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I left the ad industry because of data tracking

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Re: I left the ad industry because of data tracking

#61

Post by xfitm3 »

jccalhoun wrote: post #40

What are they doing with all this data tracking because it sure isn't giving me relevant ads. In addition to the often noted situation where you buy something online and then get ads for that thing you already bought, I routinely see totally irrelevant ads and recommendations. I've been on Facebook since around 2003. I've had an Amazon account for even longer. Their ads and recommendations for me are terrible. Two re…

Ad targeting is intentionally fuzzy to avoid creeping you out. Companies like Acxiom have an incredible amount of data on you.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2012/02/16/how-targ...

Re: I left the ad industry because of data tracking

#62

Post by tomrod »

titzer wrote: post #45
tomrod wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I worked some in marketing and targeting modeling within retail finance. From what I saw, the data privacy rules and client contracts are followed scrupulously, and infractions are noted and remediated. Encryption slowed us down at least 10X,and bureaucracy another 10X. While frustrating at times, I appreciated that most if not all actually wanted to stay well within the legal guardrails. Of course, this is one perso…

> legal guardrails What many companies do is they sprinkle some magic "anonymous" pixie dust on their data and then tons of laws no longer apply, even if the data is trivially identifiable stuff. And location data is often of that nature.

The will is there sometimes to attempt this, which is why following risk procedures is tied to performance ratings at better companies. Companies also delete data after specified time, as required by numerous legal entities.

And engage with third party matching services so that personally identifying information is salted and hashed until the print shop

Etc.

Re: I left the ad industry because of data tracking

#63

Post by DoctorMckay »

datenhorst wrote: post #32

As a citizen of the EU, I really want to find out what the advertising industry has on me. I once filed a GDPR Art. 5 request with Quantcast but forgot about it - they give you a link to S3 with a promise that there will be a ZIP containing data within 30 days. What other hidden players are out there? I know next to nothing about the ad industry

Any tips for a fellow curious European who wants to fill one of those with his ISP? Like, how do I start?

Re: I left the ad industry because of data tracking

#64

Post by hmhrex »

AllegedAlec wrote: post #60
hmhrex wrote: post #54

Me and a few other people have been pushing for ethical advertising. It doesn't have to be this way. We meet monthly to give each other advice and help each other out. It's hard, it can take more time, but it's been a great experience, and I hope that this starts to become the norm over time. Here's the group: - Eric Berry with CodeFund ( https://codefund.io ) - David Fischer with ReadTheDocs ( https://docs.readthedo…

> - Harley Hicks (Me) with RoutineHub ( https://routinehub.co/ads ) Heads up: in Firefox Quantum 67, when I attempt to open your page in a new tab, it instantly closes again.

I use Firefox as my main driver and just tested this, and it does exactly as you're saying. Thanks, I'll take a look.

Re: I left the ad industry because of data tracking

#66

Post by stareatgoats »

jccalhoun wrote: post #40

What are they doing with all this data tracking because it sure isn't giving me relevant ads. In addition to the often noted situation where you buy something online and then get ads for that thing you already bought, I routinely see totally irrelevant ads and recommendations. I've been on Facebook since around 2003. I've had an Amazon account for even longer. Their ads and recommendations for me are terrible. Two re…

Facebook doesn't send you the ads, advertisers do. And they are (usually) terrible at segmenting.

Re: I left the ad industry because of data tracking

#67

Post by fumar »

geocar wrote: post #30
user17843 wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

the thing is, in theory all of this data is pseudonymous, or even anonymous, as the industry creates all of these profiles and does not attach real names to it.

This is not true. Many many companies in this industry attach real names and email addresses to this data, and even the ones that aim for pseudonymity do it typically in a very weak way (such as an unsalted md5 hash).

Do you have proof? At my previous ad tech employers data was always stripped of personal identifiable information. The legal and policy teams went to great lengths to ensure data was anonymous.

Re: I left the ad industry because of data tracking

#68

Post by 2Ccltvcm »

nycdatasci wrote: post #58
2Ccltvcm wrote: post #52

Hedge funds and intelligence agencies are fingerprinting all groups within our society by monitoring the responses of various target audiences to engineered stimuli. This comes in the form of observing the response to selective dissemination of content with a known effect on observers (you). A few years ago we heard about some outrage nobody did anything about when it became clear Facebook was manipulating reader emo…

Your post is also an attempt to “reinforce complex concepts in our minds subconsciously” isn’t it? The entire field of marketing is an attempt to influence people to engage in a particular behavior. Why single out hedge funds and intelligence agencies?

The difference is those have the power to make dissidents vanish and make it seem like everything is perfect.

Re: I left the ad industry because of data tracking

#69

Post by ameshkov »

vmurthy wrote: post #57
Scoundreller wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Mobile? Hard to block in-app ads without a pi-hole. I avoid apps where I can, but it’s not always avoidable/practical. Or at work if you’re forbidden from installing “unapproved” software.

Good point on mobile. I use Adguard Pro on mobile after reading about it on HN. Yet to test Pi-hole. The work part is unavoidable, I guess.

Consider trying AdGuard Home as well: https://github.com/AdguardTeam/AdguardHome

Re: I left the ad industry because of data tracking

#70

Post by headsoup »

fumar wrote: post #65

The whole thing is an ad for a new service.

Seems so. I also find it interesting that people have sudden moral realisations working in industries designed not to be morally respectful.

Ad industry is about convincing people to buy things they don't want using any trick available, the result here is entirely predictable and inevitable.

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