Overall, I think there are a few pros to advertising revenue models for the product. The first is that a lot of cases in which advertises are used, the product is free or there is a premium fee to get rid of advertisements. Thus, this makes the product more accessible to a wider population as with a cut cost or opt in cost, more users are likely to be willing to use or at least try the product. For many apps, social media platforms, etc. this is a super useful way to get users without having to charge them but still being able to profit. I also believe that ads can help add to the consumer experience. Personally, I like Instagram ads because I often get clothes or products that naturally fit into my feed and do catch my attention. In this case, it could be a win-win-win for the platform, the advertiser, and the user. Lastly, I think ads for the internet overall help it to be a relatively free service in which anyone can access most things on the internet because it’s free with advertisements, which generally promotes accessibility and equity of technology and information.
On the other side, I think advertisements are bad because as mentioned in the podcast, they can infringe on people’s privacy and data rights. I think this is a huge problem that unfortunately is reinforced by the current advertising revenue model. People often will get pop up ads for previous websites they’ve been on or even conversations they’ve had with friends. Additionally, I think it can take away from the overall internet experience as you constantly feel like you are being bombarded with ads which can make the experience more frustrating or make the user impatient.
