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On the contrary, I assumed $billions were on the line, else why would they go to the mat in the way that they did? Either that or they have some domino theory a

On the contrary, I assumed $billions were on the line, else why would they go to the mat in the way that they did? Either that or they have some domino theory a la the soda tax.

rightbyte 5y ago
If it turns out FB's secret sauce was placebo it would be bad for business.
mrweasel 5y ago
That’s what makes it weird, because you’re right that Facebook makes it sound like they’ll lose everything. My guess is that they’ve sold customers on the idea that all this data make a remarkable difference. Now they risk being exposed, which could cause lawsuites and make it easier for competitors to enter the market.
- garyrichardson 5y ago
  Or does fb not actually need the tracking id to track us at this point? Do they need make a big deal to distract us from how accurate their passive tracking is?
- thisCtx 5y ago
  Given that Facebook as a UX has become user hostile, they are absolutely banking on clueless masses assuming “big data” is being used to produce magic. Larry Page was one of the keys to selling that story years ago. Find me a web app with a truly novel utility, UX, and real problem those things solve. You can’t cause they’re all the solve and designed by factory thinkers. It’s all about agency management. It’s emotional flock building just like with the churches. Believe, buy-in, die before you realize it was an empire building scheme for a rando with no other life skills, and a rich family to support him. But here’s the twist; are the rubes the users or the advertisers? Double twist: it’s both! People will need stuff and find it with or without Facebook.
- aledalgrande 5y ago
  This. Because nobody can inspect FB's data, advertisers always had to believe that their segmentation and cohorts were as good as they were saying, creating better leads for them. But now they can't tell that story any more.
  - skohan 5y ago
    Yes it's lose-lose for Facebook. Either the individualized advertising works, and the value per impression is going to go way down on iOS, or it doesn't work, and they're going to have a lot to answer for. It's an experiment they don't want to run.

On the contrary, I assumed $billions were on the line, else why would they go to the mat in the way that they did? Either that or they have some domino theory a la the soda tax.

rightbyte 5y ago

If it turns out FB's secret sauce was placebo it would be bad for business.

mrweasel 5y ago

That’s what makes it weird, because you’re right that Facebook makes it sound like they’ll lose everything. My guess is that they’ve sold customers on the idea that all this data make a remarkable difference. Now they risk being exposed, which could cause lawsuites and make it easier for competitors to enter the market.

garyrichardson 5y ago
Or does fb not actually need the tracking id to track us at this point? Do they need make a big deal to distract us from how accurate their passive tracking is?
thisCtx 5y ago
Given that Facebook as a UX has become user hostile, they are absolutely banking on clueless masses assuming “big data” is being used to produce magic. Larry Page was one of the keys to selling that story years ago. Find me a web app with a truly novel utility, UX, and real problem those things solve. You can’t cause they’re all the solve and designed by factory thinkers. It’s all about agency management. It’s emotional flock building just like with the churches. Believe, buy-in, die before you realize it was an empire building scheme for a rando with no other life skills, and a rich family to support him. But here’s the twist; are the rubes the users or the advertisers? Double twist: it’s both! People will need stuff and find it with or without Facebook.
aledalgrande 5y ago
This. Because nobody can inspect FB's data, advertisers always had to believe that their segmentation and cohorts were as good as they were saying, creating better leads for them. But now they can't tell that story any more.
- skohan 5y ago
  Yes it's lose-lose for Facebook. Either the individualized advertising works, and the value per impression is going to go way down on iOS, or it doesn't work, and they're going to have a lot to answer for. It's an experiment they don't want to run.