Yes, it’s worth it, I’d say. Especially in the context of today’s communication and other theoretical approaches in this field such as “the spiral of silence”.

Because the advertising business is highly centralized. Getting sponsorships is not as easy as you think.

An example: YouTube pays content producers per click, so to speak, a ridiculously small amount, but in total, with billions of clicks, a crazy amount. The money to finance this comes largely from advertising revenue (also Google’s main business model). They are the Gatekeepers so to speak.

But the content producers can’t live off this because Google keeps most of it for itself. They do give people the opportunity to find sponsors themselves tho - and that’s how people actually make the most money. But you have to find them for yourself or through intermediaries (that’s an industry in itself). This is only realistic if you have sufficient reach (subscribers in the example). And that, in turn, is only possible if you have already invested hundreds of hours in the production of content (you can’t make a living if you don’t get paid for that).

So I think it would be best if the platforms themselves were powerful enough in terms of reach to be able to negotiate well with advertisers. But not as powerful as Google, for example, who can afford to pay content producers a pittance because - unlike small platforms - they are not dependent on them.

I think we should be realistic. Content costs money because it requires a lot of effort. It’s naïve to think that content would just be created because people feel like posting something. If the Fediverse is to compete with companies like meta, this is only possible if there are opportunities for content creators to earn money. That should be self-evident, but it obviously isn’t here.

I’m not saying it’s necessary, but it is if the Fediverse is to have mainstream appeal.

Simply because the absolute majority of people are out and about where everyone is. And that’s where the content is. That’s the point: if you want good content, it costs money. It’s not just corporations that make a living from it.

What I want to say is this: The Fediverse could provide fairer conditions for the people who produce content. That makes sense and is necessary because the Internet lives from that.

I just don’t understand why people here don’t want to realize that work has to be paid for. That’s really strange.

Tell them a random guy on the internet says they should be ashamed of themselves.

Yes, that’s the silver lining.

C’mon, please don’t generate revenue for Tesla - not even from insurance policies. It makes more sense for the cars to just stand around and rust despite the stainless steel. Nobody wants to buy from that goddamn Nazi anyway.

But hey, maybe Musk had the cars set on fire himself - that would be a rather harmless insurance scam compared to his other activities…

Shouldn’t B-flat tho… sorry…I’ll show myself out.

Thanks again, I’ll give it a try.

Indeed, fear no more, thy can live in peace now as the beast lies slain by the mighty gaze of a hero.

Thank you. It may be a small victory, but an important one.

I keep my jars on a shelf right next to the drawer for stuff, you know, the drawer for rubber bands, shoelaces, scotch tape, meat skewers and other such treasures that I’m sure I’ll desperately need one day.

I see, a kind of Clarence Thomas type of thing.

I’m not from the US: What happened to Katie Britt, who gave her response to Biden’s State of the Nation Address from her kitchen? Is she happy now? I mean, not that I wanted to criticize anyone, but that was totally obvious even before the election.

That sounds as if Musk could soon make an offer to take over the company. Then probably also an out-of-court settlement worth some millions so that he can call himself co-founder as usual. Finally, he could speed off into the sunset on a goddamn cyberbike - hopefully never to be seen again.

deleted by creator

I don’t want to destroy any illusions, but I don’t believe that much resistance can be expected from the military. The command principle applies here and the president is the Commander-in-Chief. I don’t see why any civil disobedience could be expected here in particular. Besides, it’s not as if those who actually make up the majority of soldiers would have much say in military affairs. If that were the case, there might be a chance, but the military is also run by old, greedy, white men - just like any other US institution.

I think, at least for those in their ranks who are not (yet) convinced Nazis anyway, it’s a similar principle to the mafia: the newly recruited opportunists have to publicly spout Nazi slogans to prove themselves - just as a soldier in the Cosa Nostra has to have committed a serious crime, many particularly serious ones, if he ever wants to become a “capo”.

Like other criminal organizations, MAGA tries to protect itself from potential informants, I think. If you only recruit people who are unscrupulous enough to openly admit to this Nazi bullshit, there’s less chance of someone having a conscience and making all their shady dealings public.

Ye, the US should consider the same in light of current events. If the totally incorruptible Supreme Court continues to insist that the president is a god-king who is above the law, appropriate measures should be considered if at least a semblance of democracy is to be preserved.

Indeed, and it is frightening how persistent they are. I have blocked pretty much all their names and various connected terms by now, but my Lemmy feed still consists to a large extent of the nonsense and misinformation that these trolls spread on a daily basis to distract from their criminal activities.

I can only imagine how much worse it must be on the mainstream platforms.

There is simply no escaping the bullshit that spills out of the white house all over the world. Unfortunately, even less so because the local Nazis and the conservatives in my home country have long been using the same troll strategies that they have adopted from the US since they have proven effective in Europe as well.

The continuous noise of these trolls really has nothing to do with politics or news. On the contrary, it’s just vicious anti-politics and deliberate misinformation.

Uhhh, yes. That’s why I could never be an influencer.