Facebook’s Targeted Advertising

By James Kwak

This is the best Facebook can do with the information it has about me?

Admittedly, I don’t use Facebook that much—but in that respect I’m probably like the vast majority of Facebook users.

23 thoughts on “Facebook’s Targeted Advertising”

  2. I guess this is a reminder that certain things we humans can do easily are actually very hard to implement using a computer algorithm, like fitting a curve to a scatter plot. A human being could probably come up with a much better set of ads after 30 seconds looking at your facebook page.

  3. they figured you were a man so pitched ladies in bathing suits. Not many ladies are called James. then they figured you were a US taxpayer from your address and tried Turbotax. Then they decided from your age and the fact that you have a website that you can be tempted to waste time, hence the jellyfish. And then they noticed that you use big words and figured you might want to study something. And finally they thought you might actually have a secret vice and like violent video games. there is no algorithm here, just a bunch of human beings guessing.
    Vivian (female, older, more global, and busier.)

  5. This is exactly why I’m not worried about Google or any of these companies ‘capturing’ my consumer interests. How generic can you get!?

  6. They’re a lot smarter than you might think. They know you are a blogger, knew you’d think they were foolish for advertising these products to you, knew you’d post them, and are now busily selling them to your readers. Reminds me of the story about the dad who found out his daughter was pregnant after confronting Target managers about sending his daughter ads for baby products. Target knew she was pregnant before her father just by analyzing her buying patterns.

  7. You also don’t use the AdBlock plugin for Chrome or Firefox apparently.

    On task though, the machine learning methods for this are accelerating super quickly. It’s going to go from sucky targeted ads to creepily specific targeted ads very fast. Look at Facebook’s recent job listings: tons of Data Science jobs and Data Mining Analyst jobs…

  8. I do use facebook, but twitter which I look at many once every other week has me connected to every right wing politician, whom I would never vote for, They also them listed on my android phone. I cant get rid of these numbers out of my directory. Whats the connection between between Twiter and and the wacko right

  10. Facebook figured out that you are resistant against advertising and put up the ads that they still had left and that hadn’t had enough views yet. Better to waste them on you than on somebody who is actually influenced by ads.

  12. The median user may not be on Facebook much, but is the median page likely to be served to a heavy user? Is it more important to target most users accurately (what use repeating the same ads to a regular user) or most views (for lots of clicks by fewer people)?

  13. Watch the full documentary now (playlist – 42 minutes)
    Assange: Facebook, Google, Yahoo are Spying Tools
    Top Documentary Films: 85 comments (at this posting)
    http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/assange-facebook-google-yahoo-spying-tools/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TopDocumentaryFilms+%28Top+Documentary+Films+-+Watch+Free+Documentaries+Online%29
    “In Julian Assange’s exclusive interview with RT he discusses everything from the uprisings in MENA, to his extradition fight, the Guantanamo and US Cable files, his relationship with The Guardian and The New York Times, global political youth movements, the current state of mainstream media and Bradley Manning.

    He famously warns that social media and in particularly Facebook, Google, Yahoo are among the greatest spy machines ever invented. Once again Mr. Assange demonstrates his intelligence, authenticity and consciousness.”

    One fascinating thing about the phenomena created by Social Media is that there are links footnoted to this free documentary that allow you to “share” it on facebook itself. (I have to wonder openly if that would get you selectively onto some “other” target -adds?

  14. http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2012/02/16-5
    Published on Thursday, February 16, 2012 by Common Dreams
    Wikileaks Banned From UN Conference on Wikileaks
    UNESCO opens 2-day media conference in Paris
    – Common Dreams staff
    “It said the U.S. organizers of the two-day conference, which opened on Thursday, had “stacked’’ it with WikiLeaks’ opponents and “blocked all speakers from WikiLeaks, stating that the decision to censor WikiLeaks representation was an exercise in ‘freedom of expression… our right to give voice to speakers of our choice’’.”
    http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2012/02/16-5

  15. The best part about facebook has been working on the IPO. Incrediblly smart management, great team and a classic silicon valley story.

    On the downside, i had to miss my son’s first birthday, but that’s what i signed up for as a banker – there are sacrifices to make sure the client’s IPO will be a success.

    Of course, there are a ton of folks who simply detest Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Jeff Bezos and Larry Page. But as long as the IPO’s pay my bank a resonable fee, I’ll be around to make sure the founders and VCs get their well deserved return on investment.

  16. I have a feeling that by the time of the return on investment, the world will be a completely different place. And that investment return will be a double whammy to the banksters and many more, insuring the pain will last to the end, despite the promised returns.

  17. I keep getting Jacksonville Florida contractors… I have no idea why since I live 900 miles away in Kirkwood Missouri.

    Plus I get a bunch of Republican Wing-Nut scare adds about health insurance….

    And, of course, dating sites… As if I cared about ‘meeting local single women’ seeing as I’m quite happily married… Though I will say I tease my wife when the ‘single men’ add shows up on her Facebook page…

  19. All of this Kwak post is a red herring and a massive cover-up of CIA/blackhelicopter proportions. It was uncovered by a joint investigative project between Alex Jones, Facebook, and Charlie Sheen Enterprises that James Kwak through many mouse clicks on Facebook “like” button has revealed Mr. Kwak’s obsession with….. Yes you guessed it:

    News at 11, when we may or may not have footage of Kwak in his living room head-banging in an “Ozzy At The Budokan” concert T-shirt.

    (the above comment intended as humor/parody)

  23. Why should it be about you. These are the advertisers who are paying Facebook the most to get at your eyes. They’re the advertisers who want you the *most*. Is it a surprise, then, that they want you more than you want them?

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