IdeaWell

Project ideas from Hacker News discussions.

Vietnam bans unskippable ads

Original Article

Hacker News Discussion

📝 Discussion Summary (Click to expand)

1. Ads Are Manipulative and Harmful

Users decry ads as toxic brainwashing that create artificial demand and degrade society.
"jab: I've often wondered whether the world would be better without ads. The incentive to create services... that strive to addict their users feels toxic to society."
"kelnos: No need to wonder: the world would certainly be better without ads. Advertising is psychological manipulation."

2. Ads Fund Free Services and Enable Discovery

Ads subsidize content and help small businesses/new products reach users.
"ThrowawayTestr: People won't pay a few bucks a month for YouTube... Without ads, a lot of things wouldn't exist."
"bko: As a small business, I would def prefer to be in a world that allows me to advertise, even if I have to compete for things like my own name."

3. Regulation Will Lead to Workarounds and Worse Outcomes

Expect more/frequent ads, reduced revenue, less content, or platforms exiting Vietnam.
"llbbdd: Google is just going to pull a different lever to compensate, like just displaying more shorter ads per session."
"echelon: Many advertisers may avoid advertising... This means... less videos get created."

🚀 Project Ideas

AdVantage Protocol

Summary

  • A decentralized "pull" marketplace for product information that replaces intrusive "push" advertising with a searchable directory of verified claims.
  • It solves the toxicity of artificial demand and "forced" viewing by allowing users to explicitly request information when they are in a buying mindset.
  • Core Value Proposition: Turning advertisements into high-fidelity, searchable utility rather than psychological manipulation.

Details

Key Value
Target Audience Ethical shoppers and small businesses struggling with SEO/Ad costs.
Core Feature Statement-based, textual, and searchable product "cards" with no tracking.
Tech Stack IPFS (decentralized storage), React, and Zero-Knowledge Proofs for verification.
Difficulty High
Monetization Revenue-ready: Transaction-based or small "listing" fee (Anti-spam).

Notes

  • Direct response to HN users saying: "I don't need marketers doing drive-by product announcements... if I need a product, I will deliberately go out and look for it."
  • Addresses the "Amusing Ourselves to Death" argument for returning to information-dense, textual statements rather than slogans and jingles.

PlayFair: Ad Integrity & Skip-Tester

Summary

  • An automated testing and audit suite for mobile app developers and regulators to detect "dark patterns" in ad SDKs.
  • It identifies and flags "fake close buttons," "slowing progress bars," and "phantom taps" that lead to unintended App Store redirects.
  • Core Value Proposition: Holding ad networks accountable to regulatory standards (like Vietnam’s 5-second rule) and user experience.

Details

Key Value
Target Audience App Developers, Regulatory Bodies, and QA Teams.
Core Feature Automated "Dark Pattern" detection and compliance reporting.
Tech Stack Appium, Python, Computer Vision (OpenCV) for UI analysis.
Difficulty Medium
Monetization Revenue-ready: SaaS Subscription for dev teams.

Notes

  • Solves the manual frustration expressed by users about "tricky" ads: "My favorite most annoying ad tactic is the trick slowing down progress bar... Murderous rage."
  • Provides a "general charter" tool for agencies to enforce specific legislation without falling behind on tech.

TrustGraph Recommendation Engine

Summary

  • A private, network-based product recommendation system that leverages your real-world social graph to surface products.
  • Instead of algorithmic ads, it shows what your colleagues or friends are actually using (e.g., specific open-source libraries, restaurants, or electronics).
  • Core Value Proposition: Replacing the "surveillance economy" with "social trust" for product discovery.

Details

Key Value
Target Audience Developers and power users who distrust algorithmic suggestions.
Core Feature Private peer-to-peer recommendation sharing with opt-in anonymity.
Tech Stack Fediverse (ActivityPub), Nostr, or a private encrypted graph.
Difficulty Medium
Monetization Hobby

Notes

  • Directly addresses the suggestion: "My personal preference would be a network recommendation system. I would like to know what people I know are using... restaurants, clothes or open source software."
  • Moves away from "ultra-processed language" of influencers back into genuine human utility.

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