I would much rather see a media platform not being biased or unfairly prejudiced towards Bitcoin... than having to pay for their positive support in the media that they are a co-owner of.
Topic: [2022-02-10] CNBC: Binance is taking a $200 million stake in Forbes (Read 398 times)
Depending on how you look at it..this could be good or bad. Remember how we always point at large media platforms as being paid shills for a few rich masters? Well, with his purchase.... does that mean Crypto have to be supported by "paid" influence.. like it has been with the super rich in the past?
I would much rather see a media platform not being biased or unfairly prejudiced towards Bitcoin... than having to pay for their positive support in the media that they are a co-owner of.
I would much rather see a media platform not being biased or unfairly prejudiced towards Bitcoin... than having to pay for their positive support in the media that they are a co-owner of.
February 28, 2022, 06:40:32 AM
There is no major tech company that sells user data. For the most part, tech companies will use your data to allow advertisers to target a more specific group of people. They also use very advanced algorithms to predict attributes about people so advertisers can again target a specific group of people. This allows them to charge much more for advertising than an advertisement that is shown to everyone.
Semantics. The bottom line is that your data ends up in the hands of third parties, and the company in question profits from their role in providing your data to these third parties. And yes, there are plenty of companies which actively sell your data. There is an entire industry built around buying and selling data, with hundreds of data broker companies in existence. Here is a list of over 100 such companies: https://www.fastcompany.com/90310803/here-are-the-data-brokers-quietly-buying-and-selling-your-personal-information. Acxiom alone claim to have profiles on 2.5 billion individuals, which they will happily sell to anyone who will pay for it. 
February 28, 2022, 06:16:46 AM
I am concerned about Binance's spree of investments however, they are giant enough now and they seem to like manipulation so I really wonder what they are planning to invest in Forbes for.
CZ’s plan for Forbes will be similar on how the billionaires like Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos or Mark Zuckerburg use the companies they have in their control. This is always for more profit and more influence. Do you reckon Warren Buffett looks good in mainstream news media because he is really a good person or a good investor? CZ might use Forbes to make him the next Warren Buffett because a lie repeated long enough will become the truth for the audience.
collecting your data, and selling all that information to advertisers, governments, and any other third party which will pay for it.
There is no major tech company that sells user data. For the most part, tech companies will use your data to allow advertisers to target a more specific group of people. They also use very advanced algorithms to predict attributes about people so advertisers can again target a specific group of people. This allows them to charge much more for advertising than an advertisement that is shown to everyone. February 21, 2022, 04:12:08 AM
Binance's top income still comes from the exchanges, right?
For now. Although it seems they have realized that the future of making money lies in data collection and spying on their users. Look at the most valuable tech firms in the world today - Microsoft, Google, Meta, Amazon. They all make money from being present on every device you ever use, spying on all your communications, placing listening devices inside your homes (Alexa, Google Home, etc.), monitoring everything you say, everything you do, everywhere you go, everything you buy, collecting your data, and selling all that information to advertisers, governments, and any other third party which will pay for it.Crypto comes along and is, initially, largely immune to all of this. Facebook can't see what transactions you are making. Amazon can't monitor what you are buying. Then exchanges like Binance and Coinbase come along, and people start doing all their business via these centralized exchanges. And now these centralized exchanges can collect all that data that the other companies mention have failed to do so.
It's no real surprise centralized exchanges have built their own blockchain analysis divisions or are in partnership with web browsers and news sites. Your data is the most valuable commodity they can get their greasy hands on.
February 21, 2022, 01:57:03 AM
I predict CZ’s next project is a charity organization or a foundation. These are very much similar to what billionaires do to create corporate identities that they can use for holding and moving money and also be exempted in some forms of taxation hehehe.
You mean something other than Binance Charity, which was the one I was referring to above about tax-exempt 501(c)(3) licensed non-profit? I've actually had dealings with them, they were a lot more aggressive and professionally run than the run-of-the-mill charity I've come across, but lacking the "smoothness" you'd expect from a global-branded non-profit -- and I say this as well as a compliment, even if there's some reluctance to it!
February 20, 2022, 08:49:03 PM
@buwaytress. Your reply has made me think of the clearest, most possible, most practical and most realistic reason why Binance wants to buy Forbes! It might be for tax deductions and moneylaundering hehehe. For what other reasons would CZ buy a stake in an old magazine company? There are many other investments in the cryptospace that would need less investment, more yield.
With all due respect and without meaning to sound like a guy who likes stereotypes (plus I'm Asian so I can say this with some candour), the Chinese always make business decisions, and long-term ones. They're not very experimental, but conservative yet proven business plans focused on soft expansion and monopoly have worked very well for them (so far).
I am also sorry if I sounded like I have stereotyped Changpeng Zhao for being a wise businessman because he is Chinese. Your post only made me remember that there was a news report about CZ’s networth is $96 billion. It is also speculated that he might be worth more than this because it did not account for his personal bitcoin wallets.
I predict CZ’s next project is a charity organization or a foundation. These are very much similar to what billionaires do to create corporate identities that they can use for holding and moving money and also be exempted in some forms of taxation hehehe.
February 20, 2022, 01:08:54 PM
It is quite concerning just how centralized the crypto ecosystem is becoming, and how most people either don't realize it or simply don't care about it.
Of course. Easier to have everything at the tip of your finger. Most people comply because it is comfortable to work this way. Imagine how much data Google has collected over the years by having Google logins for almost every website in existence nowadays. Binance will do the same, they already are a monster of information but they are hungry for more.Could it be that they are planning to influence Forbes Cryptocurrency articles in order to analyze and find out the top interests of Cryptocurrency users with the end goal being listing Altcoins based on where the trend and interest seems to be moving, Google News-esque? Google has an exceptionally good algorithm for finding you the perfect news you need. Binance's top income still comes from the exchanges, right? So what if they are trying to apply a similar psychological tactic to attract more users and implicitly more money to their bags.
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Regards,
PrivacyG
February 20, 2022, 07:47:51 AM
@buwaytress. Your reply has made me think of the clearest, most possible, most practical and most realistic reason why Binance wants to buy Forbes! It might be for tax deductions and moneylaundering hehehe. For what other reasons would CZ buy a stake in an old magazine company? There are many other investments in the cryptospace that would need less investment, more yield.
With all due respect and without meaning to sound like a guy who likes stereotypes (plus I'm Asian so I can say this with some candour), the Chinese always make business decisions, and long-term ones. They're not very experimental, but conservative yet proven business plans focused on soft expansion and monopoly have worked very well for them (so far).
Don't forget that they own Trust Wallet and have their fingers deep in to Brave browser to such an extent that they are hardcoding their own apps and widgets in to the browser and hijacking URLs that users are entering. You can already read about a new coin on a Binance controlled website, check out it's rankings on a Binance controlled website, all via your Binance controlled browser, buy the coin on Binance, pay your trading fees in a Binance controlled token, then transfer the coin to your Binance controlled wallet via a Binance controlled blockchain. The only thing that's missing is discussing it on Binance owned forums over a Binance owned VPN.
It is quite concerning just how centralized the crypto ecosystem is becoming, and how most people either don't realize it or simply don't care about it.
It is quite concerning just how centralized the crypto ecosystem is becoming, and how most people either don't realize it or simply don't care about it.
Indeed, I totally forgot about Brave! In the same way people consume everything with the taint of Facebook (meta), many new crypto entrants will unwittingly be using crypto the way Binance intends. You have to admire this strategy, even if begrudgingly so. And you're absolutely right to be concerned, soon BSC will eclipse even Ethereum as the highest volume Dapp network, not to mention how quickly they're bridging everything else (at the "cheap" cost of Binance tokens).
February 20, 2022, 04:09:13 AM
Hate to admit it, but the guys behind Binance marketing and business development are probably the most in sync with all their other departments -- and they're a spider with many legs. They've got their charity (not just CSR like the other exchanges but an actual tax-deductible non-profit), their b2c/b2b commerce, banking compliance, their logistics, they've got their academy, they've got their data guys, their incubator, and now a solid PR arm. And soon it'll be as you say: consumers completely unaware they're using all the services and products, consuming all the media, knowledge and marketing, all belonging to a single corporate entity.
Don't forget that they own Trust Wallet and have their fingers deep in to Brave browser to such an extent that they are hardcoding their own apps and widgets in to the browser and hijacking URLs that users are entering. You can already read about a new coin on a Binance controlled website, check out it's rankings on a Binance controlled website, all via your Binance controlled browser, buy the coin on Binance, pay your trading fees in a Binance controlled token, then transfer the coin to your Binance controlled wallet via a Binance controlled blockchain. The only thing that's missing is discussing it on Binance owned forums over a Binance owned VPN.It is quite concerning just how centralized the crypto ecosystem is becoming, and how most people either don't realize it or simply don't care about it.
February 20, 2022, 01:17:49 AM
@buwaytress. Your reply has made me think of the clearest, most possible, most practical and most realistic reason why Binance wants to buy Forbes! It might be for tax deductions and moneylaundering hehehe. For what other reasons would CZ buy a stake in an old magazine company? There are many other investments in the cryptospace that would need less investment, more yield.
February 19, 2022, 06:46:44 AM
Guess Binance doesn't mind buying brands with reputational baggage. CMC, now Forbes.
The thing is, the people Binance are targeting with their advertising probably don't know or care about reputational baggage. They aren't looking for serious bitcoin users who are interested in the purpose of decentralized currency and the technology behind it. This is evident by how long it took them to implement things like Segwit and their silence on things like Lightning, the fact they try to trick users in to withdrawing a fake bitcoin centralized token instead of actual bitcoin, and all the scam tokens and ICOs they list and run competitions and giveaways for. They are looking for newbies in the space who will gamble on all these scam ICOs and make Binance some profit, or will buy their centralized scam tokens. Such users don't care that CMC rankings are manipulated by Binance, or they don't even know that CMC is owned Binance at all. They won't care that Forbes articles are biased towards Binance, or contain Binance referral links. They are just here to get rich quick.@buwaytress. Wait for forbes tokens, only available in Binance smart chain through Pancakeswap and can be staked though the ForbesDAO for more tokens hehehe.
I know you are joking, but I wouldn't be surprised in the slightest.Hate to admit it, but the guys behind Binance marketing and business development are probably the most in sync with all their other departments -- and they're a spider with many legs. They've got their charity (not just CSR like the other exchanges but an actual tax-deductible non-profit), their b2c/b2b commerce, banking compliance, their logistics, they've got their academy, they've got their data guys, their incubator, and now a solid PR arm. And soon it'll be as you say: consumers completely unaware they're using all the services and products, consuming all the media, knowledge and marketing, all belonging to a single corporate entity.
Only region I know they failed to get a direct foothold in was Africa, which surprised me, and still don't know the full story there.
Forbestoken will be very profitable because of extreme burning mechanisms, right? While Bitcoin only has a laughable obsolete scarcity mechanism.
February 19, 2022, 03:50:09 AM
Guess Binance doesn't mind buying brands with reputational baggage. CMC, now Forbes.
The thing is, the people Binance are targeting with their advertising probably don't know or care about reputational baggage. They aren't looking for serious bitcoin users who are interested in the purpose of decentralized currency and the technology behind it. This is evident by how long it took them to implement things like Segwit and their silence on things like Lightning, the fact they try to trick users in to withdrawing a fake bitcoin centralized token instead of actual bitcoin, and all the scam tokens and ICOs they list and run competitions and giveaways for. They are looking for newbies in the space who will gamble on all these scam ICOs and make Binance some profit, or will buy their centralized scam tokens. Such users don't care that CMC rankings are manipulated by Binance, or they don't even know that CMC is owned Binance at all. They won't care that Forbes articles are biased towards Binance, or contain Binance referral links. They are just here to get rich quick.@buwaytress. Wait for forbes tokens, only available in Binance smart chain through Pancakeswap and can be staked though the ForbesDAO for more tokens hehehe.
I know you are joking, but I wouldn't be surprised in the slightest. February 18, 2022, 09:31:16 PM
I am concerned about Binance's spree of investments however, they are giant enough now and they seem to like manipulation so I really wonder what they are planning to invest in Forbes for.
CZ’s plan for Forbes will be similar on how the billionaires like Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos or Mark Zuckerburg use the companies they have in their control. This is always for more profit and more influence. Do you reckon Warren Buffett looks good in mainstream news media because he is really a good person or a good investor? CZ might use Forbes to make him the next Warren Buffett because a lie repeated long enough will become the truth for the audience.
February 18, 2022, 06:32:26 PM
Will this mean much more crypto news getting covered in "their" media? Hopefully.
Will this mean that their readers will get (correctly) educated about Bitcoin and crypto? (Like for example debunking the "Bitcoin is bad for environment" and similar garbage?) I also hope so, but I may be too optimistic...
I expect a yes to the first and a maybe to the second. It is already known that Binance is, directly or not, manipulating CMC token ranks, market caps, volume and prices. Exchanges running on their Cloud have an exaggerated volume on CMC that is far away from reality. Altcoins they do not like are pushed down to the bottom of rankings randomly. Binance did well by offering a decent free course about Cryptocurrencies on their exchange but I do not like the way they operate by manipulation.Will this mean that their readers will get (correctly) educated about Bitcoin and crypto? (Like for example debunking the "Bitcoin is bad for environment" and similar garbage?) I also hope so, but I may be too optimistic...
Chances they will use Forbes to promote more Bitcoin than Altcoins are low but I expect them to offer a good amount of education about Bitcoin overall. I am concerned about Binance's spree of investments however, they are giant enough now and they seem to like manipulation so I really wonder what they are planning to invest in Forbes for.
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Regards,
PrivacyG
February 17, 2022, 10:46:45 PM
@buwaytress. Wait for forbes tokens, only available in Binance smart chain through Pancakeswap and can be staked though the ForbesDAO for more tokens hehehe.
I reckon it might also be the beginning for more buys of mainstream news media companies. There are other mainstream news media companies similar to techcrunch.com that might be a better product fit for Binance. Also, this clearly shows that CZ is in control of much liquidity for his takeover hehe. Is he preparing himself for a bear market? Why is he buying real assets?
I reckon it might also be the beginning for more buys of mainstream news media companies. There are other mainstream news media companies similar to techcrunch.com that might be a better product fit for Binance. Also, this clearly shows that CZ is in control of much liquidity for his takeover hehe. Is he preparing himself for a bear market? Why is he buying real assets?
February 16, 2022, 04:53:31 AM
DaveF: Yeah, Forbes doesn't carry the reputation it may once have had (I actually don't know how good it was as a brand but even as a kid we'd be sold headlines about the Forbes rich list). Even before the last 2017 rally I'd come across cringey headlines in Forbes -- not to mention the ICO PRs flooding my RSS feeds. They're definitely a pay-to-play moneyspinner for their owners.
Be nice to be a fly on the wall, seeing the reaction of editors of the various online publications owned by Forbes, when they might have charged Binance a few hundred dollars a pop for a PR in the past.
Guess Binance doesn't mind buying brands with reputational baggage. CMC, now Forbes.
Be nice to be a fly on the wall, seeing the reaction of editors of the various online publications owned by Forbes, when they might have charged Binance a few hundred dollars a pop for a PR in the past.
Guess Binance doesn't mind buying brands with reputational baggage. CMC, now Forbes.
February 14, 2022, 07:28:37 PM
There is already a bit of a discussion going on here: https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/binance-invests-200-million-to-buy-stake-in-forbes-5385385 about this.
On a separate note, I went reading though a bunch of tech articles in Forbes since I posted in the other thread last night.
It's all doom and gloom and scare tactics about most tech things. Not just crypto. It's like every headline is clickbait.
"New Microsoft vulnerability threatens tens of millions of computers"
Or
"Cisco bug can take down the internet"
Or
"Millions of home routers are hackable"
It's like a large number of their readers are older and like the clickbait scare people headlines.
Since they are valued so high I guess it works, but looking though a lot of their articles they are just flat out wrong about stuff.
-Dave
On a separate note, I went reading though a bunch of tech articles in Forbes since I posted in the other thread last night.
It's all doom and gloom and scare tactics about most tech things. Not just crypto. It's like every headline is clickbait.
"New Microsoft vulnerability threatens tens of millions of computers"
Or
"Cisco bug can take down the internet"
Or
"Millions of home routers are hackable"
It's like a large number of their readers are older and like the clickbait scare people headlines.
Since they are valued so high I guess it works, but looking though a lot of their articles they are just flat out wrong about stuff.
-Dave
I also made a thread in the altcoin subforum.
https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/binance-led-by-changpeng-zhao-is-taking-a-200-million-stake-in-forbes-5385298
I joke about the move as the revenge of CZ against Forbes for publishing the very negative fud article that was written by one of its contributors hehe. However, it was more on taking a different marketing strategy for Binance. FTX wants to partner with sports teams to connect with a mainstream audience, Binance wants to control the storylines and brainwash the mainstream audience hehehehe.
February 13, 2022, 01:45:15 PM
On a separate note, I went reading though a bunch of tech articles in Forbes since I posted in the other thread last night.
It's all doom and gloom and scare tactics about most tech things. Not just crypto. It's like every headline is clickbait.
Forbes allows ~anyone to publish stories under their trade name via an independent contractor relationship. I am not sure what the payment structure looks like, however I assume it is something along the lines of by number of clicks, or possibly number of clicks on ads shown on articles. It's all doom and gloom and scare tactics about most tech things. Not just crypto. It's like every headline is clickbait.
So Forbes does not have the same editorial standards that you see in most newspapers. I doubt there is even a process in which an editor reviews an article prior to it being published. There have been instances in which Forbes "writers" have accepted payment in exchange for writing favorable stories.
February 13, 2022, 10:27:56 AM
There is already a bit of a discussion going on here
I've missed it, sorry. However, this is here about Forbes, not about Binance, hence... imho not a service discussion.
It's like every headline is clickbait.
I've noticed this trend on many newspapers over the last decade. They are (too) hungry for clicks.
I am not really optimistic that the "new boss" would change much (or anything) on that.
On one hand, you would hope the general crypto stories they publish will actually be fact checked and not just complete nonsense like many of them are at the moment (as you mentioned, the environment being a prime example of this).
Yeah. I've been just reading about Uber "absolutely" accept Bitcoin.. eventually and just a couple of lines in the topic they say that one of the obstacles for Uber accepting Bitcoin is its environmental impact (I mean ffs! really?!)
On the other hand, I fully expect there to be a bias towards Binance itself when such an opportunity arises. Remember that they bought CoinMarketCap, and shortly after Binance became the top ranking exchange by every metric. Funny that.
Yep, I am aware of that. While that was expected to happen at CMC (BTW, I don't use it for years), I don't know what metrics will Forbes show, but, yep, it can easily happen.
One guess will be that Forbes can easily become a tool in the fight between Binance and FTX.
February 13, 2022, 10:21:54 AM
What about their ethics, do people generally trust Binance?
I mean, I don't in the slightest, but I appreciate I am at one extreme end of the spectrum when it comes to trusting centralized exchanges at all.There are a number of things they have done in the past which I find less than ethical. Buying out CMC and immediately boosting themselves to the the number 1 position as I mentioned above is one of them. Other examples include:
- Trying to cover up the fact that they were hacked for thousands of users' worth of KYC data, and then blaming other entities and taking no responsibility themselves
- Creating a number of centralized scam coins built on their own chains and falsely advertising them to newbies as "bitcoin"
- Charging astronomical bitcoin withdrawal fees for no good reason and pocketing >95% of these fees as pure profit
- Paying to have their code and widgets embedded in Brave browser
- Convenient "bugs" resulting in the freezing of withdrawals of coins which are seeing surges in trading activity
- All the usual things all centralized exchanges do when it comes to spying on their users and arbitrary locking accounts
February 13, 2022, 08:38:31 AM
Will this mean that their readers will get (correctly) educated about Bitcoin and crypto? (Like for example debunking the "Bitcoin is bad for environment" and similar garbage?) I also hope so, but I may be too optimistic...
On one hand, you would hope the general crypto stories they publish will actually be fact checked and not just complete nonsense like many of them are at the moment (as you mentioned, the environment being a prime example of this). On the other hand, I fully expect there to be a bias towards Binance itself when such an opportunity arises. Remember that they bought CoinMarketCap, and shortly after Binance became the top ranking exchange by every metric. Funny that.It's like every headline is clickbait.
The problem with Forbes is how they recruit and pay their writers. There are a core group of "Forbes staff", who are paid to write articles, and will be paid regardless of how many people read their articles. There are many more "Forbes contributors", who submit articles for free and then receive payment based on how much traffic they generate. Obviously, given this payment model, these contributors are incentivized to create clickbait headlines. 
February 13, 2022, 07:49:48 AM
There is already a bit of a discussion going on here: https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/binance-invests-200-million-to-buy-stake-in-forbes-5385385 about this.
On a separate note, I went reading though a bunch of tech articles in Forbes since I posted in the other thread last night.
It's all doom and gloom and scare tactics about most tech things. Not just crypto. It's like every headline is clickbait.
"New Microsoft vulnerability threatens tens of millions of computers"
Or
"Cisco bug can take down the internet"
Or
"Millions of home routers are hackable"
It's like a large number of their readers are older and like the clickbait scare people headlines.
Since they are valued so high I guess it works, but looking though a lot of their articles they are just flat out wrong about stuff.
-Dave
On a separate note, I went reading though a bunch of tech articles in Forbes since I posted in the other thread last night.
It's all doom and gloom and scare tactics about most tech things. Not just crypto. It's like every headline is clickbait.
"New Microsoft vulnerability threatens tens of millions of computers"
Or
"Cisco bug can take down the internet"
Or
"Millions of home routers are hackable"
It's like a large number of their readers are older and like the clickbait scare people headlines.
Since they are valued so high I guess it works, but looking though a lot of their articles they are just flat out wrong about stuff.
-Dave
February 12, 2022, 04:30:15 PM
Binance, led by the world’s richest crypto billionaire, is taking a $200 million stake in Forbes
source: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/10/forbes-spac-binance-led-by-the-worlds-richest-crypto-billionaire-is-taking-a-200-million-stake-in-forbes-.html
Will this mean much more crypto news getting covered in "their" media? Hopefully.
Will this mean that their readers will get (correctly) educated about Bitcoin and crypto? (Like for example debunking the "Bitcoin is bad for environment" and similar garbage?) I also hope so, but I may be too optimistic...
Of course, NFT, Web3 and other buzz words are present in that news, I haven't pay much attention there.
And I hope that this move will not get "annihilated" by an even bigger buyer (with a completely different direction) getting a big bulk after the listing to NY Stock Exchange.
source: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/10/forbes-spac-binance-led-by-the-worlds-richest-crypto-billionaire-is-taking-a-200-million-stake-in-forbes-.html
Quote
Binance, the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange, is making a $200 million strategic investment in Forbes, the 104-year-old magazine and digital publisher, CNBC has learned.
Quote
That would make Binance one of the top two biggest owners of Forbes, which will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker FRBS, the people said. The crypto company will also get two directors out of nine total board seats, they said.
Will this mean much more crypto news getting covered in "their" media? Hopefully.
Will this mean that their readers will get (correctly) educated about Bitcoin and crypto? (Like for example debunking the "Bitcoin is bad for environment" and similar garbage?) I also hope so, but I may be too optimistic...
Of course, NFT, Web3 and other buzz words are present in that news, I haven't pay much attention there.
And I hope that this move will not get "annihilated" by an even bigger buyer (with a completely different direction) getting a big bulk after the listing to NY Stock Exchange.
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