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Very nice writing. The Register is always good for a laugh, but this one stands out.

by corty 6y ago

Hnrobert42 6y ago
Interesting that you say that. Personally, I thought the article’s use of sarcasm was unprofessional. It is not at all objective, a core tenet of journalism. As a result, I noticed errors like the statements that Facebook can no longer sell user data. Actually, FB does not sell data. FB sells ad placement based on user data. Still bad, but much less so. If the Reg got that fundamental fact wrong, what else did they get wrong?
- Dylan16807 6y ago
  > much Citation badly needed, especially considering microtargeting.
  - sokoloff 6y ago
    Not GP, but: Micro-targeted ad placement affects me today. Selling my underlying data affects me tomorrow and forevermore.
    - Dylan16807 6y ago
      Not if the entity selling the ad takes notes.
      - sokoloff 6y ago
        "Dylan might want to buy this jacket" transmits a lot less information than "Dylan skis, Dylan lives in zip code XYZ where he might not own a jacket naturally, Dylan's household income range is M, and Dylan was looking at ski vacation packages".
        Dylan16807 6y ago
        What do you think micro targeting means, then? Because I think it means there is a different version of the ski jacket ad for each zip code and income range and for whether someone is a skier. And they're probably only showing it to people that have expressed a relevant interest. So effectively that's the same information.
        sokoloff 6y ago
        Giving an advertiser the somewhat opaque output of a totally opaque black box transfer function conveys less reusable information than giving the advertiser all the personalized inputs to that black box. In my view, it’s in no way the same information.
        Dylan16807 6y ago
        It's not exactly the same, but the claim was that it's "much" less bad, and in the presence of microtargeting I don't think that holds up. It's not all the information but it's a lot of important parts. Combine several ad outputs and it's way too much.

Very nice writing. The Register is always good for a laugh, but this one stands out.

by corty 6y ago

Very nice writing. The Register is always good for a laugh, but this one stands out.

Interesting that you say that. Personally, I thought the article’s use of sarcasm was unprofessional. It is not at all objective, a core tenet of journalism. As a result, I noticed errors like the statements that Facebook can no longer sell user data. Actually, FB does not sell data. FB sells ad placement based on user data. Still bad, but much less so. If the Reg got that fundamental fact wrong, what else did they get wrong?

Dylan16807 6y ago
> much Citation badly needed, especially considering microtargeting.
- sokoloff 6y ago
  Not GP, but: Micro-targeted ad placement affects me today. Selling my underlying data affects me tomorrow and forevermore.
  - Dylan16807 6y ago
    Not if the entity selling the ad takes notes.
    - sokoloff 6y ago
      "Dylan might want to buy this jacket" transmits a lot less information than "Dylan skis, Dylan lives in zip code XYZ where he might not own a jacket naturally, Dylan's household income range is M, and Dylan was looking at ski vacation packages".
      - Dylan16807 6y ago
        What do you think micro targeting means, then? Because I think it means there is a different version of the ski jacket ad for each zip code and income range and for whether someone is a skier. And they're probably only showing it to people that have expressed a relevant interest. So effectively that's the same information.
        sokoloff 6y ago
        Giving an advertiser the somewhat opaque output of a totally opaque black box transfer function conveys less reusable information than giving the advertiser all the personalized inputs to that black box. In my view, it’s in no way the same information.
        Dylan16807 6y ago
        It's not exactly the same, but the claim was that it's "much" less bad, and in the presence of microtargeting I don't think that holds up. It's not all the information but it's a lot of important parts. Combine several ad outputs and it's way too much.