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Instagram Has Become SkyMall

clivethompson.medium.com

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Re: Instagram Has Become SkyMall

#151

Post by sneak »

fdjm wrote: post #123
sneak wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The fact that you use the term "bait" illustrates that it is about self-control and not compulsion. It's absolutely not adversarial. People voluntarily install these apps. This is opt-in advertising.

They don't install the apps for the purpose of seeing advertising, and there's no way to opt out of the ads, so I don't think that is a good assessment.

I never see Instagram ads, but then again I don't have an Instagram account or have the app installed.

The opt out button is the "delete account" button. Instagram and Facebook's surveillance-based advertising systems are one and the same.

Re: Instagram Has Become SkyMall

#152

Post by LeftHandPath »

avalys wrote: post #144

I get great ads on Instagram. Generally, they’re niche products related to my interests from small companies I’ve never heard of before. Yes, there’s a few misses, but it’s way better than the absolute scum-sucking garbage I see elsewhere on the internet from other ad networks. “Doctor shares one weird trick for emptying your bowels every morning”, “Alan Greenspan tells you what to buy instead of Litecoin”, and simil…

I agree.

Honestly, as a consumer, Instagram is the best advertising experience I've ever had. It's scarily good. I find sales from e.g. Cole Hann, Brooks Brothers, Piloti, etc all the time. It's quite possibly the only platform where I would say I bought an item specifically because I saw it an ad.

Re: Instagram Has Become SkyMall

#153

Post by tacotime »

sinac wrote: post #92
Izikiel43 wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I bought some sensors that Instagram advertised to improve ski technique and they’ve worked wonders

If you don’t mind me asking, can you please share a product name or link? Sounds cool

Looks like it's called Carv, here's a link: https://letmegooglethat.com/?q=skiing+sensor+improve+techniq...

Re: Instagram Has Become SkyMall

#154

Post by dannyw »

bscphil wrote: post #112
CptFribble wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Some time ago YT and other majors started serving ads from the same domains as content, so it's become much more difficult to reliably block them. https://www.reddit.com/r/pihole/comments/88vsz1/youtube_ad_d...

Yeah, it's hard to imagine the pihole approach working for most ads in the long term. Fortunately, the traditional browser addon approach still works great.

and thats why i use firefox nightly for android.

Re: Instagram Has Become SkyMall

#155

Post by snowwrestler »

avalys wrote: post #144

I get great ads on Instagram. Generally, they’re niche products related to my interests from small companies I’ve never heard of before. Yes, there’s a few misses, but it’s way better than the absolute scum-sucking garbage I see elsewhere on the internet from other ad networks. “Doctor shares one weird trick for emptying your bowels every morning”, “Alan Greenspan tells you what to buy instead of Litecoin”, and simil…

I have a similar experience on Instagram in that the ads often seem well-tailored to my interests there, which are exclusively outdoor sports and photography.

But I have to say that I am disciplined about training the algorithm. I never click on content outside those interests (even if it looks interesting to me). And I occasionally go to the “discover” tab and click only the images that align with those interests.

And there are so many ads now. It feels like 25-33% of my feed, which is absurd. Every set of stories has an ad between them.

Re: Instagram Has Become SkyMall

#156

Post by steve_adams_86 »

technothrasher wrote: post #61
vmlinuz wrote: post #47

Ok, so I'm going to hijack this slightly... I'm an elderly (mid-40s) non-USian techie, and I've never done Instagram. On Facebook I mostly follow people I've largely lost touch with in real life (particular these past couple of years), and on Twitter it's news sources and journalists, plus a selection of 'celebs' from various niche interests like tech, sci-fi, winter sports and comedy. Am I likely to be missing anyth…

> Am I likely to be missing anything interesting by largely ignoring Instagram? I'm going to say, no. But then, if you consider mid-40s elderly, I'm positively geriatric.

I’m an elderly mid-30s dinosaur. Are you pre-big bang?

Re: Instagram Has Become SkyMall

#157

Post by jkeat »

gccs wrote: post #70
Taek wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Advertising works at a subconscious level. The more you see a product, the more you subconsciously learn to like and trust the product, especially if you are being exposed to that product in a trusted context (popular celebrity posing with it, etc). I wish I had saved the link, but I read a study that showed people consistently underestimated how likely they were to buy a product after seeing an ad. They would buy it…

Coke stopped buying advertising once. Cause everyone already knows about them, so why pay for ads? Their sales dropped dramatically. Now they pay for lots of ads.

Different context but in 2012 eBay stopped buying keyword search ads and nothing happened

https://hbr.org/2013/03/did-ebay-just-prove-that-paid

https://www.forbes.com/sites/augustinefou/2021/01/02/when-bi...

Re: Instagram Has Become SkyMall

#158

Post by perardi »

birdyrooster wrote: post #41
perardi wrote: post #30

I would just like to take this opportunity to post these screenshots I took over the past 2 days: https://imgur.com/a/SLrJaUJ I am surprised by just how many ads for drugs I get. They know their audience. But still. Lots of ads for testosterone, growth hormone, and now ketamine.

IG is a gateway drug

You want a real hot take based off a throwaway comment?

It kinda is for steroids. (Hold on, don’t downvote me yet, I’m going somewhere.)

I am a 30-something gay male. Here’s my Recommendations view:

https://imgur.com/a/1Paravn

Hot dudes, dogs, and one computer setup that’s either based off my search for standing desks or mechanical keyboards.

Instagram is a body dysmorphia engine. If you are in a certain demographic, it is so easy to drink from a constant firehose of thirst traps of men with very suspiciously large traps. You get that every time you open Instagram? It does start to warp your brain, and make you consider trying pharmaceutical interventions.

Conflict of interest: I am absolutely one of those monsters posting thirst traps: https://imgur.com/a/2JGOYwL

Re: Instagram Has Become SkyMall

#159

Post by perardi »

forgotmypw17 wrote: post #150

My biggest problem with both Facebook and Instagram is that I feel completely out of control over what I see. There is neither a way to avoid what I don't want, nor a way to ensure I see my friends' posts. The timeline shows me the same handful of people in mystery sort order mixed with ads, and then I later find out I haven't seen months' worth of someone's content when I happen to visit their profile. The only half…

It seems like they really do mangle the main timeline, no matter what you try to do.

But a small workaround, if you are a member of any useful Facebook groups: there is a real, permanent sorting option.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/[groupid-goes-here]?sorting_...

Bookmark that with a group for a proper chronological view.

Re: Instagram Has Become SkyMall

#160

Post by [deleted] »

avalys wrote: post #144

I get great ads on Instagram. Generally, they’re niche products related to my interests from small companies I’ve never heard of before. Yes, there’s a few misses, but it’s way better than the absolute scum-sucking garbage I see elsewhere on the internet from other ad networks. “Doctor shares one weird trick for emptying your bowels every morning”, “Alan Greenspan tells you what to buy instead of Litecoin”, and simil…

[deleted]
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