I understand the basic idea yet I am curious as to why this data is so important and meaningful. Better ad targeting is one thing but what else?
Ask HN: Why is Facebook's data worth that much? How is it used?
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Re: Ask HN: Why is Facebook's data worth that much? How is it used?
#2The advertisement industry moves an insane amount of money. People pay up to several dollars for a single potential customer ending up on their website(s).
Re: Ask HN: Why is Facebook's data worth that much? How is it used?
#3The advertisement industry moves an insane amount of money. People pay up to several dollars for a single potential customer ending up on their website(s).
Is that it though? The whole worth of Facebook is tied to the tides of consumerism?
Re: Ask HN: Why is Facebook's data worth that much? How is it used?
#4The advertisement industry moves an insane amount of money. People pay up to several dollars for a single potential customer ending up on their website(s).
Is that it though? The whole worth of Facebook is tied to the tides of consumerism?
Jup. Most of the worth of Google is still tied to advertising, they didn't even make money off of Android until a couple of years ago.
Re: Ask HN: Why is Facebook's data worth that much? How is it used?
#5Earlier quoted context omitted.
Is that it though? The whole worth of Facebook is tied to the tides of consumerism?
Jup. Most of the worth of Google is still tied to advertising, they didn't even make money off of Android until a couple of years ago.
I think people have a deeper relationship with Google than they do with Facebook. I don't believe there is strong loyalty in social media. Do you?
Re: Ask HN: Why is Facebook's data worth that much? How is it used?
#6Anecdote: Two days ago, I bought some drain cleaner. I paid with a credit card. This morning, for the first time, Facebook presented me with an ad for Liquid Plumber (a drain cleaner).
Without my ever giving them my credit card number, they or the attendant ad agency have cross-linked my credit card with my Facebook account. :-(
This may be more noticeable to me, because Facebook on my phone is one of the few places I haven't blocked ads. I don't block them out of spite; I block them because, 1) They completely distract me, when they move and make noise; 2) I've yet to encounter an ad network I trust.
I simply don't do much secure stuff on my phone, and I use a separate email account on it that's not tied to anything significant.
Facebook on my phone is also eerie in presenting content and ads that relate to what I've recently been doing. If they aren't outright monitoring my conversations, they are damned good at determining my location (while my GPS is turned off) and making remarkable inferences as to what the topics at hand likely were.
If it weren't the default means my wide-ranging friends use to keep in touch, I'd by having a serious conversation with myself today as to whether it was time to uninstall it. I'm still debating; just don't want to fall out of touch with those friends.
P.S. As has been mentioned here frequently, FB maintains shadow profiles for people who don't have Facebook accounts.
Facebook is becoming a primary connection / cross-reference between market activity (e.g. shopping) and personal data (not just ZIP, age, etc. demographics, but likes and activities, and that all-important social network).
Re: Ask HN: Why is Facebook's data worth that much? How is it used?
#7Earlier quoted context omitted.
Jup. Most of the worth of Google is still tied to advertising, they didn't even make money off of Android until a couple of years ago.
I think people have a deeper relationship with Google than they do with Facebook. I don't believe there is strong loyalty in social media. Do you?
FB knows so much about you. You age, your likes, your friends, your location, etc. This allows for very precise targeting of ads compared with say a billboard. This combined with the amount of time it's billion plus users spend on the site.
Re: Ask HN: Why is Facebook's data worth that much? How is it used?
#8Anecdote: Two days ago, I bought some drain cleaner. I paid with a credit card. This morning, for the first time, Facebook presented me with an ad for Liquid Plumber (a drain cleaner). Without my ever giving them my credit card number, they or the attendant ad agency have cross-linked my credit card with my Facebook account. :-( This may be more noticeable to me, because Facebook on my phone is one of the few places…
So here's the thing I don't understand:
After buying some drain cleaner, the mighty machine learning algorithms created by the best of the best ivy league grads comes up with the perfect ad to show you:
An ad for more draincleaner.
Re: Ask HN: Why is Facebook's data worth that much? How is it used?
#9Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think people have a deeper relationship with Google than they do with Facebook. I don't believe there is strong loyalty in social media. Do you?
FB knows so much about you. You age, your likes, your friends, your location, etc. This allows for very precise targeting of ads compared with say a billboard. This combined with the amount of time it's billion plus users spend on the site.
The whole thing is built on the underlying assumption that people will remain loyal to this platform. Right?
Re: Ask HN: Why is Facebook's data worth that much? How is it used?
#10Anecdote: Two days ago, I bought some drain cleaner. I paid with a credit card. This morning, for the first time, Facebook presented me with an ad for Liquid Plumber (a drain cleaner). Without my ever giving them my credit card number, they or the attendant ad agency have cross-linked my credit card with my Facebook account. :-( This may be more noticeable to me, because Facebook on my phone is one of the few places…
So here's the thing I don't understand: After buying some drain cleaner, the mighty machine learning algorithms created by the best of the best ivy league grads comes up with the perfect ad to show you: An ad for more draincleaner.
Amazon is actually really really good at this :-) They follow me all over the internet for _weeks_ to show me ads about a product that I have already purchased via amazon itself !