5 ms·

I've never understood the absolute hostility some people have for a small div of advertising that you can easily ignore.

AndrewMoffat 15y ago
It sounds like he's railing against the motivations of the business as a whole that allow Google, Twitter, and Facebook to live at the scale that they do. As for why someone would have hostility, I can relate with him. I think it's a general opposition to consumerism needing to be in your face everywhere and the deceptive nature of it (tracking users across the web for example). Just feels "dirty."
- deleted 15y ago
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pnathan 15y ago
I don't particularly like being a product, thank you.
- jamesteow 15y ago
  I wonder how many people who say this are the same people who'd pay for every one of the free services offered by these companies. I for one would rather have ads.
  - veyron 15y ago
    Ads seem harmless until they start using your likeness to sell stuff to others or vice versa.
    - ckuehne 15y ago
      Why exactly is this harmful, i.e., who is harmed and by how much?
      - veyron 15y ago
        When my likeness is used in conjunction with a random product, there is an implicit assumption that I somehow support it. And other people may see it and distance themselves from me, refuse to do business, or refuse to hire me. As an extreme example, how would you like it if an unscrupulous porn site featured your face on an advertisement? Even worse, suppose a prospective client or employer saw your face on an advertisement for some banned substance. In most cases, its irreparable damage.
        ckuehne 15y ago
        "suppose a prospective client or employer saw your face on an advertisement for some banned substance" But this is not what Google does, or am I missing something? AFAIK, what they actually do is more akin to shopping basket analysis supermarket chains do. So my question remains: How exactly does it harm you? Has Google ever linked you in a publicly identifiable way to some product? Moreover, if you feel bothered by the way they handle things, why don't you just stop using them?
        veyron 15y ago
        "But this is not what Google does, or am I missing something" <-- Google in specific doesnt do anything like that now, but Google and the other sites can change their terms of service from under us (I dont think people knew five years ago that Facebook ads would use our likeness or would change their terms to allow them to do so by default). For all the talk of Google "does no evil", they are still a company and, push come to shove, could change their terms. "Moreover, if you feel bothered by the way they handle things, why don't you just stop using them?" <-- as explained in my example, I can't stop prospective clients or employers using google. I certainly can stop myself, but the damage happens when others see it
    - MatthewPhillips 15y ago
      When has this ever happened?
      - veyron 15y ago
        I remember a discussion at http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2801109 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2801109
        MatthewPhillips 15y ago
        I didn't know about this; I agree that this is wrong.
anonymous246 15y ago
Small div? 1. Google owns Doubleclick (display advertising != small div). 2. Google owns Adsense (!= small div) 3. Even their SERPs don't have "small divs" anymore. A lot of the area "above the fold" is ads (sorry, "sponsored results"). I use Chrome occasionally and either Adthwart got disabled during an update or I didn't install it. Anyway, I'm astounded at the garbage that Google puts on their SERPs and puts on other sites via adsense/doubleclick. YMMV.
deleted 15y ago
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AndrewMoffat 15y ago

It sounds like he's railing against the motivations of the business as a whole that allow Google, Twitter, and Facebook to live at the scale that they do. As for why someone would have hostility, I can relate with him. I think it's a general opposition to consumerism needing to be in your face everywhere and the deceptive nature of it (tracking users across the web for example). Just feels "dirty."

deleted 15y ago
[deleted]

pnathan 15y ago

I don't particularly like being a product, thank you.

jamesteow 15y ago
I wonder how many people who say this are the same people who'd pay for every one of the free services offered by these companies. I for one would rather have ads.
- veyron 15y ago
  Ads seem harmless until they start using your likeness to sell stuff to others or vice versa.
  - ckuehne 15y ago
    Why exactly is this harmful, i.e., who is harmed and by how much?
    - veyron 15y ago
      When my likeness is used in conjunction with a random product, there is an implicit assumption that I somehow support it. And other people may see it and distance themselves from me, refuse to do business, or refuse to hire me. As an extreme example, how would you like it if an unscrupulous porn site featured your face on an advertisement? Even worse, suppose a prospective client or employer saw your face on an advertisement for some banned substance. In most cases, its irreparable damage.
      - ckuehne 15y ago
        "suppose a prospective client or employer saw your face on an advertisement for some banned substance" But this is not what Google does, or am I missing something? AFAIK, what they actually do is more akin to shopping basket analysis supermarket chains do. So my question remains: How exactly does it harm you? Has Google ever linked you in a publicly identifiable way to some product? Moreover, if you feel bothered by the way they handle things, why don't you just stop using them?
        veyron 15y ago
        "But this is not what Google does, or am I missing something" <-- Google in specific doesnt do anything like that now, but Google and the other sites can change their terms of service from under us (I dont think people knew five years ago that Facebook ads would use our likeness or would change their terms to allow them to do so by default). For all the talk of Google "does no evil", they are still a company and, push come to shove, could change their terms. "Moreover, if you feel bothered by the way they handle things, why don't you just stop using them?" <-- as explained in my example, I can't stop prospective clients or employers using google. I certainly can stop myself, but the damage happens when others see it
  - MatthewPhillips 15y ago
    When has this ever happened?
    - veyron 15y ago
      I remember a discussion at http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2801109 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2801109
      - MatthewPhillips 15y ago
        I didn't know about this; I agree that this is wrong.

anonymous246 15y ago

Small div? 1. Google owns Doubleclick (display advertising != small div). 2. Google owns Adsense (!= small div) 3. Even their SERPs don't have "small divs" anymore. A lot of the area "above the fold" is ads (sorry, "sponsored results"). I use Chrome occasionally and either Adthwart got disabled during an update or I didn't install it. Anyway, I'm astounded at the garbage that Google puts on their SERPs and puts on other sites via adsense/doubleclick. YMMV.

deleted 15y ago

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