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Lets start with something simpler first. How about websites asking for user permission before using cookies instead of being genteel and saying "please note tha
by vinayms 9y ago
Lets start with something simpler first. How about websites asking for user permission before using cookies instead of being genteel and saying "please note that we use cookies thank you", or at least have a 'delete cookie' button next to 'ok'? Doing this shows the respect for user's wishes wrt privacy. If this can't be done, then there is no hope of changing a billion dollar industry which is essentially based on similar tactics.
As for the topic, I can't understand why people demonize targeted advertising. This has been happening forever. On TV, you see products targeted towards housewives during soaps and products targeted towards men during sports. The same goes to news papers and magazines. You wouldn't find an ad for sanitary pads in a car and bike magazine. Stereotypes rule here. What we have now is just a more advanced technique, with good amount of maths helping it.
I think I know the answer myself - people conflate breach of privacy with targeted advertising. For me, breach of privacy would be something like my phone number being sold to telemarketers who make cold calls for bovine excreta, or gmail showing ads based on email content. However, google showing ads related to items I have recently searched is perfectly acceptable, even beneficial when done right.
That said, the point about ads that discriminate racially or based on other social factors is unethical and worrisome. I have no idea how the ad industry works behind the scenes, beyond the technology, but a business that socially discriminates in real world will always discriminate online as well. So this point is really sociological and not technological.
- koolba 9y agoContent aware advertising isn’t the problem or even remotely as creepy. If I’m reading an article about ski resorts it’s not out of line to try to sell me skis or even a vacation package. It pertains to the content thats being interacted with and may be a commonality across everyone interacting with that content. If I then read a political news site and see the same ad it’s creepy. The real world analogy is a guy literally following you around, seeing what storefronts you’ve peeked into, then holding up signs for them (or likely their competitors) everywhere else you go.
- vinayms 9y agoCreepy stalker vs subservient personal assistant is just a point of view. The example you cite is not creepy. It just shows that the ads are not congruent with the content of website that is showing it. Not sure who is at fault here, the webmaster or the ad algorithm, but its just odd, not creepy.
- pwg 9y ago> Lets start with something simpler first. How about websites asking for user permission before using cookies One way to fight back at the cookie problem is to install the "Cookie AutoDelete" extension (Firefox: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/cookie-autodelete/ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/cookie-autode..., Chrome: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/cookie-autodelete/fhcgjolkccmbidfldomjliifgaodjagh?hl=en https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/cookie-autodelete/...). The various sites can still set cookies, so those that fail without cookies still work while you are viewing them, but a configurable time after you close the tab the extension will delete all of the cookies out of your browser. So those cookies set by advertisers to 'track' you around different websites simply go away. On some sites, you'll see 400+ cookies get deleted 10 seconds after you close the tab you were on.
- smileysteve 9y agoCookie warnings from the European model is flawed in that the warning creates a numbness. "Oh, I have to accept cookies to log in"