Democratisation of Media

Hell Puppy · 07-13-2009

Like Toby, I'm not seeing a lot of reasons to be optimistic.

The industry as a whole wont mature on it's own. It's been over a decade now, and you still best be careful where you surf without protection or use an actual credit card versus a virtual.

You cant really force it to be fixed.

Governments dont get it, and the net is international. The FTC moves so slow they're easily chalked up to 'cost of doing business' if you have a good scam. Visa has some teeth, but they're also slow and are essentially playing whack-a-mole.

The processors are in a position to do the makeover, enforce some decorum when dealing with customers, and brand sites they process for as "trustworthy". But I dont see it happening. Why? Simple economics. More work for less transactions.

I've often thought a coalition, cartel or something similar, branded around customer experience, trust, truth in advertising, etc could work. Think of it as the "good housekeeping" seal. Way way back in the day, Ynot actually did this with some success with "Ynot member" sites. But sooner or later when you try to organize a bunch of rebellious personalities, it's doomed to break down, and it did.

Basically the largest obstacle to any of this is overcoming the fact that trying to organize webmasters is like cat herding.

07-13-2009	#15
Hell Puppy Fat Fucking Nobody Want to see your own Advertising Here! Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 6,523	Re: Democratisation of Media Like Toby, I'm not seeing a lot of reasons to be optimistic. The industry as a whole wont mature on it's own. It's been over a decade now, and you still best be careful where you surf without protection or use an actual credit card versus a virtual. You cant really force it to be fixed. Governments dont get it, and the net is international. The FTC moves so slow they're easily chalked up to 'cost of doing business' if you have a good scam. Visa has some teeth, but they're also slow and are essentially playing whack-a-mole. The processors are in a position to do the makeover, enforce some decorum when dealing with customers, and brand sites they process for as "trustworthy". But I dont see it happening. Why? Simple economics. More work for less transactions. I've often thought a coalition, cartel or something similar, branded around customer experience, trust, truth in advertising, etc could work. Think of it as the "good housekeeping" seal. Way way back in the day, Ynot actually did this with some success with "Ynot member" sites. But sooner or later when you try to organize a bunch of rebellious personalities, it's doomed to break down, and it did. Basically the largest obstacle to any of this is overcoming the fact that trying to organize webmasters is like cat herding.