cannot place targeted ads on Mastodon because they don't control that feed.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Thanks for the explanation. Makes sense for targeted ads for sure. Still a bit worried about hashtags being used for ads since I follow a lot of hashtags on mastodon and usually have a quite a nice "organic" feed compared to other social media.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Still a bit worried about hashtags being used for ads

Coca-Cola could have an official profile on mastodon.social and use hashtags there as well. Whether corporations use hashtags or not in their "regular" Mastodon posts has nothing to do with Threads.

Also Mastodon has user-level features to restrict unwanted content to show up in your feed ranging from hiding boosts up to blocking the entire instance:

And since Lemmy cannot interact with Threads content at all, defederating Lemmy instances from Threads makes even less sense. One of the big Lemmy instances blocks Threads but doesn't block CSAM instances. Insane priorities their admins have.

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[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Ads can't federate

Never underestimate facebooks capacity to enshittify. If they want to send ads as posts they will make a way. In principle the fediverse should oppose for-profit-line-go-up fuckheads, it's always the same bullshit.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 day ago

Ads already are posts, as I wrote but the main feed algorithm is not in their hand, it's the local feed of mastodon.

If users aren't permitted to follow brand accounts, they're just being driven into the hands of BlueSky. Your attitude isn't helping at all.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 1 day ago (12 children)

How do you know that Threads won't inject ads as posts?

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[–] captain_aggravated 27 points 1 day ago

I'm changing my vote in the Agora from "yes defederate" to "Hell fucking yes defederate.'

[–] PrincessLeiasCat 29 points 1 day ago (6 children)

The only surprising thing is that it took this long.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I haven't used threads, I just assumed it already had ads

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[–] [email protected] 16 points 1 day ago (3 children)

Did threads take off recently or what's the story? I thought it was unsuccessful as xitter was already the preferred platform

[–] [email protected] 2 points 16 hours ago

I was wondering that too. All I hear about is BlueSky and then suddenly this.

[–] [email protected] 21 points 1 day ago

I thought it was unsuccessful as xitter was already the preferred platform

It isn't anymore, ad I expect that to accelerate. The Guardian just announced today that they will no longer use it, for example (although individual journalists may still choose to do so)

[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 day ago

Meta auto created threads accounts for all instagram users iirc so they kinda forced thwir way into the market by pre inflating their numbers.

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