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0 pointsjdlshore3y ago0 comments

Although you’re technically correct, I think there’s a qualitative difference here. Traditional advertising is priced on number of impressions. As a result, publishers are incentivized to juice engagement numbers. Practically speaking, that means outrage-generating content and similar garbage.

This sort of “advertising” is a class system, with one class of users getting some sort of visibility bump over a second class of users. The incentives are aligned with making sure the verified content is perceived to be high quality, so that being verified is a status symbol.

You could argue that a system with literal second-class citizens is worse than the current one, and you might be right, but I’m interested to see how it turns out. Nothing is perfect—everything has tradeoffs—and the current engagement-driven approach is a dumpster fire.

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elicash3y ago

I’m an advertiser and I think you understate how ad platforms incentivize quality content (via quality scores that affect price) and overstate how this twitter blue proposal would do so.

Also you greatly simplify how current advertising works. It’s not anywhere as simple as you describe.

jdlshoreOP3y ago

Again, although you’re technically correct, I don’t think it changes my overall point.

elicash3y ago

If you’re evaluating value, it’s helpful to think about it in those crude terms. If you’re likely to get, say, 4-5 new followers a month from the increased impressions then I think this is good value as an ad product. Part of your point, not the main one admittedly, was grappling with whether to sign up, aka the value here.

I understand you were mostly making an incentives point and there I think we just disagree.

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elicash3y ago

I’m an advertiser and I think you understate how ad platforms incentivize quality content (via quality scores that affect price) and overstate how this twitter blue proposal would do so.

Also you greatly simplify how current advertising works. It’s not anywhere as simple as you describe.

jdlshoreOP3y ago

Again, although you’re technically correct, I don’t think it changes my overall point.

elicash3y ago

I understand you were mostly making an incentives point and there I think we just disagree.

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