4 ms·

I'll pile on an anecdote. I still have a facebook account but its not something I use very often except the past week given the situation in the USA. My facebo

by DIVx0 6y ago

I'll pile on an anecdote. I still have a facebook account but its not something I use very often except the past week given the situation in the USA. My facebook account is very old, when i was more of an active user I did all the usual posts/photos that a lot of liberal urban types contribute. Anyway, after posting some anti-insurrection posts I start noticing all sort of "tacti-cool" gear ads or targeted T-shirt s with some very macho-man hyper masculinity phrases on them. This is very much _not_ me. Now I keep facebook on a tight leash (FB container, privacy settings turned to max) so my guess is that someone out there is spending a lot of money on a huge ad target or somehow facebook thinks anyone who is posting about a US insurrection would like to participate with some neat military cosplay kit.

dunnevens 6y ago
I think your last assumption is correct. I've had something similar happen to me. I participate in ex-evangelical groups because of my childhood. And other groups highly critical of American conservative Christianity. Facebook floods my ads with appeals from conservative churches, conservative religious organizations, and for some reason thinks I'm deeply interested in Calvinism. It's oddly reassuring. This shows FB doesn't know anything about what I want. At least, their ad algorithms don't. Feels like a very primitive response on their part. Had something similar happen with journals of all things. Around 6 months ago, a friend of mine shared her new physical journal that she was proud of. Said she wanted to get back to writing her novel. I hit like or love to show support. Ever since then, there's been a massive deluge of ads for journals and various writer creativity tools. Even though I've never once sought out anything related to journals or creative writing.
- csharptwdec19 6y ago
  Ever since I started getting involved in Tarot/Reiki/Pagan groups, Facebook has started showing me advertisements for products very clearly designed for females despite me being male in both biology and identity.
mywittyname 6y ago
> so my guess is that someone out there is spending a lot of money on a huge ad target I think this is really it. The profit margins on this stuff is insane. And the volumes of money typical people spend on this stuff is also insane. (speculation here) The insurrection is probably opening the door for new customers. I would not be surprised to hear a people in zero-gun households are now seeking to acquire their first one. That allure of "protection" is strong. And urbanites represent a huge untapped market for guns and tactical gear. So it makes sense to push ads on these people. Going from zero to one is the biggest leap. I bet there's usually some event for people that primes them to pull the trigger. You buy that first one for protection, but the next ones are because they are fun, fashionable, or an investment. I know a fair number of people with gun+related collections which exceed the value of their cars. The fact that gun collecting has become fairly profitable in the past few years seems to have really spurred a frenzy of buying. If you can buy something for $800, and sell it for $1300 in three years, then why not buy as much as you can afford? This then fuels shortages, raising prices. So yeah, it might be very much _not_ you, right now, but I bet they are hoping enough ads will change your mind. I mean, you want to be the cool, macho person that you family and friends turn to for protection in these trying times, right? /s
- throwaway0a5e 6y ago
  > I would not be surprised to hear a people in zero-gun households are now seeking to acquire their first one This happened all summer when the crowd that paid big bucks to live in inner suburbs realized that the peaceful protests were uncomfortably close. >And urbanites represent a huge untapped market for guns and tactical gear Minorities are a far bigger untapped market demographic.
- kipchak 6y ago
  > I would not be surprised to hear a people in zero-gun households are now seeking to acquire their first one. About 40% of sales in 2020[1] were to first time owners, I think it's a fairly safe bet 2021 will increase those numbers. [1]https://www.nssf.org/first-time-gun-buyers-grow-to-nearly-5-million-in-2020/ https://www.nssf.org/first-time-gun-buyers-grow-to-nearly-5-...
- 6y ago
Rebelgecko 6y ago
What do they say when you click the "Why am I Seeing This Ad" button?

by DIVx0 6y ago

dunnevens 6y ago

I think your last assumption is correct. I've had something similar happen to me. I participate in ex-evangelical groups because of my childhood. And other groups highly critical of American conservative Christianity. Facebook floods my ads with appeals from conservative churches, conservative religious organizations, and for some reason thinks I'm deeply interested in Calvinism. It's oddly reassuring. This shows FB doesn't know anything about what I want. At least, their ad algorithms don't. Feels like a very primitive response on their part. Had something similar happen with journals of all things. Around 6 months ago, a friend of mine shared her new physical journal that she was proud of. Said she wanted to get back to writing her novel. I hit like or love to show support. Ever since then, there's been a massive deluge of ads for journals and various writer creativity tools. Even though I've never once sought out anything related to journals or creative writing.

csharptwdec19 6y ago
Ever since I started getting involved in Tarot/Reiki/Pagan groups, Facebook has started showing me advertisements for products very clearly designed for females despite me being male in both biology and identity.

mywittyname 6y ago

> so my guess is that someone out there is spending a lot of money on a huge ad target I think this is really it. The profit margins on this stuff is insane. And the volumes of money typical people spend on this stuff is also insane. (speculation here) The insurrection is probably opening the door for new customers. I would not be surprised to hear a people in zero-gun households are now seeking to acquire their first one. That allure of "protection" is strong. And urbanites represent a huge untapped market for guns and tactical gear. So it makes sense to push ads on these people. Going from zero to one is the biggest leap. I bet there's usually some event for people that primes them to pull the trigger. You buy that first one for protection, but the next ones are because they are fun, fashionable, or an investment. I know a fair number of people with gun+related collections which exceed the value of their cars. The fact that gun collecting has become fairly profitable in the past few years seems to have really spurred a frenzy of buying. If you can buy something for $800, and sell it for $1300 in three years, then why not buy as much as you can afford? This then fuels shortages, raising prices. So yeah, it might be very much _not_ you, right now, but I bet they are hoping enough ads will change your mind. I mean, you want to be the cool, macho person that you family and friends turn to for protection in these trying times, right? /s

throwaway0a5e 6y ago
> I would not be surprised to hear a people in zero-gun households are now seeking to acquire their first one This happened all summer when the crowd that paid big bucks to live in inner suburbs realized that the peaceful protests were uncomfortably close. >And urbanites represent a huge untapped market for guns and tactical gear Minorities are a far bigger untapped market demographic.
kipchak 6y ago
> I would not be surprised to hear a people in zero-gun households are now seeking to acquire their first one. About 40% of sales in 2020[1] were to first time owners, I think it's a fairly safe bet 2021 will increase those numbers. [1]https://www.nssf.org/first-time-gun-buyers-grow-to-nearly-5-million-in-2020/ https://www.nssf.org/first-time-gun-buyers-grow-to-nearly-5-...
6y ago

Rebelgecko 6y ago

What do they say when you click the "Why am I Seeing This Ad" button?