Ah Instagram, Facebook, twitter, tumblr... You really think that all the google ads you've seen in your life (let alone on a given site) add up to a return of $15? I'd be much more likely to give geocities $15 for a premium account than I would be to ever click on an ad.
This space can be lucrative, but every success is over the bodies of many failed companies. This phase we're in now is equally silly.
> I'd be much more likely to give geocities $15 for a premium account than I would be to ever click on an ad.
I really wish this was a more common attitude.
You could make it happen for less than $15. At a value of $1/CPM to a website owner displaying one ad. $5 would cover one user for ~5,000 page views. ~10,000 page views taking into account the 50% of users using adblock today, value equal to double.
Imagine you pay $5 for every 10,000 page views on previously adverted sites and the money was distributed among those websites you visited.
I don't understand why ad-driven companies don't offer an option for premium. I would lobby hard for Facebook if I could pay to preserve my privacy and not see ads.
This space can be lucrative, but every success is over the bodies of many failed companies. This phase we're in now is equally silly.