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Decentralised YouTube alternative Odysee no longer serving ads (odysee.com)

submitted 3 months ago by DreitonLullaby@lemmy.ml to c/technology@lemmy.world

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Odysee, a decentralised YouTube alternative focused on free speech, is officially ending the serving of ads on the platform, starting today. The post:

"Dear friends of Odysee, Starting today, we're removing all ads. We don't need ads to make money as a platform and we are confident in the development of our own new monetisation programs that will help creators earn a living and at the same time keep Odysee alive. Ultimately, sacrificing the overall user experience to make a few bucks isn't worth it to us and nor is it even sustainable for a platform that wishes to make something truly open and creatively free.

As we take this decision, one thing is certain to us, media platforms (even ones that market themselves as 'free-speech') typically devolve into advertising companies and end up becoming beholden to their paymasters. It's been that way for centuries and is never going to change.

As we see YouTube become more aggressive with their ad deployment and 'Free Speech' platforms try to build their own ad businesses it's apparent to us that we're building a model for Odysee that will keep it sustainable not only financially, but in its ability to provide an incorruptible user experience.

Our approach may be considered niche or unconventional, that's fine by us. Odysee will be used by the world on terms that are agreeable to its users, and we know our users don't like ads.

Best, Founder & Creator, Chief Executive Officer. Julian Chandra"

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[–] DreitonLullaby@lemmy.ml 1 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

Edit: I now know that this banner is not an ad for Odysee's premium subscriptions as it may seem to be. Memberships are separate to Premium entirely. Memberships are like the "Join" button you find on YouTube, where you pay a donation to that specific content creator and may get bonuses such as a badge next to your name in the comments, early access to videos, etc. depending on what benefits the creator chose themselves. Odysee only gets a 5% cut from this. This is completely justified as being the only thing that is arguably an ad on the site, as it is purely there to help creators thrive on the platform, and it can also be hidden permanently by clicking the X at the top-right of the banner; so they aren't even being forceful about it either. The ads being removed were mainly referring to the pop-up ads that third-parties could place on the website.