My team, Plates, connects individuals through a shared meal that is affordable, delicious, and convenient. By connecting people through affordable, convenient, and enjoyable meals, we hope to be a user’s bridge between a good meal and good company. When considering the pros and cons of an advertising revenue model for our product, I believe that the biggest pros are that users do not need to pay a subscription fee and that we may be able to reduce our commissions. However, the main cons are that users may find that these ads negatively affect the aesthetics of our app and the values behind the advertisements might not align with Plates’s values.
Expanding on the pros, I view an advertising revenue model as a way for Plates to not include a subscription fee for users. Integrating an advertising revenue model means that this would be a built-in revenue stream for our app, since the app would default to containing ads. Perhaps users could pay for a premium edition in which their app doesn’t have advertisements? However, it’s important to consider our target audience is primarily individuals who are looking to purchase an affordable, convenient meal so I do not think that having ads on our app would concern them to the extent that they would pay to remove ads from their app. Additionally, having the advertising revenue model could be another avenue for us to reduce our commission fee from restaurants. We could consider reducing the commission fee if we have this advertising revenue model because this may entice more restaurants to partner with us, especially when considering the high commission fees that our competitors charge — UberEats, DoorDash, and weee, for example.
Regarding the cons, users may find these ads to pollute or clutter the app; they might also be presented with advertisements that are misaligned with their values or Plates’s values. From my personal experience, it sometimes feels unwelcoming when I visit a website and the first thing that they do is present a full-sized advertisement that requires me to watch at least 10 seconds of it before I can visit the website. We would not want Plates users to feel this way, especially if our app is so focused on creating a positive user experience and referring friends to use our app. Similarly, a con that we would need to consider is whether these advertisements align with Plates’s values or our target audience’s values. We would need to make sure that the advertisements are not controversial or concerning.
When reading “The Internet’s Original Sin” by Ethan Zuckerman, one quote particularly resonated with me regarding alternatives to this advertising revenue model. Zuckerman argues, “One simple way forward is to charge for services and protect users’ privacy, as Cegłowski is doing with Pinboard. What would it cost to subscribe to an ad-free Facebook and receive a verifiable promise that your content and metadata wasn’t being resold, and would be deleted within a fixed window?”. When considering this for my team’s app, I want to propose to my team ways that we can protect users’ privacy, whether it be subscribing to an ad-free Plates or another alternative.
Regarding how the advertising revenue model affects the internet as a whole, I would argue that advertisements allow many websites and apps to be free, making it more accessible to all. Advertisements are a passive way of generating revenue and it would allow individuals who cannot afford some websites, services, or content to gain access to these resources without having to think twice about whether they would want to invest in it. For instance, Spotify’s free version contains advertisements and already provides a decent experience; however, users can pay for the premium version to get the advertisements removed. On the contrary, advertisements affect the internet in a negative way because advertisements require user data and invasion of privacy as the ads are tracking people’s website and search history.
