Make sure you turn this off (Google users) | Hacker News Reader

Make sure you turn this off (Google users)

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11 pointsjdimov913 comments

I'm not sure that it's been conclusively determined that non-targeted advertising is a better outcome for the end-user than targeted advertising.

Assuming that I have to be exposed to advertising, why should I rather receive ads about tampons and mesothelioma class action lawsuits as opposed to advertising that is applicable to a North American, 30-something, male?

(Let us argue the prisoner's dilemma of ad-blocking some other time.)

Agreed. I used that tool to explicitly tell Google my interests, and started receiving ads about Django IDEs and other useful things, instead of whatever useless junk I'd been forced to see before.

Edit: formatting.

Google is the new evil. Choking off their ad revenue strikes at the very heart of the beast. If we all work together, we can bring the web back to the glorious 90's!

Of course, thoughtless implementations of targeted advertising can cause problems - such as when it outs pregnant teenage daughters to their fathers. http://www.businessinsider.com/the-incredible-story-of-how-t... Allowing users to define what they'd like to see is great.

I am much more concerned about the data required to provide this targeting and how secure it is.

I seem to have unconsciously trained myself not to see ads, especially after seeing ads for sit-stand desks after I had bought one. (Oh yeah, like I need another one of those!)

I'd argue the same way. I had no clue this screen existed by my first thought wasn't "I'm going to turn this off" but rather "Let me tailor this to myself".

I hate ads in all forms (I'd rather pay 90% of the time) but if I have to see ads might as well see some that might interest me. Thought I really hate seeing ads for things I've already bought and or already pay for (DO/AWS).

If anything this shows how inaccurate and thus non-threatening this kind of profiling is. This is what it's showing for me. I've marked as "-" things that are just completely insane. Like "I've not read an article or watched a video related to this category in years if ever, even by accident" levels of relevance. Cosmetics, hair care and celebrity news? It's like my profile has been mixed with that of a stereotypical teenage girl's...

  - Celebrities & Entertainment News
  - Rap & Hip-Hop
  - East Asian Music
  Online Video
  Bicycles & Accessories
  - Hygiene & Toiletries
  - Make-Up & Cosmetics
  - Fitness
  - Hair Care
  Banking
  Adventure Games
  Shooter Games
  Mobile Phones
  Search Engine Optimisation & Marketing
  - Toys

I got all that too, East Asian Music in particular was pretty confusing. The rest could have come from stuff like my wife using my computer after me.

Ok, that's really interesting. Nobody uses my computers but me except on guest accounts, so there really is no sensible explanation like that. Maybe there's something to the decoy theory then.

You should read the Target story. Target was at first clueless and had to learn the hard way. How not to spook their Customers, with to precise Predictions. Now they mix in 50% decoys!

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/19/magazine/shopping-habits.h...

Fed to the teeth, ADBLOCK TIME!

this looks suspiciously like anti-Google marketing rather than an interest article

Google's ad settings page is "anti-Google marketing"?

the title of this post is

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