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You're missing the static vs dynamic distinction. Facebook can guess with eerie accuracy whether you're about to start a relationship with someone, whether you recently got pregnant, whether you're going through a depressive/manic phase...the list is endless. Facebook changes itself by taking advantage of this information. An umbrella can't do this.

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No, but a butler could.

I can't afford a butler, but if I could, then I'd get one. He'd live in my house and know all about me and my personal life; knowing about my personal life would help him do his job better. I wouldn't worry that my butler knew I was in a relationship, or pregnant, and that he changed his behaviour accordingly.

On the other hand, I suppose I wouldn't want a butler who sold information about me to third parties, or used the information to advertise to me for kickbacks. "You have been down recently, sir... perhaps a new Bentley would cheer you up?"

This exactly, the problem isn't the hook method which pretty much every service does to one degree or another, it's the fact that they are combining your personal information with the hook method, that's exploitative and terrible behavior which eventually is recognized as such.

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