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One of the things I like about Facebook are the ads. Remember TV? Where all the ads are just targeted at extremely broad demographics and most of them have no

One of the things I like about Facebook are the ads. Remember TV? Where all the ads are just targeted at extremely broad demographics and most of them have nothing to do with you? Apple says we should go back to that. I actually like finding out about niche products that have to do with my hobby from some small company with a limited advertising budget that was able to hypertarget me. The golden era of the 2010s for Consumer Packaged Goods was glorious. You had literally thousands of little brands chipping market share away from Proctor and Gamble and the big conglomerates. Apple's privacy changes made it much harder for those little guys to compete.

s__s 4y ago
It’s a valid counterpoint. I myself started a small company (competing against giants) and the only way I was able to do it was with the foreknowledge that I could use Facebook advertising to target my audience. Any other mechanism to reach them would have been far too expensive. In the end it was a win-win for myself and the customers, and I don’t feel like anyones privacy was exploited.
- mehlmao 4y ago
  If nobody feels like their privacy is being exploited, then surely they'll opt in to being tracked, right?
  - s__s 4y ago
    I’m not sure I understand your question. With Facebook (and my example) users have already opted in to sharing that data with FB and it’s advertisers. No tracking involved. As an aside, I think the only real problem with targeted advertising right now is that everyone is trying to do it in a covert way. Why? Just straight up ask people what kind of ads they want to see. Relevant ads are much better than random ads, and in a lot of cases are genuinely very useful. Personally I’d happily fill out a Google “ad preference” form in great detail.
    - Nextgrid 4y ago
      > With Facebook (and my example) users have already opted in to sharing that data with FB and it’s advertisers. Disagreed. Most people have no idea how pervasive the stalking is (FB stalks you outside of FB too, thanks to their spyware being embedded in a lot of other apps & websites) and don't really have a choice if they are forced to use FB for work/social reasons. Indeed, if ad targeting was absolutely opt-in and would only use information you explicitly provide I would agree with you but I don't see that ever being the case without enforced regulation that bans nonconsensual data collection & processing.
IOT_Apprentice 4y ago
LMAO. Ah yes micro-targeting, used by firms like Cambridge Analytica. Who really wants any ads in their reading or surfing experience? I don't and most people don't either, which is why adblocking is huge.
- fsociety 4y ago
  You can’t target ads like that anymore, that was removed a while ago. And yes I prefer tasteful ads over 100s of subscription services that drain my bank account.

s__s 4y ago

It’s a valid counterpoint. I myself started a small company (competing against giants) and the only way I was able to do it was with the foreknowledge that I could use Facebook advertising to target my audience. Any other mechanism to reach them would have been far too expensive. In the end it was a win-win for myself and the customers, and I don’t feel like anyones privacy was exploited.

mehlmao 4y ago
If nobody feels like their privacy is being exploited, then surely they'll opt in to being tracked, right?
- s__s 4y ago
  I’m not sure I understand your question. With Facebook (and my example) users have already opted in to sharing that data with FB and it’s advertisers. No tracking involved. As an aside, I think the only real problem with targeted advertising right now is that everyone is trying to do it in a covert way. Why? Just straight up ask people what kind of ads they want to see. Relevant ads are much better than random ads, and in a lot of cases are genuinely very useful. Personally I’d happily fill out a Google “ad preference” form in great detail.
  - Nextgrid 4y ago
    > With Facebook (and my example) users have already opted in to sharing that data with FB and it’s advertisers. Disagreed. Most people have no idea how pervasive the stalking is (FB stalks you outside of FB too, thanks to their spyware being embedded in a lot of other apps & websites) and don't really have a choice if they are forced to use FB for work/social reasons. Indeed, if ad targeting was absolutely opt-in and would only use information you explicitly provide I would agree with you but I don't see that ever being the case without enforced regulation that bans nonconsensual data collection & processing.

IOT_Apprentice 4y ago

LMAO. Ah yes micro-targeting, used by firms like Cambridge Analytica. Who really wants any ads in their reading or surfing experience? I don't and most people don't either, which is why adblocking is huge.

fsociety 4y ago
You can’t target ads like that anymore, that was removed a while ago. And yes I prefer tasteful ads over 100s of subscription services that drain my bank account.