Not really different than the old mafia offering "protection" to local shops.
Advertisement seems to be necessary for products discovery, but it used to be healthier when it was less monopolistic.
However I'm not happy with the fact that if you don't pay ads (or want to conform to shitty content formats), then you have zero visibility. But then again, it has always been the case, even before social media or www existed.
What I certainly can't endorse is fb's use of our personal data that they collect without our consent. For example the local broadcasts they do on wifi networks to figure out who else is around (yes, it's a thing, or was at least, I've seen it). Screw you facebook.
Getting your attention has literally always been a part of selling things.
That is maybe the worst side effect of the USSR collapse: once the counter-example went away, capitalism had free rein in going as excessive as it wanted, because the alternative (not being blared at by ads all the time) simply didn't exist any more. We literally can't imagine such a place any more... it reminds me of 1984, with the difference that we don't lack the words to describe that, instead we know that without a worldwide revolution, there will be no realistic way of turning the wheels.
Instead of 12 kinds of toilet paper, you were lucky to have any to pick from. If you wanted furniture, or a car, or any other big ticket purchase, you'd have a years long wait (I've seen others mention 10 years to get a car) to get your order fulfilled.
I'll be honest, nostalgia for the glories of command economy USSR is not really what I expected to see today when I woke up.
However my capital - acquired through hard work - affords me a way to at least show you my offer.
Whether it retains your attention is up to you.
Simply replying to your snarky remark and trying to remind you that I'm a human too and what you call angrily my "capital" is basically my savings I worked hard for myself.
Can you please stop interpreting what I say as if I were some kind of surveillance asshole?
Look, I hate surveillance as much as the next guy, but I have a one man show business I believe in, and ads are the only effective way for me to tell the world about my services.
That's all.
Plenty of businesses manage without advertising. They market precisely. Advertising is ideal for mass-produced B2C. But not every business needs to play the numbers game.
My target market is fairly small and well defined. Probably a couple thousand people in a small region of my country. Also I am definitely not selling a mass produced item. In fact I'll spend at least 4 hours for each customer.
But they don't all talk to each other, and I don't get to meet them in person before the sale. Also, they are unlikely to require my services more than once a year, if at all.
How would you suggest I let them know about my services?
You could say they will look me up, but they don't. In fact, they sometimes don't even know they need the service. It's only when it's too late that they realise they needed it. But it's too late.
And even if they look someone up for the service, others are paying for ads. So unless I do it too, I never show up.
So yeah, ads.
I’m not saying ads are the wrong solution. Just that they aren’t the only one. Depending on your market, salespeople, trade shows, sponsorships and PR could be valid alternatives (or complements).
Sounds like they're doing just fine without it, then. In what sense do they 'need' your services?