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I mixed up Zipf's law and the Pareto principle.

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And I am very ashamed.

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voussoir 2022-03-19 21:54:25 -07:00
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voussoir.net/writing/advertixing/advertixing.md
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@ -734,7 +734,7 @@ I believe that the world is simple and there really aren't that many underlying,
But we have a lot of natural traits that we suppress in the name of decency or common good. We don't pee on the ground, for one. We have outlawed murder, burglary, kidnapping. We don't even allow child labor. These things are crimes because even though a few members of society benefit from them, the majority of society doesn't, and the majority got together and put it on the books. Advertising is similar. The beneficiaries are few, the violated are many, we just have to do something about it. But we have a lot of natural traits that we suppress in the name of decency or common good. We don't pee on the ground, for one. We have outlawed murder, burglary, kidnapping. We don't even allow child labor. These things are crimes because even though a few members of society benefit from them, the majority of society doesn't, and the majority got together and put it on the books. Advertising is similar. The beneficiaries are few, the violated are many, we just have to do something about it.
Some will say that banning advertisements is impossible because we run into challenges regarding the nature of free speech. What, am I not allowed to say I like a product any more? This is the kind of question people will smugly ask when you suggest that ads should be banned, because it's an easy strawman and the answer is no. I will continue to be in favor of word of mouth. But as soon as the brand starts paying people to say those things, or giving them free items in return, it's advertising. Others will say that there is no point in banning advertising since it would go underground and be hard to audit. To this, I remind you that we already ban other kinds of fraud and bribery, and I think it will be difficult for Coke to spend four billion dollars underground. [Zipf's law](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCn8zs912OE "The Zipf Mystery - Vsauce") reassures us that we can make a big difference without auditing 100% of everything. Some will say that banning advertisements is impossible because we run into challenges regarding the nature of free speech. What, am I not allowed to say I like a product any more? This is the kind of question people will smugly ask when you suggest that ads should be banned, because it's an easy strawman and the answer is no. I will continue to be in favor of word of mouth. But as soon as the brand starts paying people to say those things, or giving them free items in return, it's advertising. Others will say that there is no point in banning advertising since it would go underground and be hard to audit. To this, I remind you that we already ban other kinds of fraud and bribery, and I think it will be difficult for Coke to spend four billion dollars underground. [The Pareto principle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pareto_principle) reassures us that we can make a big difference without auditing 100% of everything.
Outlawing advertisements, or at least clamping advertising expenditure, will not happen quickly. In the meantime, we as the public should block as many advertisements from our lives as we can, to reduce the amount of money the publishers and sponsors earn and drive them into the ground unless they get their act together. If they have any survival instincts, they'll come up with a new plan. If they don't, RIP. Outlawing advertisements, or at least clamping advertising expenditure, will not happen quickly. In the meantime, we as the public should block as many advertisements from our lives as we can, to reduce the amount of money the publishers and sponsors earn and drive them into the ground unless they get their act together. If they have any survival instincts, they'll come up with a new plan. If they don't, RIP.