This Sums Up Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Etc.

Bad analogy. Chad couldn't legally sell the stuff since he agreed to keep it for free and knew it wasn't abandoned.
 
Except that you do pay for these services, just not with cash. You pay with your personal information. If that information wasn't valuable, these companies wouldn't want it. These services aren't free.
 
If people can't realize that they are the product with Television, a system they likely used all their lives, how do you expect them to understand the latest fad?
 
All analogies are eventually bad when you dig enough; that's kind of inherent in their nature, otherwise we'd just explain it as it is exactly. :p

That said, it's a decent enough analogy to get its point across.
 
But I thought Facebook's company mission statement was something like this:

“Facebook’s mission is to give people the power to share and make the world more open and connected.”

Source: http://observer.com/2009/07/the-evolution-of-facebooks-mission-statement/

That doesn't say anything about turning the people that use the service into a money farm. I'm pretty sure you guys are just paranoid about giving Facebook access to pretty much everything you do and think. It's not a big deal, Google already knows so why can't Facebook? :D
 
It would be more accurate if Chad said that he was going to have an open house and put all his junk on display for the visitors to see. Dude has no expectation of privacy, it isn't his house.

I deleted all my account data and closed my FB account over two years ago for just this reason. We are not FB customers, we are FB product. I tried unthink.com for a while, but apparently most social types just don't care. I know FB cares about ->II<- that much, but I care that I am not listened to. If it is worth my time, I would rather pay for it so that they serve me.

I don't watch TV or streaming video much either, too many commercials. I buy video so I own it. Okay, sort of "own" it! :rolleyes: I still rip discs since it is easier than putting up with crap previews, commercials, and FBI warnings.
 
I block scripting from ad servers, so I do not see most of the ads here. Kyle offers a General Mayhem subscription though, so I paid for that. He understands my security concerns with allowing scripting on all the ads and provides me a way to pay him for his services without sounding like a hypocrite. Yea, he answered my email. The personal touch lets me know that this is just a small business with desires similar to my own.

http://hardforum.com/announcement.php?f=106&a=95

Not to mention the awesome mouse pads I got! :) (bought and paid for! :D )
Why is this not linked from the homepage? I had to search for it.

http://www.hardocp.com/news/2012/10/02/ratpadz_still_5_off_free_shipping

Here the ads are not part of the experience, they aren't made to look like a news item. And they do not have access to your private information: "5 of your friends think you're stupid, click here to find out who." Go to speedtest.net and look for the start button, all the ads have them. I don't keep any private information here anyway, just what I need to create my GM account.
 
Except that you do pay for these services, just not with cash. You pay with your personal information. If that information wasn't valuable, these companies wouldn't want it. These services aren't free.


I agree, that there is a price for these services, just that the money doesn't come directly from you, but the things you do/give to the services generate money. The same way youtube isn't free. The fact that you view videos, and even if you don't view advertisements, still gains them information that is useful to someone!

I've said the same thing when people complained "Do you pay for Facebook? Then you can't complain about redesigns"
 
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