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They can collect all they like, but if you never see any advertisements, it has little influence over you. I was not commenting on the violation of privacy thes

They can collect all they like, but if you never see any advertisements, it has little influence over you. I was not commenting on the violation of privacy these bad actors commit through the collection.

oldsklgdfth 9y ago
It's easy to ignore the ads if you know they are ads. What about sponsered content in movies, music, tv, news, etc? We have seen all of these used. The drive to promote a message to someone goes waay beyond advertising.
- nopreserveroot 9y ago
  This discussion is veering off course. Well made adblocking removes 'native' ads as well. Product placement is irrelevant to my point, as it does not utilize my stolen demographic info to drive marketing decisions. And though you delude yourself into thinking that you are successfully ignoring ads they are still influencing you in subtle ways.
- dhimes 9y ago
  Exactly. Or that innocuous Medium post that just seems like some guy talking, when in fact it is a carefully crafted piece of psychological manipulation.
  - oldsklgdfth 9y ago
    Lifestyle marketing isn't a new idea. It's part of what made tabacoo successful. But they were making educated guesses on what might work, i.e. the cowboy smoking. The difference I see is that there is feedback on the ads other than sales and it seems like you could closely tailor ads to specific demographics.
  - skybrian 9y ago
    Hmmm, how about amateur psychological manipulation that went viral because it's emotionally effective? I think this is the risk we pay by reading the Internet? The filtering implicit in things going viral is a mixed bag.
kerng 9y ago
I think the implications are way beyond what you see in your browser and perceive as ads. Imagine a billboard, you drive and the content changes because your GPS is close to that billboard and stuff like that - real world changes like that will happen, if not already. There is also the product placement and as Cambridge Analytica describes entire personas and website being made just to target individuals and change their perception and opinions - this can all be automated at scale with current technology.
- gaius 8y ago
  Imagine a billboard, you drive and the content changes because your GPS is close to that billboard Or your Google self-driving car just happens to pick a route past certain billboards and retailers...

oldsklgdfth 9y ago

It's easy to ignore the ads if you know they are ads. What about sponsered content in movies, music, tv, news, etc? We have seen all of these used. The drive to promote a message to someone goes waay beyond advertising.

nopreserveroot 9y ago
This discussion is veering off course. Well made adblocking removes 'native' ads as well. Product placement is irrelevant to my point, as it does not utilize my stolen demographic info to drive marketing decisions. And though you delude yourself into thinking that you are successfully ignoring ads they are still influencing you in subtle ways.
dhimes 9y ago
Exactly. Or that innocuous Medium post that just seems like some guy talking, when in fact it is a carefully crafted piece of psychological manipulation.
- oldsklgdfth 9y ago
  Lifestyle marketing isn't a new idea. It's part of what made tabacoo successful. But they were making educated guesses on what might work, i.e. the cowboy smoking. The difference I see is that there is feedback on the ads other than sales and it seems like you could closely tailor ads to specific demographics.
- skybrian 9y ago
  Hmmm, how about amateur psychological manipulation that went viral because it's emotionally effective? I think this is the risk we pay by reading the Internet? The filtering implicit in things going viral is a mixed bag.

kerng 9y ago

I think the implications are way beyond what you see in your browser and perceive as ads. Imagine a billboard, you drive and the content changes because your GPS is close to that billboard and stuff like that - real world changes like that will happen, if not already. There is also the product placement and as Cambridge Analytica describes entire personas and website being made just to target individuals and change their perception and opinions - this can all be automated at scale with current technology.

gaius 8y ago
Imagine a billboard, you drive and the content changes because your GPS is close to that billboard Or your Google self-driving car just happens to pick a route past certain billboards and retailers...