In this week’s edition of Five on Friday, we’ve got some great subscription articles to share. Google finally says good-bye to social media platform, Google+, MarTech Advisor shares tips on how to scale SaaS revenue by using a predictable pipeline, eMarketer tells us why people hate digital ads, TechRadar reveals why setting your browser to “do not track” mode doesn’t actually work, and Fast Company explores the $2.6 billion subscription box market.

Google Says Good-Bye to Google+ After Data Breach 

Google is shutting down the beleaguered social media platform Google Plus after a data breach potentially exposed as many as 500,000. Google apparently knew about the breach in March but failed to disclose it, reports The New York Times. In an October 8 blog post, Google said that it immediately patched the bug in March, but that up to 438 applications may have used the API which caused the vulnerability.

“We found no evidence that any developer was aware of this bug, or abusing the API, and we found no evidence that any Profile data was misused,” said Ben Smith, Google fellow and vice president of engineering.

The company went on to say they completed a review about the incident and how to handle it.

“The review did highlight the significant challenges in creating and maintaining a successful Google+ that meets consumers’ expectations. Given these challenges and the very low usage of the consumer version of Google+, we decided to sunset the consumer version of Google+,” wrote Smith.

Google+ will gradually wind down over the next 10 months, which will be complete by the end of August 2019. Read more about this on Google’s blog.

Using a Predictable Pipeline to Scale SaaS Revenue Realistically 

Want to align your company’s budget, resources and sales targets? Then you need a predictable pipeline model, says Shari Johnston for MarTech Advisor. A predictable pipeline is a good way to scale revenue and provide some stability, sustainability and predictability for your business. It also helps to align teams around a central goal and creates a tangible, measurable goal rather than arbitrary, unrealistic targets.

“The key is to avoid the finger pointing and instead, understanding the dials your team has to work with to help achieve the number,” Johnston writes in “Scaling SaaS Revenue with a Predictable Pipeline Model.”

To create such a model, Johnston first suggests creating a historical model based on the performance of the previous four quarters. Then basing key metrics, budgets and performance measures on that historical model. Next, Johnston suggests partnering with the sales team to review the projections and to align their goals with what was reasonably achievable.

“The key was to focus on the areas our team has the ability to influence and were realistic,” Johnston says.

Another idea was to establish a regular meeting to check in and hold the group accountable for progress toward goals. Not on track? Discuss reasons for falling short and ways to get back on track, using your key metrics, pipeline targets and revenue goals as benchmarks. For more tips and an example, read Johnston’s full article on MarTech Advisor.

Why Consumers Hate Digital Ads

When was the last time you were happy to see a digital ad? If you’re like me, probably never – except for Instagram, because Instagram “stalks me” (see below) and knows what I am interested in. Aside from that, most ads annoy me and I suffer from ad blindness – I either ignore them completely (e.g., Facebook sidebar ads) or I leave sites with annoying ads.

In an October 16 article by eMarketer, Ross Benes points out some of the reasons people hate digital ads, based on an August survey by Janrain of 1,079 adult U.S. internet users. Here are a few highlights from eMarketer:

• Most ads are too aggressive.
• One-fifth of survey respondents said the ads appeal to their interests and needs, but they find that creepy.
• The ads appeal to interests and needs, but after a consumer is no longer interested in a product or service.

Another survey by Kantar Millward Brown, shows that responds find ads more intrusive now than they did three years ago, and this alienates potential customers. Consumers are seeing more ads, the ads appear in more places and the ads are more confusing now.

For more surveys and information on why people hate ads, read “Five Charts: Why Users Are Fed Up with Digital Ads” on eMarketer.

Did You Know that ‘Do No Track’ Doesn’t Actually Work? 

October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, so it is the ideal time to share information from TechRadar that using the “Do Not Track” tool in your browser does not actually work. According to TechRadar, the Do Not Track function was developed about 10 years ago to allow consumers to stop their browsing activities from being tracked. Sounds great, right? It would be great if it worked. Apparently, website don’t request Do Not Track requests and they often ignore them. That isn’t blanketly true, however. Some sites like Pinterest and Medium do respect your privacy. Some of the larger violators include Google, Yahoo, Facebook and Twitter.

Why don’t they respect your wishes? One reason is because they don’t have to. There is currently no legislation that requires internet-based companies to follow your Do Not Track request. Also, those companies make money by selling your data and advertising to you, so they would lose valuable revenue. For more on this topic, and to find out what you can do to protect yourself, read “The ‘Do Not Track’ Privacy Tool in Your Browser Actually Does Nothing” by Olivia Tambini for TechRadar.

Why the $2.6 Billion Subscription Box Market Keeps Growing

These days there are subscription boxes for just about every need and budget – toiletries, beauty boxes, dog treats, healthy snacks, running, fan favorites, adult beverages, diapers, meal kits, knitting supplies, candy, coffee and more. According to Fast Company, the subscription box market had grown to a $2.6 billion market by the end of 2016. Here are a few other key highlights on the subscription box industry from Fast Company and a 2018 McKinsey report

• 46 percent of consumers in a survey subscribed to a streaming media service like Netflix
• 15 percent of online shoppers have subscribed to some type of eCommerce service in the last year
• 11 percent subscribe to a subscription box as well as streaming media
• The average eCommerce subscribers in the U.S. are 25 to 44 years old, making between $50,000 and $100,000 a year.
• Women account for 60 percent of the subscription market.
• The median number of subscriptions is two, but 35 percent of subscribers have three or more subscriptions.
• Men are more likely to have three or more active subscriptions.

There are three primary reasons for subscribing to e-commerce: 32 percent subscribe for replenishment (time savings, don’t have to shop, never run out), 55 subscribe for curation (selection, style, variety) and 13 subscribe for access (VIP perks, exclusive products and services)

The five subscription services are Amazon Subscribe & Save, Dollar Shave Club, Ipsy, Blue Apron and Birchbox. Women tend to subscribe to beauty and apparel services, while men are more likely to buy razors, gaming gear and fandom items and meal kits or food delivery.

Read more about the booming subscription market on Fast Company or access the McKinsey report here.