Do the web 2.0 platforms give us the freedom of choice ?

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Would the world of free viewing succumb to the arm twisting tactics of web 2.0 platforms ?

In this post we explore how youtube wants to take control of what ads you see by way of controlling user behavior.

Is the social media actually free?

Freedom is an interesting term and means different things to different people.

We live in a world where the social media is actually free! Or is it ! Well that is the garb in which the supposedly user friendly social media comes to us.

youtube is google and it knows the power of free media and free eye balls.
Yet in an attempt to boost revenue it wants to pull the plug on people wanting to watch its content using ad blockers.

Is this a form of coercion ?

In its attempt to throttle the attempt the use of ad blockers google is running what it describes as a small experiment. The information comes as per a report here

As per this experiment it warns users to turn off ad blockers or the user would be restricted to be able to watch only three videos.

The other alternative a user would have would be to buy a premium subscription from google using which one can have an ad free viewing experience.

youtube is Web 2.0 giant

It is a giant or that is turning into a relic of sorts with its arm twisting tactics.
Ironically youtube had emerged on the seen as a champion of free content where user could upload the user generated content and share it with the world.

Yet there are numerous instances when content creators have be booted out of youtube and their channels got deleted when as per google they did not adhere to the terms and policies of google.

The terms of use by google and youtube have always been a grey area and a contentious issue because they always favor the platform and users have little or no say in case of a dispute with google & youtube.

youtube being a google company uses the model of running ads on the video content that plays on the platform.
These ads plays as pre roll ads, inserts or play in the end.
For the viewers this can be annoying most of the times.

youtube sees this annoyance and disturbance as an opportunity

Thus it rolled out its premium ad free service which comes at a cost to the user.

Users bypass the ads with ad blockers

For a lot of users these ads are unwanted distractions and eat into the data of their internet subscription.

The ad blocker comes to the rescue

The ad blocker not only blocks ads but also enhances the user experience by blocking unwanted scripts and improving the load times of the page.

This move has irked youtube

The so called small experiment is indicative of how firmly youtube want to grip and throttle the privacy of the end user.
By way of tracking a user activity and interests the analytics of their service serves ads.
These ads earn them millions of dollars in revenue by way of playing ads on other peoples content.

Could the drop in revenue have triggered this move by youtube ?

As per the Q1 numbers youtube has seen a decline in its tear on year revenue.

• youtube continues to see ad revenue decline, 2.6% drop YOY

It is sad to see such an act of aggression towards the users which provide them with bread and butter.

youtube already takes control of your privacy

With its often not so transparent user agreement and policies it does little to protect the interest of the platforms users.

Using youtube means bartering your privacy

youtube tracks user activity and manipulates the content & ads a users sees according to its own algorithm
Based on what you view or according to your region you may be served ads and content options which benefit youtube as a platform.

What are the options for a user

The world is moving towards decentralized web 3.0 social media and it is time that people both users as well as content creators look at web 3.0 decentralized alternatives to youtube.
The alternatives that exist today are

• https://3speak.tv/ on the hive blockchain
• Lbry.com

Conclusion

Most people value their freedom and perhaps social media platforms of the Web 2.0 era would value this and if not people would simply switch to more freedom friendly environments.

The current experiment may be seen by both content creators as well as content consumers as warning signs of things to come.
It is better to switch platform and move to platforms like hive blockchain which lets users create and consume both video and text content over a decentralized web 3.0 platform where content once uploaded cannot be blocked or deleted.

All gifs uses here are sourced from tenor.com

Posted Using LeoFinance Alpha