[jcstk]

Any information that comes to you for free or is on a screen is an advertisement. All of it. That's the point. Do you think people spend millions and billions of dollars creating and maintaining a content delivery network because they just want you to know about things?

[etbebl]

Well, of course almost all information comes with an agenda, but perhaps the more useful distinction is whether the information is presented in good faith, i.e. is honest about the agenda (which actual advertising can also be).

[sallveburrpi]

Damn so all of HN or literally every single piece of digital media has just been an advertisement all this time ?

[jcstk]

HN is an advertisement for Y Combinator. You and I contribute content to advertise our identity and ego.

[devinprater]

What are you trying to sell me again? :)

[wiseowise]

Some of us grew up in a world where “journalism” used to mean something.

[jcstk]

No, that was just good advertising in an era where there were few entities that could afford to broadcast at scale.

[layer8]

Your comment comes for free on my screen. :thinking_emoji:

[jcstk]

It is an advertisement.

[erfgh]

What about wikipedia?

[jcstk]

The free encyclopedia is an advertisement for a nonprofit that does a lot of things: https://wikimediafoundation.org/what-we-do/. They manage costs of producing the encyclopedia by using volunteer labor. They operate a similar model as nature documentaries that drive donations for conservation and climate groups. These are all good things - still an advertisement.

[deadbabe]

What if people could pay to read an advertisement?

[6510]

Almost as good as my idea to have people pay me to work for me.

Had a great business idea just now: A tool for staged interviews! The subject and the journalist submit an equal length list of questions. Each round of the auction they bid on questions they want to include or exclude. The loser gets 50% of the points spend by the winner to be used in the next round. Both the subject and the journalists can buy additional points at any time. I keep all the money.