Discord to start showing ads for gamers to boost revenue
Social-media startup Discord plans to start showing advertisements on its free platform in the coming week after long dismissing them, becoming the latest tech company to turn to ads to try to boost revenue. The paid promotions are from videogame makers and will offer users gifts for completing in-game tasks while their friends watch on Discord. Discord is looking to hire more than a dozen people for ad-sales positions, according to people familiar with its plans.
The introduction of ads on Discord represents a pivot for the closely held company, whose chief executive, Jason Citron, has repeatedly said it would not depend on ads the way Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and others do. Ads can intrude on the user experience and raise privacy concerns. Still, Uber Technologies, Lyft, Instacart, DoorDash, Netflix, Reddit have all embraced ads in recent years as have streaming services by Disney and Amazon.com.
Discord’s decision to join the crowd could alienate users, said Meghana Dhar, a former Snap and Instagram executive who is now a tech adviser and investor. Discord “has famously promoted itself as committed to being ad-free, so this step-change could impact user trust and potentially have them looking for alternative platforms," she said. Discord said users will be able to turn off the ads in their settings.
Discord’s move speaks to a common challenge for consumer-tech companies. They must work to balance the interests of users with the need to generate revenue and, eventually, a profit. Launched in 2015, Discord was designed to make it easy for videogame enthusiasts to chat while playing games online together.
Read more on livemint.com
