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Joined 1 year ago
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Cake day: June 13th, 2023

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  • the “open source hackers” are always going to win this one, for a simple reason. if the data of the youtube video is handed to a user at any point, then the information it contains can be scrubbed and cleaned of ads. no exceptions.

    if google somehow solves all ad-blocking techniques within browser, then new plugins will be developed on the operating system side to put a black square of pixels and selectively mute audio over the advert each time. if they solve that too? then people will hack the display signal going out at the graphics card level so that it is cleaned before it hits the monitor. if they beat that using some stupid encryption trick? well, then people will develop usb plugin tools that physically plug into the monitors at the display end, that artificially add the black boxes and audio mutes at the monitor display side.

    if they beat that? someone, someone will jerry rig a literal black square of paper on some servos and wires, and physical audio switch to do the same thing, an actual, physical advert blocker. i’m sure once someone works that out, a mass produced version would be quite popular as a monitor attachment (in a timeline that gets so fucked that we would need this).

    if that doesn’t work? like, google starts coding malware to seek and destroy physical adblockers? then close your eyes and mute your headphones for 30 seconds, lol. the only way google is solving that one is with hitsquads and armed drones to make viewers RESUME VIEWING

    as long as a youtube video is available to access without restriction, then google cannot dictate how the consumer experiences that video. google cannot win this.


  • you’re right, and i think that the thing that is being called out in the screenshot is not the money making per se, but the doom loop that everyone is forced to experience when trying to perform any basic information lookup using the internet in 2023. it goes something like this.

    1. google “enshittification” to find that neat article you read a few months ago to post in a lemmy comment
    2. first three or four results aren’t what you wanted, so keep scrolling.
    3. click the result you want (beginning of doom loop)
    4. “we value your privacy - so please click all the individual opt-outs, because GDPR didn’t say we can’t harass you with opt-outs to beat you into submission”
    5. “subcribe to our newsletter! we definitely won’t leak this email to a third party”
    6. “do you want to enable desktop notifications for this site?”
    7. “this page would like to know your location (so we can serve you geo-targeted adverts)”
    8. “get full access to our platform for xxx yyy price!” despite fake discounting being illegal in many countries
    9. scroll down to start reading the first paragraph.
    10. “…this is your 1st of 3 free articles this month. to receive 10 free articles a month, please register today!”
    11. after dismissing all of this, you then scroll 2 paragraphs in, and find out actually, this wasn’t the article you needed.
    12. press back on your browser a few times to wade back through all the privacy spam
    13. scroll 2 more results down on google, maybe this next one was it?
    14. goto 3. (you now repeat the doom loop)

    this doom loop has to stop. yes, people and businesses need to make money under the current economic system we live in. but it doesn’t have to be like this.

    but you know something? we all know where this is going.

    some ““visionary”” san fran tech bro startup will have the “genius” idea of offering an interface between journo websites and customers, by offering a one-stop subscription shop. pay the tech bros once, they grant you access to all sites.

    not unlike how uber operates as an interface between taxi drivers and customers, or how airbnb offers an interface between short term lets and customers, or how amazon offers an interface between cheap plastic vendors and customers, or how netflix operates as an interface between media content and customers, or how…

    …the wheel turns.




  • there are ongoing back-channel talks to secure release for the israeli “women, children, elderly, and sick” hostages from hamas. hamas in return, wants all 43 palestinian women prisoners, and about 170 palestinian “minor” prisoners (read: children) from israel. other than that, all bets are off. if you’re not one of those categories of individuals, then it’s good fight, good night.

    source: gershon baskin, hostage negotatior, and kind of an unofficial intermediary? (remember, there’s no official diplo channels anyway)