Targeted advertising good or bad?What is your take

[Moveon]

I noticed that the top advertisement on this forum was for something that I have been looking at the last few days on the web.

I've noticed that when I use facebook at times the ads on the right hand side of my timeline are targeted at things that I've been looking at on the web.

So I'm thinking that some how these forums, Google and Facebook are reading the cookies on my computer or they see my browsing history somehow and use that information to target their advertising to me and others. They know what to put on the advertizements by looking at my computer somehow.


I see this as two fold. First it's good in that I don't have to look at ads that I'm not really interested in. Like I was looking at the EOTech Holographic sights the other day. Today when I first logged into www.fishin.com and went to the forums the ad at the top of the screen was for an EOTech Holographic sight device? Strange huh? Not really.

How does facebook know what I'm looking at on the internet. The only thing I can think of is the cookies. But I thought that cookies were only used and seen by the same people that put them on your computer. Evidently that's not how it's done. Others can see your cookies as well. That is to say one company can see all the other cookies from the other companies or web sites that you frequent on the web.

With all this talk about the NSA getting into private company data bases it makes me stop and think about what I view on the web these days.


My second thought was that how dare they look at my cookies. LOL

What is your thought on this subject?

[DJD]

I don't like it but it seems the way of the internet anymore. If I could stop it I would but not sure how to.

[psprowler]

I'd be worried if porn wasn't an 8 billion dollar a year industry.........but I can be rest assured.......I'm not the only one watching. Not sure if the NSA will agree with my choices of actresses but I'll just roll the dice with that one.

[jcb]

The rule of social media: if it's not costing you anything, YOU are the product for sale.

[know1]

I don't mind it as I'd rather see something that interests me instead of something that doesn't.

That being said, I have the Ad-Block Plus extension for Google Chrome (and an ad blocker on my phone) and I don't see any ads.

[HURRICANEBOB]

I like seeing the new Victoria Secrets fashions. My wife appreciates I shop for her.