this post was submitted on 10 Aug 2023
915 points (98.7% liked)

Technology

34912 readers
155 users here now

This is the official technology community of Lemmy.ml for all news related to creation and use of technology, and to facilitate civil, meaningful discussion around it.


Ask in DM before posting product reviews or ads. All such posts otherwise are subject to removal.


Rules:

1: All Lemmy rules apply

2: Do not post low effort posts

3: NEVER post naziped*gore stuff

4: Always post article URLs or their archived version URLs as sources, NOT screenshots. Help the blind users.

5: personal rants of Big Tech CEOs like Elon Musk are unwelcome (does not include posts about their companies affecting wide range of people)

6: no advertisement posts unless verified as legitimate and non-exploitative/non-consumerist

7: crypto related posts, unless essential, are disallowed

founded 5 years ago
MODERATORS
 

Got this notification when I opened Chrome when coming back to my desk after lunch.

"We changed our privacy settings to allow us to snoop on what you're looking at and shove you ads accordingly. Feel free to opt out, but we'll probably opt you back in when you aren't paying attention."

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] HughJanus@lemmy.ml 12 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Even if any of these companies were any good at ad targeting, I wouldn't want "personalized" ads anyway cuz I'd just spend more money.

[–] luciferofastora@discuss.online 19 points 1 year ago

but but but but you'd get something good for it! You would never have missed it, but maybe you just didn't know you wanted it? Come on, I'm sure consuming shit that will make you happy twice for two minutes each (once when clicking buy, once when getting and opening the package) will fill that hole in your soul! Spending money on stuff you don't actually need is good!

(That was sarcasm, if it wasn't clear enough.)

[–] JeffCraig@citizensgaming.com 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

True. The only personalized ads I ever receive are for products I literally just purchased.

I don't know how there's so much money in the ad space. It just seems like a huge waste.

[–] HughJanus@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

A lot of times people will visit a website for a product they're interested in and may not immediately pull the trigger. When they see it later 3-4 more times, the chances of conversion are way higher.

Google probably doesn't really know if you purchased the product, and may not care, as you may want to purchase another.

I'm sure it's like gambling and microtransactions where the vast majority of income is derived from a small minority of people who aren't bothered by the onslaught of ads shoved down their throats.