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I think this response somewhat misses the point. The basic problem is that people instinctively feel that highly-targeted ads are creepy. People have a level of
by pcwalton 7y ago
I think this response somewhat misses the point. The basic problem is that people instinctively feel that highly-targeted ads are creepy. People have a level of targeting that they feel is acceptable, and exceeding that level feels like an invasion of privacy. It doesn't take much imagination to come up with scenarios in which, say, highly targeted ads for divorce lawyers would feel unacceptably creepy to most people. That negative feeling can often outweigh any positive benefit people get from the targeting of ads.
One difficulty with this entire debate is that privacy is a social problem as much as a technical one. Trying to come up with a rigidly-defined model that separates benign ad targeting from privacy violations is very hard if not impossible.
- deburo 7y ago>That negative feeling can often outweigh any positive benefit people get from the targeting of ads. If targeted ads really improve (in amount and in quality) the free content available on the internet because it drives revenue, then that's the real benefit.
- pcwalton 7y agoIs the extra content worth the added discomfort resulting from highly targeted advertising? Maybe, maybe not! It's not a simple problem.
- deburo 7y agoThe unease is too abstract to me. I understand that it feels creepy at first, but personally that feeling faded away. As things stand personally, I'm consuming online services from Canada and I don't understand what's so bad about the current level of targeting. Most of my discomfort is based on potentialities, the what-if's, but I don't think I would demand complete privacy from corporations before anything severe happens. People distrust corporations immensely, but I'm more worried about politically motivated organizations, such as the government.
- littlestymaar 7y agoHow I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Big Brother Btw, you should be aware that the government has full access on whatever private information corporations have about you, that's the whole point of what Edward Snowden revealed.