Post

shellsharks
@shellsharks.com

This article has been shared by a lot of folks here, but to not a lot of response/discussion. techcrunch.com/2024/12/05/b... Is this a collective stick-fingers-in-ears-and-go-la-la-la moment for the bsky populace? *Stream of consciousness incoming*...

techcrunch.comBluesky CEO Jay Graber isn't ruling out advertising | TechCrunchBluesky has blown up this year thanks to a vibrant community of posters, user customization choices, and a decentralized protocol that doesn't lock users
shellsharks
@shellsharks.com

But we've been saying this for months now. We knew ads had to come. How else could they afford to keep going? VC propped them up, now they must make VC-level returns. If there was a super magical way of monetization without ad networks, we'd know by now. Ads are coming, but ya know what?

shellsharks
@shellsharks.com

Ads doesn't mean the network will necessarily "enshittify". Sure, ads aren't "ideal", but it isn't a death knell. Sure, ads *probably* means there's some icky privacy stuff going on, but ya get what ya pay for right? Honestly, bsky can still be a great place to socialize.

0 reposts0 likes

shellsharks
@shellsharks.com

Even if you have to scroll past an ad every 10 posts. If the bsky team is committed, they can make bsky great in spite of the necessary evil that is ads. They were never going to get meaningful uptake in paid subs after all, and forget about their domain selling biz.

shellsharks
@shellsharks.com

There are bigger concerns for this network beyond ads imo. Namely, how will they continue to operate in an increasingly hostile political environment that seeks to censor the truth. I posted about this weeks ago bsky.app/profile/shel... Fin.

shellsharks@shellsharks.com

Serious question - How will the Bsky team defend against or respond to a Trump/Musk offensive against bsky itself? Bsky is turning into a top competitor of both of their platforms and is certain to harbor posts both of them would not like. Where are the servers/infra hosted? The team members?