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I m sure if the book is as described, it's going to be very popular with the HN crowd, however one has to wonder if what is claimed is true. If the ability to m

I m sure if the book is as described, it's going to be very popular with the HN crowd, however one has to wonder if what is claimed is true. If the ability to mold the behaviors of people has increased , then why were people spending a lot more in the 1920s for advertising than they are now[1]? Why did online ad spending surpass TV only in 2017, and TV advertising keeps rising as well[2]? If anything, the conclusion is that the effectiveness of ads has dropped , so publishers like google have to scrape the bottom of the behavioral barrel to make it through. Also, even for google, the bulk of advertising income is from search results, not from 'evil' behavioral tracking. 1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_advertising#/media/File:Advertising_as_a_percent_of_Gross_Domestice_Product_in_the_United_States.svg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_advertising#/media/... 2. https://www.smartinsights.com/advertising/online-ad-spend-overtakes-tv-ad-spend-globally/ https://www.smartinsights.com/advertising/online-ad-spend-ov...

watwut 8y ago
Because in 1920 one ad reached less people and required more effort to produce and competition now is fierce so prices had to drop? The stats you show does not have all that much to do with ease of convincing someone and could be explained by millions other ways.
- buboard 8y ago
  so you think the market is wrong about the value of advertising? if you have tried online advertising perhaps you know how terribly inefficient it can be.
  - watwut 8y ago
    Low price means a lot of competitors and cheap to be made. High price means expensive to make or scarcity. Market is right, but price has little to do with how easy it is to convince people. Mineral watter is cheap and it is not because it is not valuable. It is because there is ton of it and if you sell it expensively, I will buy cheaper one.
    - buboard 8y ago
      this isn't about the price of ads however, but about the total amount spent on advertising compared to gdp
jessaustin 8y ago
That chart doesn't necessarily show what you're suggesting. Even if we throw out the giant dip during WWII, the "trend" seems to be completely swallowed by the volatility. Why assume that we're seeing anything other than a random walk? If there were some underlying "reason", why would it have to be "the effectiveness of ads"?
specialist 8y ago
I believe, but cannot prove, that systemic fraud has soured many on digital advertising.

watwut 8y ago

Because in 1920 one ad reached less people and required more effort to produce and competition now is fierce so prices had to drop? The stats you show does not have all that much to do with ease of convincing someone and could be explained by millions other ways.

buboard 8y ago
so you think the market is wrong about the value of advertising? if you have tried online advertising perhaps you know how terribly inefficient it can be.
- watwut 8y ago
  Low price means a lot of competitors and cheap to be made. High price means expensive to make or scarcity. Market is right, but price has little to do with how easy it is to convince people. Mineral watter is cheap and it is not because it is not valuable. It is because there is ton of it and if you sell it expensively, I will buy cheaper one.
  - buboard 8y ago
    this isn't about the price of ads however, but about the total amount spent on advertising compared to gdp

jessaustin 8y ago

That chart doesn't necessarily show what you're suggesting. Even if we throw out the giant dip during WWII, the "trend" seems to be completely swallowed by the volatility. Why assume that we're seeing anything other than a random walk? If there were some underlying "reason", why would it have to be "the effectiveness of ads"?

specialist 8y ago

I believe, but cannot prove, that systemic fraud has soured many on digital advertising.