You can do this with search engines and online stores. I tried this with Amazon, and was surprised at how much stuff they had listed for me. Things I barely remembered glancing at once for five seconds, ten years ago…
(What really got me was a couple of random products that were linked to here. A poster might put in a link: “Is THIS the toy that scared you as a child?” … I mean, c’mon, how could I not click that? Hey, Bezos, that does not mean I want to look at Creepy Monkey Head Robots a decade later!).
That’s why when I click on an Amazon or Youtube link, I always open it in a private window so as A)not to skew my recommendations and B)not to have some bizarre thing in my search history because it was linked to here.
Or when I’m at work, it’s the opposite. I only log in from a private window so someone that happens to sit down at my computer or is looking over my shoulder doesn’t see my Amazon/youtube search history while I’m looking for something (since I’m not logged in unless I’m planning to buy something).
Conversely, I regularly read (and click links) “The Worst Things For Sale” blog so my Amazon history is filled with all manner of garbage. I don’t care because I go to Amazon to actually buy what I came there to buy, not to browse through its recommendations.
I sure hope not; don’t wanna get banned for sockitude.
Anyway, this seems to be as good a place as any for me to announce that I have a FB page called “I Can Do Without Seeing Any Ad Pages At All Thankyverymuch”
It’s been there since May of 2013, and has garnered fewer than ten “Likes”, fewer than twenty page views, and a grand total of ZERO visitor comments. I attribute those statistics to the fact that I refuse to promote the page, beyond (seldom) mentioning that it exists. Given the page’s mission statement, I’m even nervous that this very post is inviting paradox.
I go the other direction: I choose “already purchased this product.” If I’m going to bork their big data picture of me, I’ll do it not by stripping out irrelevance, but by dumping more in.
This has always been a philosophy of mine - create as much noise as possible to drown out the signal. I’m sure it doesn’t really work, but hey, it’s a living.
Why would this multi-billion-dollar company with resources out the wazoo, who makes its money by advertising to use extensive user-base, not vet its advertisers?
The advertisers are the users, and we are the product. Facebook’s profit is guaranteed by advertisers having as much access to the rest of us as possible-if the ads are paid for, the advertisers are “vetted”.
The same reason they don’t moderate content. It would cost more (and interfere with making money since they would have to stop a lot of advertising and/or pay a lot of people to review the advertising).
I’m not saying that I don’t know why they don’t vet their advertisers, I’m echoing the thoughts of people who trust FB advertising, giving a reason for why they would click. And yes those people probably trust the news they see on FB as well.
Sometimes the item is truly interesting-looking. Other times it’s an accident.
I actually heard about Calamityware via an ad on FB. I don’t think I clicked on it, but I did look it up later and it seems to be a real company (I have not made a purchase). Ditto a bathing suit company.
There was a time a couple weeks back where they had a really nifty-looking wind spinner “ZOMG GOING OUT OF BUSINESS GET IT WHILE WE STILL HAVE THEM”. I may have clicked on the ad (which I regret) but I also did a separate search - and it was clear the website was brand-new and highly shady. I reported it to Facebook - and 2 days later got the identical ad, with a different URL.
I was working for Network Solutions in 1999 when Microsoft’s hotmail.com domain expired and apparently Bill Gates didn’t bother to pay the bill. The service went down. Some random guy noticed and paid the $35 for them. At the time the process was to send a bill by postal mail due net 30. If it wasn’t paid, we sent another invoice addressed to “President” using the address of the company. Not a person’s name, just “President.” Where do you think that would go if it arrived at Microsoft HQ?