4 ms·

It's also been shown empirically that 'nerds', 'geeks' tend to be ad-resistant (not just tech-nerds, the general psych profile regardless of domain). It's not

by K0SM0S 7y ago

It's also been shown empirically that 'nerds', 'geeks' tend to be ad-resistant (not just tech-nerds, the general psych profile regardless of domain). It's not that ads are that irrelevant to nerds compared to most people (no stat outliers), it's apparently related to something in the brain that just responds less to ads. Whether that be conscious filtering, unconscious pattern recognition training which lets one discard irrelevant stimulus, .. take your pick. Parent might thus just be a nerd. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

giancarlostoro 7y ago
I am a geek too but Instagram and Facebook ads have been on point much more. The creepy thing to me is sometimes they are a little too good. I suspect anyone with FB Messenger installed is also letting Facebook crawl texts. They were showing me ads about crap I only texted my mom about. Its just a little too sketchy.
- 14 7y ago
  Facebook annoys me I have to say. And yes they are getting good at ads as I was recently trying to buy a used vehicle and kept searching the marketplace. Of course this starts Facebook's gears and I get more and more suggestions about cars people are selling more frequently. One picture really caught my attention, I forget why, so I clicked it only to realize a moment later it was a sponsored ad by Facebook.Oops What annoys me about Facebook is now I have purchased a new car (and a phone a month back while we are talking about this) and I am constantly being bombarded with car financing ads and suggestions to phones I should buy. If only they could tell when to move on from an ad because I do not need multiple car/phones at this time.
- K0SM0S 7y ago
  Oh that's not new and expected that they would read your data, like gmail scans your mails, cloud drives scan your non-encrypted files, etc. While I'm at it, let's spread the good word. I use Signal personally, it's really convenient enough that I can convince most people to use it and then they usually prefer it to other chat apps (you can customize colors, send docs securely, it's simple and easy, that's it!) I actually don't even mention the privacy usually (most people don't care, it's noise to them); the simple fact that it does SMS too and is much nicer than stock apps for this makes it convenient: it's not a new app, it's a better SMS replacement that also does chat a-la messenger/whatsapp/etc. But yes, it's also recommended by Snowden and most security experts if you care about your security and privacy. (just be careful with SMS, these remain unsecure as ever)
majos 7y ago
Can you link a source for this?
- K0SM0S 7y ago
  Not my field, and I'll admit a confirmation bias (this idea fits my subjective view of nerds/geeks) so I remembered the idea and didn't fact proof it much back then. I can't find anything on a quick Google. I'll give you the community-side rundown: Most "experts", veterans and passionate people in a field are not easily swayed by classic marketing because they have a 10,000 feet view, they can usually tell you right away who ads are targeted at, what's the catch, what's their recommendation of a better product or method altogether... Like security experts know well the limits of a "VPN company" selling "privacy and security and ease of mind". Cue any field, any domain. It also doesn't mean nerds and geeks don't buy (obviously, and they rather spend more than the average) but they have their own opinions and that of their community, and ads are really just a distant noise in the background. Think of that guy who laughs at memes on ads and then goes to reddit or their Discord/Slack/whatever to make a purchase decision. So you have to use different kinds of approaches, usually much more substantial, to win over these people. You can't really fake it, it's more of a virtual negociation by ways of company image and community response in trust and $.

by K0SM0S 7y ago

giancarlostoro 7y ago

I am a geek too but Instagram and Facebook ads have been on point much more. The creepy thing to me is sometimes they are a little too good. I suspect anyone with FB Messenger installed is also letting Facebook crawl texts. They were showing me ads about crap I only texted my mom about. Its just a little too sketchy.

14 7y ago
Facebook annoys me I have to say. And yes they are getting good at ads as I was recently trying to buy a used vehicle and kept searching the marketplace. Of course this starts Facebook's gears and I get more and more suggestions about cars people are selling more frequently. One picture really caught my attention, I forget why, so I clicked it only to realize a moment later it was a sponsored ad by Facebook.Oops What annoys me about Facebook is now I have purchased a new car (and a phone a month back while we are talking about this) and I am constantly being bombarded with car financing ads and suggestions to phones I should buy. If only they could tell when to move on from an ad because I do not need multiple car/phones at this time.
K0SM0S 7y ago
Oh that's not new and expected that they would read your data, like gmail scans your mails, cloud drives scan your non-encrypted files, etc. While I'm at it, let's spread the good word. I use Signal personally, it's really convenient enough that I can convince most people to use it and then they usually prefer it to other chat apps (you can customize colors, send docs securely, it's simple and easy, that's it!) I actually don't even mention the privacy usually (most people don't care, it's noise to them); the simple fact that it does SMS too and is much nicer than stock apps for this makes it convenient: it's not a new app, it's a better SMS replacement that also does chat a-la messenger/whatsapp/etc. But yes, it's also recommended by Snowden and most security experts if you care about your security and privacy. (just be careful with SMS, these remain unsecure as ever)

majos 7y ago

Can you link a source for this?

K0SM0S 7y ago
Not my field, and I'll admit a confirmation bias (this idea fits my subjective view of nerds/geeks) so I remembered the idea and didn't fact proof it much back then. I can't find anything on a quick Google. I'll give you the community-side rundown: Most "experts", veterans and passionate people in a field are not easily swayed by classic marketing because they have a 10,000 feet view, they can usually tell you right away who ads are targeted at, what's the catch, what's their recommendation of a better product or method altogether... Like security experts know well the limits of a "VPN company" selling "privacy and security and ease of mind". Cue any field, any domain. It also doesn't mean nerds and geeks don't buy (obviously, and they rather spend more than the average) but they have their own opinions and that of their community, and ads are really just a distant noise in the background. Think of that guy who laughs at memes on ads and then goes to reddit or their Discord/Slack/whatever to make a purchase decision. So you have to use different kinds of approaches, usually much more substantial, to win over these people. You can't really fake it, it's more of a virtual negociation by ways of company image and community response in trust and $.