Image Via Mashable
I am surprised that Facebook’s CEO would be upset about what Tim Cook said, even if the latter was directing his remarks at Google.
“But before that happens Zuckerberg also notes—and it was the only time I saw him display irritation—that Apple CEO Tim Cook wrote something similar in September in a statement spelling out Apple’s privacy policy: “When an online service is free, you’re not the customer. You’re the product.” The shot was probably meant for Google, but Facebook was definitely in the blast radius. “A frustration I have is that a lot of people increasingly seem to equate an advertising business model with somehow being out of alignment with your customers,” Zuckerberg says. “I think it’s the most ridiculous concept. What, you think because you’re paying Apple that you’re somehow in alignment with them? If you were in alignment with them, then they’d make their products a lot cheaper!” (Time.com)”
If Facebook’s billion plus users disappeared but their advertisers stayed then Facebook would still exist (albeit be less influential than it is right now).
However if Facebook’s advertisers left but their users stayed then Facebook would collapse.
Having ads does not make a company evil (as over 95% of the news media companies would be evil according to that logic).
Advertisers are (for better or worse) Facebook’s customers & the social media giant wisely does not go out of their way to ignore them.
Apple on the other hand can easily ignore their advertisers (yes, Apple is in the ad business via iAds) as Apple’s users are their customers which is the only reason Apple continues to exist!
Although I do not mind using advertiser supported services (like Twitter, Google, Instagram, Tumblr, etcetera), I will gravitate towards premium/Freemium services offering me an alternative to prostituting my personal data for a reasonable fee.
Via: The Verge