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I know we are all really concerned about privacy but we need to take a step back here for a second. Facebook will continue to show you ads - that will never sto

I know we are all really concerned about privacy but we need to take a step back here for a second. Facebook will continue to show you ads - that will never stop. By following what the author mentions in his article, all that will happen is that you will see less relevant and useless ads. Would you rather less ads which are useful or those which are completely disconnected from what you want? I have discovered some really nice SMB stores via FB ads - that would have never happened otherwise. Good luck to the author as now he will see generic AT&T and Galaxy S9 ads. Privacy has its costs and one should make an informed decision eitherways.

jeena 9y ago
It might be just me, but I rather see irellevant ads like on TV which don't have that much power influencing my decisions on what to buy and what not to buy than a really targeted ad which makes it almost impossible to resist to spend my money on something I really don't need but just want.
- product50 9y ago
  In that case, you should follow the author's steps. I personally love the ads which FB and Google show - they are well targeted and look nice and some of them are very influential which I think is a good thing. Otherwise, I will still see ads but they aren't that helpful and just take up space.
  - confounded 9y ago
    This might sound snarky, but I don’t mean it to. Why do you need help from targeted advertising? What are the things where targeted advertising is a good way to get help? Is targeted advertising on Instagram and Facebook the zenith of this help for you? Can you imagine another way of getting this help?
    - product50 9y ago
      Let me give you an example. While I was furniture shopping for my house, FB showed an ad of a nice boutique furniture store which opened less than a mile from where I lived. Since this was a new store, it had no Yelp reviews and had no word of mouth references. I visited the store and absolutely loved and bought a number of large items from there. I believe this is a positive development and these ads, at least to me, are a lot better than some of the non targeted things I see.
pdkl95 9y ago
> Would you rather less ads which are useful or those which are completely disconnected from what you want? You're making the common mistake of assuming "targeted advertising" means targeted to what you want. The point is to allow marketing to target specific groups. Any overlap with your interests is just a coincidence.
- product50 9y ago
  Sorry I don't get you. I am specifically talking about allowing FB to target you based on your interests - so that you see more relevant ads.
  - pdkl95 9y ago
    Yes, that's included in what I said. Facebook already decides which posts it will actually show you from the feeds you have explicitly subscribed to. Do you really believe they don't do the same for ads? You are not their customer; your interests matter only to the extent they provide more data points advertisers can target.
    - product50 9y ago
      Honestly I just care about getting shown the best content (which includes ads). I don't really care about the mechanics of how this is made possible.
      - pdkl95 9y ago
        You're being shown the content (ads) that people pay FB to show you. If that's what you consider "best", I suggest that you might want to do more research into how modern advertising works. Hint: ads represent marketing budget, not which product is "best".
        product50 9y ago
        So the alternative is stop FB from targeting you so that you get less relevant content? I spend >30min of my time on FB. As long as I find relevant content (which includes ads) I am good. I am not saying FB is the best source for all to find content but I do like to see updates from my friends and pages I follow and if relevant ads are sprinkled in between, I am a happy user.

jeena 9y ago

It might be just me, but I rather see irellevant ads like on TV which don't have that much power influencing my decisions on what to buy and what not to buy than a really targeted ad which makes it almost impossible to resist to spend my money on something I really don't need but just want.

product50 9y ago
In that case, you should follow the author's steps. I personally love the ads which FB and Google show - they are well targeted and look nice and some of them are very influential which I think is a good thing. Otherwise, I will still see ads but they aren't that helpful and just take up space.
- confounded 9y ago
  This might sound snarky, but I don’t mean it to. Why do you need help from targeted advertising? What are the things where targeted advertising is a good way to get help? Is targeted advertising on Instagram and Facebook the zenith of this help for you? Can you imagine another way of getting this help?
  - product50 9y ago
    Let me give you an example. While I was furniture shopping for my house, FB showed an ad of a nice boutique furniture store which opened less than a mile from where I lived. Since this was a new store, it had no Yelp reviews and had no word of mouth references. I visited the store and absolutely loved and bought a number of large items from there. I believe this is a positive development and these ads, at least to me, are a lot better than some of the non targeted things I see.

pdkl95 9y ago

> Would you rather less ads which are useful or those which are completely disconnected from what you want? You're making the common mistake of assuming "targeted advertising" means targeted to what you want. The point is to allow marketing to target specific groups. Any overlap with your interests is just a coincidence.

product50 9y ago
Sorry I don't get you. I am specifically talking about allowing FB to target you based on your interests - so that you see more relevant ads.
- pdkl95 9y ago
  Yes, that's included in what I said. Facebook already decides which posts it will actually show you from the feeds you have explicitly subscribed to. Do you really believe they don't do the same for ads? You are not their customer; your interests matter only to the extent they provide more data points advertisers can target.
  - product50 9y ago
    Honestly I just care about getting shown the best content (which includes ads). I don't really care about the mechanics of how this is made possible.
    - pdkl95 9y ago
      You're being shown the content (ads) that people pay FB to show you. If that's what you consider "best", I suggest that you might want to do more research into how modern advertising works. Hint: ads represent marketing budget, not which product is "best".
      - product50 9y ago
        So the alternative is stop FB from targeting you so that you get less relevant content? I spend >30min of my time on FB. As long as I find relevant content (which includes ads) I am good. I am not saying FB is the best source for all to find content but I do like to see updates from my friends and pages I follow and if relevant ads are sprinkled in between, I am a happy user.