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Ask HN: Can we find out why a specific ad appears in our Facebook feed?

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Re: Ask HN: Can we find out why a specific ad appears in our Facebook feed?

#41
post #26

"Facebook does not use your phone's microphone for ads or News Feed stories." http://newsroom.fb.com/news/h/facebook-does-not-use-your-pho... The phenomenon you're observing is due to various interesting human psychological quirks, such as priming effects. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Priming_(psychology)

Frequency illusion or Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon is probably a better term to search for: http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Frequency_illusion But I don't think it's chance here. I think the facebook app has location access and if so they are definitely using it (e.g., the place might be popular for campari, your mutual friend appearing at the same location might've searched/wrote about it, etc). For example google is pret…

Chance is a funny thing.

I was once reading Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72 by Hunter S. Thompson (which I can heartily recommend) - not an especially obscure book, but certainly not his most famous. I was a student, and I was lying on my bed reading this book, whilst listening to some music. This was about 2000, and I guess I was a relatively early adopter of online streaming music: I'd selected some random electro music station to listen to. I'm reading my book and listening to some moderately uninteresting electro when a sample in the music piques my interest - I recognise the voice! It's Hunter S. Thompson. I think, "That's a funny coincidence, given what I'm reading..." Then I listen a bit harder and I realise he's talking about Nixon (or McGovern, I forget). I realise he's reading from the very book I'm reading - and yet, it seems even more familiar than that, like I've just read these very words... I glance down at my book and realise he is, in fact, reading the start of the very paragraph I'd just, seconds ago, finished.

I wasn't on drugs and I haven't embellished this story over the years, it really did happen just like this. Just a lot of chance, right?

Re: Ask HN: Can we find out why a specific ad appears in our Facebook feed?

#42
post #22

Not directly related, but tangential anecdote: I was visiting another state and while there I decided to check out a local, independent book seller. While browsing I found a very interesting and niche book a had never heard of about the linguistic and archaeological history of the proto-Indo-European language and the people who spoke it. I purchased it with cash. Perhaps a week later, the book was suggested to me by…

sure it wasn't The Catcher in the Rye?

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118883/synopsis

:)

Re: Ask HN: Can we find out why a specific ad appears in our Facebook feed?

#43

I meet a girl. She had a smartphone in which she had the Facebook app installed. I had a iPod which had a Facebook app installed too. But there was no wifi in the place we met. And my location services are always off in my device. I come home, and Facebook shows her as "People you may know." I had 32 mutual friends with her. So I let it go thinking it might be a coincidence. Few days later, I meet a guy. Don't know i…

Did you talk on whatsapp? I've noticed if I talk to someone on whatsapp then Facebook suddenly shows me lots more to do with that person or suggests that I add them, even if we usually never interact on Facebook.

Re: Ask HN: Can we find out why a specific ad appears in our Facebook feed?

#44

I meet a girl. She had a smartphone in which she had the Facebook app installed. I had a iPod which had a Facebook app installed too. But there was no wifi in the place we met. And my location services are always off in my device. I come home, and Facebook shows her as "People you may know." I had 32 mutual friends with her. So I let it go thinking it might be a coincidence. Few days later, I meet a guy. Don't know i…

There was no wifi, but was WiFi turned off on your device? Facebook may scan surrounding access point to determine your location.

Re: Ask HN: Can we find out why a specific ad appears in our Facebook feed?

#45
post #7
post #6

Here's a theory: after your conversation with your friends, one of your friends checked out the Campari product on the web, and from there FB deduced that you might also be interested.

And here's another theory: you were already targeted by the Campari ad before, but you were not consciously aware of it. This triggered the conversation with your friends.

Or, one of your friends had previously been targeted for Campari ads; FB knew you were with your friend, and now serves you some ads it knows would be appropriate for your friend.

Re: Ask HN: Can we find out why a specific ad appears in our Facebook feed?

#46

I can relate and you won't believe it. Last Sunday I was at a cocktail bar and while checking the menu with a friend I had the exact same short conversation about Campari, prompted by wanting to know what's in a Negroni. There's a phenomenon that explains this kind of illusion as a psychological effect, called the Baader-Meinhof complex. Coincidentally later that night we mentioned it too. It's basically a trick our…

Facebook is spying on your though. If you have the facebook app installed, try leaving it next to a spanish radio station for a number of hours. Supposedly you'll start seeing spanish ads pop up after a while.

Re: Ask HN: Can we find out why a specific ad appears in our Facebook feed?

#47

"Facebook does not use your phone's microphone for ads or News Feed stories." http://newsroom.fb.com/news/h/facebook-does-not-use-your-pho... The phenomenon you're observing is due to various interesting human psychological quirks, such as priming effects. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Priming_(psychology)

Occam's razor here, facebook is probably just lying.

Baader-Meinhof would postulate that he had been seeing ads for Campari all along, and just now noticed them, which he claims is not the case.

Re: Ask HN: Can we find out why a specific ad appears in our Facebook feed?

#48

I meet a girl. She had a smartphone in which she had the Facebook app installed. I had a iPod which had a Facebook app installed too. But there was no wifi in the place we met. And my location services are always off in my device. I come home, and Facebook shows her as "People you may know." I had 32 mutual friends with her. So I let it go thinking it might be a coincidence. Few days later, I meet a guy. Don't know i…

>Coincidence?

No, but not the conspiracy theory you are imagining. It's my understanding that if Person A searches for Person B they are likely to show on Person B's list of people you may know.

Also just to clarify, how many times have you looked at the people you may now list and not seen someone you recently met?

Re: Ask HN: Can we find out why a specific ad appears in our Facebook feed?

#49
I'm surprised no one mentioned 3rd party audience lists. It's more than likely in this case you used your credit card at the restaurant and this data was passed to a data service like DLX or Neustar, which Campari will pay a fee to get audience lists such as: Datalogix » DLX CPG » Alcohol Beverage Buyers » Spirits or AdAdvisor Audiences powered by Neustar » AdAdvisor Consumer Audiences » Alcohol (Restricted to Best Practices) » Consumption Location » Liquor-Where Consumed-Restaurant

As to why Campari specifically, that could just be a coincidence. Have you seen other alcohol ads lately?

Re: Ask HN: Can we find out why a specific ad appears in our Facebook feed?

#50
post #29

I can relate and you won't believe it. Last Sunday I was at a cocktail bar and while checking the menu with a friend I had the exact same short conversation about Campari, prompted by wanting to know what's in a Negroni. There's a phenomenon that explains this kind of illusion as a psychological effect, called the Baader-Meinhof complex. Coincidentally later that night we mentioned it too. It's basically a trick our…

To what extent does Facebook allow its advertising clients to target users based on location? Down to the level of individual buildings (e.g. a bar)? Is it possible that Campari could be running a campaign targeting people who recently visited bars that serve Campari? Or even simply people who recently visited a bar?

This makes the most sense to me. Also something along the lines of "people who visit this place search for the phrase 'campari' so it must be a thing here."

I definitely seem to be served ads based on recent locations.

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