stellargmite

Good thing FB and Insta themselves are skippable.

Yeh it’s a sign-in for a free trial wall. Alternatively

Thats a good point as far as your visual identity being exposed to other fb users. However, with where facial recognition is at now, they're sure to be able to match that and your identity on their business side with your (IRL) friends location data, cross site tracking and other data to effectively have a db of images of ‘you’. Whether or not they have a business use for it is another matter but not a stretch to see it as a part of the data harvesting and broking landscape, though I’m not sure of the value of images of you to them : perhaps demographic data for adsales. All speculation on my part, and I’m not sure where this would sit with regulation in various places. Just interesting to think about.

They have other ways. Cross site tracking etc. People without accounts on the platform itself still have profiles on the business side, which is a decent chunk of how they're making money.

Bury the ashes of the pieces in the deepest hole. We need rid of this whole concept of information being monopolized and harvested for profit.

I think they mean the same thing happens alot in reverse: YT vids about news articles. Not wrong, but whataboutist.

Barbara Streisand

Yeh people learn and it becomes normal which is fine. Ebay is as bizarre to me. Not hate, more a morbid fascination that things so maze-like to navigate can also be successful. Could be semi cultural as well. I’ve noticed this being the way in other US platforms with a similar legacy. I’ve also being (attempting to) subvert tracking for quite a while so maybe that's working and its less useful as a result lol. I’m lucky in a sense that their corporation isn't so strong where I live so theres more choice (ironically I may actually have less choice). Its annoying when they have the monopoly on a given product, but it’s also possible just to go without the shiny thing.

Thanks for this. I’ve only used Amazon a few times and was always baffled at the train wreck of its chaotic layout / ux. I had to buy something there once and it was such a process it was like being asked to leave the store before paying. Thought at the time it must be down to legacy and new features being showhorned around ancient web1.0 history, its success being its burden with customers having to learn how to use the thing. Price fixing scam is what I will think of it now, while continuing to avoid it.

I did also and was astounded. More EV brands and retail stores for them than for mobile phones and gadgets in the malls. I counted 14 brands in one mall. Like EVs are a fashion accessory. And I saw car designs for sale and on the steet that looked like what we usually see only as early concept art. not high tier of market either. It is an ultra-competitive race to the bottom , There must be several new factories and brands opening every week, and maybe the same or more shutting down. some of the bells and whistles being thrown in are pretty funny. Little robotic characters ala alexa for your car that sits on the dash with led face responding and moving to commands. half side doors being an LED screen for some reason (mainly to atrract potential buyers in the malls I thought) . The european, tesla and other US evs alongside were very very plain. Whether all of this is a good thing is another matter.

…and it opens its mouth , the sound of a 56k modem connecting screams forth at ear piercing volume. With this It scans the brainwaves of the helpless victims in the room , desperately looking for yet more free information to consume, with which to maintain itself in its dying weeks of this cursed hype cycle from which it emerged. “Please subscribe”, it then pleads.

And targetted ads aren't that much more effective than context based. So the internet has been compromised, misinformation has run rife, and platforms hijacked to threaten democratic nations so some corporations can have 6% more effective advertising. What a deal. I believe thats the approx effectiveness difference.