http://pando.com/2014/09/23/facebook-prepares-to-bolster-its-stalking-abilities-with-new-ad-tools/

Meh.

I might be offered some products that are useful to me.

I use their services to keep in touch with and share stuff with friends. It costs them money to provide these services and costs me nothing other than looking at a few ads.

Company in trying to make money shocker…

You remember when people started trying to monetise the internet (like, say, buying music) and everyone shouted “no, we want it for free!”?

Well this is the price we’re now paying for “free” and it’s only going to continue.

If you have chrome there’s an extension to stop them tracking you FaceBook Disconnect although it will also block images from Facebook that people link to on here.

You realise you’re not the customer right, you’re the product.

Well this is the price we’re now paying for “free” and it’s only going to continue.

Sounds fairly reasonable to me.

Facebook wants to stalk you around the Web, and soon you won’t be able to throw it off your digital trail even if you switch between your smartphone, tablet, and desktop computer.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the company is set to announce a new advertising platform called Atlas later this month, and its most important feature will be the ability to track Facebook users as they…

Easy enough to stop them.

Facebook is trying to make money, should be obvious if they provide you with a product for free that to monetize it they are going to track what you do. It’s the whole reason they are getting into messaging, they want to track what words you are using so they can sell you a product or an advert immediately. “shall we have a beer” is followed immediately with bar recommendations in your vicinity tracked via phone gps.

What can we do about this? I think I’m going to start a Facebook campain. Oh wait.. bugger.

This doesn’t look any different to me to what Google are already doing… e.g. I ‘like’ the way my screen will be full of bike related adverts in the minutes after I’ve been browsing around Wiggle.

Advertisers do need to be careful to use this targeting tech sensibly though, and not weird out their customers. Just because you ‘can’ doesn’t mean you ‘should’

There was an interesting article in the economist about this last week.. Linky
and 2nd link

Essentially this has been going on for a while and is only going to get more specificand targeted. It’s just that users are becoming more aware..

The objections to this sort of thing always confuse me.

The adverts are going to be there, that’s not going to change.

Why wouldn’t I want them to be relevant to me ???

Because Freedumb®. Obvs!

Honestly who uses Facebook?

Me.

Me. And I’m quite happy for the ads to be targeted, too.

Any one else find it a little ironic that you’d stop facebook from tracking you by using google’s browser?

Honestly who uses Facebook?

About 1.2Bn

Honestly who uses Facebook?

Not me. (Hi Emsz!)

I found people doing incredibly inane crap and recommending rubbish ‘games’ infuriating. So I cancelled my account, and am happy I did so.

I blocked the games recommendation posts.

Inane crap comes with all social network areas. *cough*

Facebook has lots of shareholders who paid a lot of money.
It will get worse.

I like the inane crap from my friends. I suppose that’s why they are my friends….

AdamW – Member
Honestly who uses Facebook?
Not me. (Hi Emsz!)

I found people doing incredibly inane crap and recommending rubbish ‘games’ infuriating. So I cancelled my account, and am happy I did so.
You are aware that it’s quite possible to use Fb and ignore such stuff?
I do it on here all the time.
And as for targeted adverts, I assume that anyone berating Fb is going to stop using STW as well?

No regular STWer is well-placed to reject Facebook on the basis they don’t like inane crap!

You are aware that it’s quite possible to use Fb and ignore such stuff?
I do it on here all the time.

Yes, I agree, but honestly I can’t be bothered having the phone app or actually logging in to see stuff like that.

Yours

Billy No-mates
xx

😀 😆

I found people doing incredibly inane crap and recommending rubbish ‘games’ infuriating

It’s your friends that are to blame for that.

Not facebook.

nealglover – Member
I found people doing incredibly inane crap and recommending rubbish ‘games’ infuriating
It’s your friends that are to blame for that.

Not facebook.
😆
I wasn’t going to point that out, but now that you have…