@freddy
Much like any word (and without confusing it with really the bad sides of it) advertising can also be a useful and innocent self-interest shared with others.
Zooming out a bit all this and other tools have roots quite rightly work in how they work and stay around for good sub-reasons (not just monopoly etc)... people want to be told, suggested, algorithm, have work done for them, stats tracked (for own purposes like Mastodon in future I hope like mini-blogging did with safe plugins) and generally be in an eco-system of 'oh yeah yeah me too, project oh yeah me too, ok choices shit this is great'.... however we are the one's shunning even the word and not doing out own version of it properly...
so if you don't want this type of advertising... what is there on the free software or in terms of jobs or even small things people can do that achieves similar things.... and I do believe we want for it and if it existed for the those opposite the dark side I'm sure people wouldn't reject it / could have it switchable to on or off.
But now 0 or very little compared to the bad type of advertising or even just own thing... and really as a mass learning we just need to take EXACTLY the same processes and existing things and simply emulate it (like Ubuntu instead of Windows, or reflashing anything,.... yes bad... but then good, strip it, patch it etc).
I think this would be better than complaining (not you but just as focus,, making the doing our own thing the 'thing)...

again I came full circle to realising 'yeah they are bad' but 'man are we shit, really shit' so let's not focus on them too hard but their practices AND THEN HACK THE SHIT OUT OF IT... really copy the dynamic so at least people are watching OSS education, feeding, listening to free software and back again until they puck... else it's just hollywood FTW stealing our time, eyes and ears...

Our own internal advertising even if it's lists. logos or banners on a screen, whatever, bring a webring back if you much! (choose your level I hope haven't offended in mentioning)... just we're pretty crap in our imagination and starving ourselves being good, and I don't men money I mean real contact and friendship while we get shafted in other ways... really we just COPY and humans do best and excel in that.
I got more to say and think I can do it with just the will power of a few... (audio chat welcome to get out of text-only machine comms)

but really we need detest things so much we don't use half those tools any more or even humans to get the fun and job done more warmly and not need to look over to the over side constantly to blame the other side... we also leave it to them and expect what, something open source lol? Let them be, make your own thing.

Well I'm on this so we can only but increment it - lots of way and plenty for complainers to enjoy in revenge!