I froze up the first time someone said this to me. Of course I prefer random ads, cause this way they're less likely to push the right buttons on my vulnerable monkey-ass brain. Do people think tailored ads are good for them instead of consumerism triggers? Messed up worldview.
That being said I dislike tracking not because I might get manipulated - I also prefer relevant ads. I dislike the fact that they can better target vulnerable groups - like depressed people with addictive personalities and gaming - this is the majority of app stores profit, I would bet it's a huge ad% as well - mobile gaming is basically milking people with low impulse control and nothing better to do with their time. It's just like those scamming telemarketing scum targeting old people
I'm not completely against marketing. I pretty often buy things advertised in podcasts, stuff that obviously paid for product placement in specific places. But those are ads that fit the medium, usually they're very related to the topic at hand. This is not at all the case with all random bullshit that shows up on Facebook and YouTube. Those are most often than not ads full of toxic subtleties like unreasonable standards of living, body image and success.
If you didn’t have ads, your dentist would have told you about electric toothbrushes.
I agree with you that learning about new products can be a genuinely good thing. I don't think ads are the best way to deliver this information, though.
My wife joined a Facebook group dedicated to house cleaning, and the products the ladies have recommended (Bar Keeper's Friend, Scrub Daddy, Bissell SpotClean) have all been fantastic.
The paid ads on her Facebook are either scams, AliExpress crap sold at full price, or established brands we already know (Amazon, Big W.)
It is more push pull thing. - pull request for relavant ads, when I actively searching for something (and a search engine would be better). - push request for ads that is random. If I see something I like I'll click it.
The answer is, "advertisers, open up to all of us exactly how it all works. Tell me honestly and truthfully what it is you would like to track and what you would like to know about me, and how you intend to use it and from that I will decide what to tell you."
That doesn't get away from the basic fact that all advertising is an attempt at manipulation. The advertiser is trying to encourage a transaction when there wouldn't otherwise have been one. It would be pointless if this wasn't the case.
If you don't want to be manipulated at all (my preference) then it's better not to see targeted adverts.
Maybe it's that some advertisers create the problem they're solving (e.g. body image issues, etc)? Or that it's used for commercial ends? Or that the best product recommendations typically come from friends and family so why bother having ads anyways?
Having bought some products I discovered from ads myself, I can't help but think that I have benefited from the arrangement in a similar way that both parties benefit in economic exchanges. Obviously I'd rather have had my friend tell me but that might have taken... who knows how long.
Yes, assuming 0% force is involved and both agents are 100% rational. Just like spherical cow, the real world is not that simple.
Or, let's say they decided to just do it on their own/have a friend do it...until they see one of my images and go "wow."
The second may be spending money when they wouldn't, but that's pretty rare. If they do it's because they decided it was worth it. The others are just being shown another option that they might not have known existed, meaning they're more informed about where they're going to spend their money.
I don't see who is getting hurt in this scenario. I get work that I need to survive and they're getting photos that they're excited about.
Also, all three of those are worthless for photographers. We're not like a plumber where as long as the job is done right and priced well you're good. Our style is why you're hiring us, so an ad showing one of my images makes a lot of sense.
If I had random ads as you say (truly random), I don't want/or need to see tampon ads in my feed as a male. Which is what you might end up with. Conversely, if I just purchased a new 4WD, I don't need to see ads for a new Sedan.
If I'm going to see ads I may as well see ones that are somewhat relevant right? Advertisements are truly that, consumerism triggers and the only way to stop that is to stop ads altogether.
Happy to discuss my thoughts, but that's my line of thought.
The ads themselves aren't a problem from what I've seen, rather it is the incessant stream of memes and emotive content that keeps you scrolling through the feed.
But content is another story altogether.
I'd say most people don't even realize they may or may not be triggered, they simply don't want to suffer through a completely irrelevant ad.
I also have no problem with companies tracking for the purpose of seeing which ads work.
I do *not* like the retargeting ads--if I didn't buy the item there's a reason! Either I didn't want it or I'm waiting for a better price, neither of which you're going to solve unless you're telling me about a sale on an item.
And the biggie is how intrusive they get. I'd like to see a system where the browser sends an acceptable-ad policy, a site can either comply or refuse to serve the page.
In your world, that person misses out on the pleasures of california wine