I wish we could be a little bit more candid about what we're talking about. When we say that Google and Facebook are in competition with news media outlets, we're not in competition for content; we're in competition for advert revenue. That's why the news media's business model fell apart. It wasn't because Google and Facebook started stealing the content; it was because Google and Facebook started providing a better platform that individuals could advertise on. They manage to provide more attention, and I wish we could just be a little more candid about that.
The second thing I would point out is that, last I checked, something like four out of every thousand links shared on Facebook are news content. Most links are cat videos or pictures of kids. The idea that Facebook in particular needs us.... I think that if you believe that, you are setting yourself up for a financial fall. You are going to make yourself dependent on a business that doesn't need you.
Google may be a bit different; however, we all remember the fables of social media platforms like Myspace and other types of things. We know that these things have a bit of a temporary lifespan. We also know that people evolve in their social media use and their social media habits, so what are you going to do when Facebook is increasingly the place for boomers sharing cat videos and most Internet activity happens on forums like Discord, Telegram and other types of semi-private organizations? That's where links are being shared, if they're being shared at all. I think that, bluntly, you're setting yourself up for a dependency on an ad revenue that can't and won't be sustainable in the long run. I have some real concerns about that.
I'm sorry; I'm a little bit ill at the moment, but, Mr. Nater, if there are any other questions that you have to that effect, I'd be happy to answer them.