Depends on who is doing it and why. It isn’t paying for friends if you’re trying to boost a post about a product or service, for instance. It’s paying for visibility in the hope/expectation that it’s going to lead to better sales. It’s paying for visibility more rapidly than you’d get organically in hopes of more people listening to your song, watching your video, etc. Advertising is nothing new. It’s a legit activity. Just as nostr has removed middlemen from content delivery and payments, it can also do the same for advertising.
Discussion
As long as there is an ad block, a way to not be forced into it. I disagree on advertising, if I don't want to see it, I should be able to entirely disable it. Nobody is entitled to my attention.
I don’t disagree. But you and all of us already forced into it with zap messages. There need to be better controls for users, but also better tools for those who want to advertise. That’s what I mean by this:
Yes.
For the user
1. Control over having to view ads.
2. Control over the ads being shown on their notes. Being able to block certain kinds of ads, particular companies, etc. If I disagree morally, or there is a brand I don't want to be associated with, there should be a way to veto those ads from being displayed. Maybe some notes notes you don't want any advertising at all. As it currently stands I hate the way primal works, with the top zap automatically showing the message right under the note.
For the companies
They should be aware of these settings, that way they aren't wasting money zapping people who don't want to see or broadcast their advertisement. Plus companies will require more metrics, which will likely involve more invasive tracking. That either needs to be implemented, or requires a huge change in how the companies view Internet advertising.
the Edward Bernays school of forced manipulation advertising runs strong.