Chris TrottierFeb 27, 2023

Big Social is moving a way from ad-subsidized free to a subscription model. For example:

1. Meta Verified
2. Twitter Blue
3. Snapchat+
4. Reddit Premium
5. Tumblr ad-free

If this is going to become the pre-eminent method of Big Social's revenue generation, then this is a game that the Fediverse will probably win against Big Social.

Yes, it's hard to compete against "free" -- but Big Social isn't exactly offering "free" anymore.

https://techcrunch.com/2023/02/27/social-media-apps-adopting-subscription-models

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Show threadzeGolemFeb 28, 2023
@atomicpoet honestly, i'd rather social networks are paied through subscription models rather than ads and data harvesting. much more transparent, and much more direct. the gold standard would be kinda what discord is doing, a free tier for most people, including most basic features to socialize with people, and some novelty features behind a subscription (more profile customization, longer post, lesser media limits, maybe access to some recommendation algorith parameters?)
Show threadChris Trottier
@zegolem Meta Verified won't exempt you from their data harvesting. You'll still see ads.
Feb 28, 2023 at 12:27amWeb
Show threadzeGolemFeb 28, 2023

@atomicpoet yeah, not saying the current companies are doing it this way... but i wish it'd move towards that

unfortunately, data collection can be invisible to most users, and earns them too much money, so i'd still be weary of anyone advertising themselves as directly financed by their users 'till they get investigated by the eu or something