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cover of episode (Preview) The End of the Ad-Supported Internet, Imagining What Comes Next, A Human-AI Agent PSA

(Preview) The End of the Ad-Supported Internet, Imagining What Comes Next, A Human-AI Agent PSA

2025/5/29
logo of podcast Sharp Tech with Ben Thompson

Sharp Tech with Ben Thompson
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Andrew Sharp
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Ben Thompson
创立并运营订阅式新闻稿《Stratechery》，专注于技术行业的商业和策略分析。
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Ben Thompson: 我一直以来都为广告辩护，因为它在根本层面上是有益的。虽然广告有很多缺点，但它让需要接触用户的产品能够被找到。我认为Stratechery的存在也得益于互联网和社交媒体的免费广告。广告对那些不适合社交媒体分享，但仍然有价值的实体是有帮助的。Instagram广告可以帮助那些原本不存在的产品找到市场。过去，产品不仅需要生产出来，还需要找到分销渠道。我们很容易忘记那些小众产品所带来的好处。例如，我很喜欢TinyPilot KVM切换器这个产品，它满足了我特定的需求。互联网上有很多消费者剩余，很多“垃圾”实际上满足了人们的需求。广告是互联网的重要组成部分，纠结于广告给互联网带来的影响是矫枉过正。 Andrew Sharp: 我认为广告支持的互联网模式的终结对科技行业的人来说很明显，但可能还没被大众完全接受。报纸的广告模式已经奄奄一息。现在互联网上的广告效果很差，除了谷歌和Facebook之外，广告几乎不支持开放网站。我过去很鄙视使用广告拦截器的人，但现在我也开始使用了。

Deep Dive

Chapters
This chapter explores the origins and current state of the ad-supported internet, highlighting its benefits and drawbacks. It discusses how advertising, despite its flaws, enabled the existence of numerous products and services, including niche ones, that would not have been possible otherwise. The chapter also touches on the concept of 'original sin' of the internet, and the debate around the role of advertising.
  • The ad-supported internet model, while having enabled the existence of many products and services, is becoming less viable.
  • The 'original sin' of the web is discussed, referring to the lack of native payment systems.
  • Advertising's role in enabling access to niche products and services is highlighted.

Shownotes Transcript

Discussing Ben's Article on the future of the agentic web, including the virtues of the ad-supported internet we've enjoyed for the last three decades, why that model is becoming less viable as the years pass, and the potential for new solutions as agentic web traffic proliferates in the years and decades to come. At the end: An epiphany surrounding AI workflows and chain of thought exchanges between employers and their employees.

To email the show: [email protected])

@SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube)

@Stratechery Channel — YouTube)

The Agentic Web and Original Sin — Stratechery)

Personalized Advertising — Minority Report (2002))

Claude 4, Anthropic Agents, Human-AI Agents — Stratechery Update)

Get all episodes of Sharp Tech, Sharp China, Stratechery Updates and Interviews, Greatest of All Talk, Asianometry and the Dithering Podcast as part of Stratechery Plus) for $15/month or $150/year.