The Facebook Chart That Freaks Google Out • Hacker News Board

Re: The Facebook Chart That Freaks Google Out

#41

Post by freshhawk » Wed, Sep 28, 2011, 4:12 AM UTC

glimcat wrote: post #36

pork wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Theoretically, fine-grained targeted advertising is the money. To get to that fine grain, you need lots of Stasi-like data. That's the tough part, unless you're FB. The other half (algorithms) can be continually iterated and improved by throwing math/CS/physics PhDs at the problem.

Now if only it was easier for said PhDs to get access to said data. Actually, on second thought, that's a bit horrifying.

Ad networks, research companies and domain parking companies will kill to get PhD's on staff to do those kind of optimization problems.

They pay well but the good ones never stay long as the job is pretty boring for someone with those skills, it's really just a few problems that need to be solved over and over to the 10th decimal place because slight improvements in results mean lot's of real dollars.

Re: The Facebook Chart That Freaks Google Out

#42

Post by aristus » Thu, Sep 29, 2011, 5:37 AM UTC

wnight wrote: post #38

aristus wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

:( This meme has been refuted so many times I don't know what else to do. We do not track logged-out behavior. The datr cookie is for phishing and spam protection. http://www.facebook.com/help/?faq=186325668085084 http://www.zdnet.com/blog/facebook/facebook-denies-cookie-tr... I like how it's "denies allegations". Stay classy, zdnet.

How would anyone know that? If any personally identifying cookies remain you could. And personally, from my corporate experience there's a good chance that you're simply lying to us here and a better chance that you're telling us what you think the truth is but have been lied to yourself. For instance, the FAQ directly contradicts the Wall Street Journal. You and the FAQ say no logged out info is collected, the artic…

If you cannot entertain the possibility that employees of the company who work with the code in question are telling the truth, and put more faith in a paraphrase by a journalist, then we don't have much common ground to have an intelligent and respectful discussion.

Many large web services, for instance Google's Plus button, appear to work in exactly the same way with logged-out cookies. This is something you can easily test yourself. When asked, these companies make exactly the same statements about how this data is and is not used. All of the speculations in your last paragraph would seem to apply equally, though I personally don't put much credence in them.

So the question is unfortunately not one of facts, but of trust and feelings. Beyond telling the truth as far as I know it there's not much else I can do. FWIW we don't make evil plans down in the old volcano lair.

Re: The Facebook Chart That Freaks Google Out

#43

Post by glimcat » Thu, Sep 29, 2011, 6:14 PM UTC

freshhawk wrote: post #41

glimcat wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Now if only it was easier for said PhDs to get access to said data. Actually, on second thought, that's a bit horrifying.

Ad networks, research companies and domain parking companies will kill to get PhD's on staff to do those kind of optimization problems. They pay well but the good ones never stay long as the job is pretty boring for someone with those skills, it's really just a few problems that need to be solved over and over to the 10th decimal place because slight improvements in results mean lot's of real dollars.

Optimization, bleh.

Mining the tar out of Facebook's rather Orwellian data set? FUN!