# Sometimes data mining gets things completely wrong **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 5, 2024, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sometimes-data-mining-gets-things-completely-wrong/1002534 "2024-06-05T22:47:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2024, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sometimes-data-mining-gets-things-completely-wrong/1002534/1 "2024-06-05T22:47:49Z")
This is sort of the opposite of the [Creepiest examples of internet tracking](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepiest-examples-of-internet-tracking/1001969/71) thread. I keep getting fliers and coupons in the mail for a pet supply store in Illinois. They even include a handy map showing where their store is located. The only problem is that I live in California. I have never lived in Illinois. Also, they have my Dad’s name on them, but my address. He doesn’t live in Illinois either. Nor does he live at my address. My best guess is that the marketing company running this store’s ad campaign asked a data broker for a list of names and addresses of people who are likely to shop there; i.e. people who have pets and live in their catchment area. And somehow my address with Dad’s name attached to it mistakenly got included on that list. And the list was probably compiled by some algorithm with minimal human involvement, and no one bothered to sanity check it. Have any of you ever gotten advertising, either physical or online, that was supposedly “targeted” and yet completely missed the target in some way? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2024, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sometimes-data-mining-gets-things-completely-wrong/1002534/2 "2024-06-06T02:39:51Z")
For a while there, half of the ads I was getting were from some company that sells airplanes. I can’t afford a plane, and even if I could, I wouldn’t be interested. The closest I can think of is that, around that time, a friend I talk to once a week was getting his pilot’s license… but I asked him about it, and he wasn’t getting any of those ads. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2024, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sometimes-data-mining-gets-things-completely-wrong/1002534/3 "2024-06-06T03:47:53Z")
I’ll sometimes see ads for local businesses that are on the other side of the country (or sometimes in another country entirely) in places that I have never been to. I suspect this is due to my habit of sometimes looking up a place on Google Maps when I see it mentioned somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2024, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sometimes-data-mining-gets-things-completely-wrong/1002534/4 "2024-06-06T04:44:38Z")
I’m betting that the people who bought the ads didn’t set their location parameters correctly I’m getting a bunch of ads for brunch places an bakeries all over recently. And no place that I would have looked up for any reason ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2024, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sometimes-data-mining-gets-things-completely-wrong/1002534/5 "2024-06-06T05:25:34Z")
I get pro-GOP mailers sometimes. “Help Trump Save Freedom” stuff that all starts with “As one of Trump’s most loyal supporters and proud warriors of the conservative movement, we know we can trust you to…” Not sure how I wound up on _that_ list but they could be spending their postage more effectively. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2024, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sometimes-data-mining-gets-things-completely-wrong/1002534/6 "2024-06-06T05:29:57Z")
I went on vacation in Chicago last year and again in April, and the ad servers seem to think I live there now. I keep getting ads for Chicago businesses, and news about Chicago, and Chicago weather forecasts. This is still an improvement over the state of things a few years ago, when Facebook was convinced that I was a gay, married, transgender woman, Jewish, Eagle Scout, victim of Catholic sexual abuse, who served at Camp Lejeune between 1953 and 1987 and was shopping for an engagement ring. (I am NONE of these things.) ---
**Author:** ![Nyvaak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Nyvaak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nyvaak)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2024, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sometimes-data-mining-gets-things-completely-wrong/1002534/7 "2024-06-06T06:17:10Z")
I keep getting e-mails addressing me by my first name (which is not easily predictable by my e-mail address) and purporting to be someone in charge of hiring managerial personnel. They make reference to my success in managing a particular business that I’ve never heard of in a city an hour’s drive away. Oh well. Hitting the delete key takes very little energy. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2024, 10:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sometimes-data-mining-gets-things-completely-wrong/1002534/8 "2024-06-06T10:32:13Z")
I used to be on an email list for petrochemical engineers. I even started a thread about it: > [@I'm a Spanish-speaking mining/petrochemical engineer? (not)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-a-spanish-speaking-mining-petrochemical-engineer-not/728781): > > My email address seems to have gotten on a list of purported Spanish-speaking mining or petrochemical engineers. Or something like that, considering all Spanish language spam I get with technical terms in the subject lines. Here’s a small sample of the subject lines: [ul] [li]Especializacion en Compresores de Gas Natural[/li][li]Mantenimiento Electrico en Atmosferas Explosivas[/li][li]API 1104 Soldadura de tuberias[/li][li]Tuberias para Combustible bajo ASME B31.4[/li][li]Tecnicas de Alineamie… I thought once one is on an email list, you never get off, but those emails stopped coming. And I have not changed my email address. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2024, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sometimes-data-mining-gets-things-completely-wrong/1002534/9 "2024-06-06T12:00:12Z")
There is a company that has a really cool concept for high-end dining in unique settings. I heard about them, looked into it, and booked a dinner for us a few years ago. It was great. A beautiful farm with several different gardens, a small herd of friendly goats, chickens roaming, a pond, etc. They had small tables set up (with tablecloths, real napkins, fine china, etc). A portable kitchen was set up and chefs worked to serve a gourmet meal that we enjoyed as the sun set. It was fantastic, but expensive. So, this company has several locations, one in Pittsburgh, which was our spot. _ **However** _, for some reason my contact information went to their Wisconsin (?) location and ever since then I get offers for dinners in Wisconsin. Never been there, no plans on visiting. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2024, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sometimes-data-mining-gets-things-completely-wrong/1002534/10 "2024-06-06T13:08:22Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > I get pro-GOP mailers sometimes. “Help Trump Save Freedom” stuff that all starts with “As one of Trump’s most loyal supporters and proud warriors of the conservative movement, we know we can trust you to…” I got that sort of thing once, four years ago. Northern Virginia has hardly any MAGAbots; it’s virtually solid blue here. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2024, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sometimes-data-mining-gets-things-completely-wrong/1002534/11 "2024-06-06T14:40:15Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > Not sure how I wound up on _that_ list but they could be spending their postage more effectively. Like for paying donny’s legal bills. ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2024, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sometimes-data-mining-gets-things-completely-wrong/1002534/12 "2024-06-06T16:44:13Z")
So one amusing thing I’ve seen is if you search for a particular country you’ll end up with dating ads for that country. So if you search “Iran nuclear program” you’ll see “Find single Iranian women in _town calculated by IP address_” ads then if you search for “Romanian prime Minister” you’ll see "Find single Romanian women in _town calculated by IP address_’ . But the picture of the allegedly single scantily clad Iranian/Romanian women in the ad is the _same_ woman 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2024, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sometimes-data-mining-gets-things-completely-wrong/1002534/13 "2024-06-06T16:49:10Z")
That reminds me, I keep getting banner ads that say “Find single women over 50”. I’m not over 50 (Although maybe they think I’m interested in dating older women for some reason). ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2024, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sometimes-data-mining-gets-things-completely-wrong/1002534/14 "2024-06-06T17:43:01Z")
Ok so this ad just appeared on my Twitter feed. This one is a serious DAFUQ?!?! [![](https://i.imgur.com/5essjsE.png) ](https://i.imgur.com/5essjsE.png) I guess aimed at MAGAts who are also into weird eastern cults (to go along with the weird western cult they already belong to? I’m not sure what the GOP will think of that 😉 ) And why does Trump look like Robin Williams or maybe David McCallum? ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2024, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sometimes-data-mining-gets-things-completely-wrong/1002534/15 "2024-06-06T18:54:34Z")
> [@griffin1977](#): > > So one amusing thing I’ve seen is if you search for a particular country you’ll end up with dating ads for that country. So if you search “Iran nuclear program” you’ll see “Find single Iranian women in _town calculated by IP address_” ads then if you search for “Romanian prime Minister” you’ll see "Find single Romanian women in _town calculated by IP address_’ . But the picture of the allegedly single scantily clad Iranian/Romanian women in the ad is the _same_ woman 🙂 I traveled for work every week. And visited a lot of the same sites using hotel wifi wherever. There is one easily recognizable woman who goes by the name of Emma. That chick has been stalking me for 10 years now, always in a nearby or the same town as the hotel and always ready to meet for fun and frolic. How in the hell she manages to do that much sychronized traveling with me and I never saw her once on my flights is a total mystery to me. 😁 ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2024, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sometimes-data-mining-gets-things-completely-wrong/1002534/16 "2024-06-06T18:59:26Z")
\ You’re actually Emma. \ ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2024, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sometimes-data-mining-gets-things-completely-wrong/1002534/17 "2024-06-06T19:02:52Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > That reminds me, I keep getting banner ads that say “Find single women over 50”. I’m not over 50 (Although maybe they think I’m interested in dating older women for some reason). Maybe that 50" means 4’2"? ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2024, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sometimes-data-mining-gets-things-completely-wrong/1002534/18 "2024-06-06T20:21:38Z")
The strangest ads I get claim to come from companies that claim that they have seen my wonderful web site and want to know what products I can offer them. (Cartesian products, tensor products, cup products, maybe.) ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2024, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sometimes-data-mining-gets-things-completely-wrong/1002534/19 "2024-06-07T04:38:36Z")
This has been going on for a long time. Back in the 1970’s, I was promoted to a job in Data Processing as a Systems Analyst. One of the perks was a free subscription to some computer data processing magazines. So they signed me up with my name & job title (abbreviated). Thus I began receiving magazines at: Tim Bonham, Sys. Anal. But that list must have been sold, to lots of businesses unconnected with computer data processing. Many who apparently weren’t very good at processing mailing list addresses. Because I soon began receiving offers in the mail like this: _'A wonderful vacation is available to you and all the Anal family for only…_.’ and _‘Won’t all the neighbors be impressed by the Anal’s in their new Chevrolet?’_ I found it a rather amusing way to start the workday. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2024, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sometimes-data-mining-gets-things-completely-wrong/1002534/20 "2024-06-07T04:59:05Z")
Just today, I got a birthday card from a women’s clothing store, with a coupon inside. They only had part of my name on the envelope, I’m not a woman, and it’s nowhere near my birthday. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sometimes-data-mining-gets-things-completely-wrong/1002534.md?page=2)