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We're testing new ad formats in Search and expanding our Direct Offers pilot

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Re: We're testing new ad formats in Search and expanding our Direct Offers pilot

#361

Post by thewebguyd »

prepend wrote: post #138
moooo99 wrote: post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Since when have we considered ads something helpful I have genuinely met people who claim that ads are helpful and interesting and used this as a justification for adware companies to stalk you every step you take on the web.

I’ve met people who enjoy lots of gross things. That doesn’t make the things gross to me, or the vast majority of humanity. My guy take is that they are mindrotted by ads into thinking they are good for them. Digital Stockholm Syndrome. Or maybe a Myth of Sisyphus type situation.

The simpler explanation is that a significant segment of the population genuinely enjoys the rampant consumerism and view ads as a helpful discovery tool as they are actively seeking inspiration for their next purchase.

TikTok effectively became a shopping mall because of this behavior, and long before technology there has always been a large demographic that treated shopping as a hobby and form of entertainment.

If ads were universally repulsing to the entire population, we wouldn't have seen the development of current adtech. The uncomfortable reality is that most people either are apathetic toward ads, or actively want to be served ads. 60 to 70% of the global internet population still browse without any ad-block. Think back to how many people willingly and purposefully watched infomercial shopping channels like QVC?

The ads are a symptom of a society that largely enjoys consumerism.

Re: We're testing new ad formats in Search and expanding our Direct Offers pilot

#362

Post by gloosx »

nelblu wrote: post #15

> We’re introducing more helpful ads in AI Mode I always chuckle when ad companies say that. I have never seen a helpful ad in google search, but well I have been using adblockers forever so I would not know.I am honestly curious though, for those who don't use adblockers - what percentage of ads that you see are actually helpful?

Well, they are definitely helpful for Google incomes

Re: We're testing new ad formats in Search and expanding our Direct Offers pilot

#363

Post by reactordev »

ToucanLoucan wrote: post #126
bayindirh wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's already being trained on "public" (ethical or otherwise) data. So, it already has ingested that kind of "optimization" during pre-training and training. I don't think you can fine-tune your way out of it.

People still think these things are smart. That if their word generator eats enough of the Internet, it will somehow give them the real information that's otherwise hidden. Or perhaps a better word; filter the bullshit. To filter bullshit it would first have to understand bullshit, and it doesn't. That's why an LLM will tell you the solution to a problem that doesn't work, and argue with you when you correct it.

Sadly critical thinking skills have atrophied steeply in the last decade.

Re: We're testing new ad formats in Search and expanding our Direct Offers pilot

#364

Post by pasquinelli »

drfloyd51 wrote: post #345
pasquinelli wrote: post #322

Earlier quoted context omitted.

seems like the ad was superfluous. the doctor treating your friend's condition would be aware of new drugs relevant to your friend's condition. i go to a doctor because i don't know about medicine, i don't want to be educated on medicine from snake oil salesmen.

How does it seem like the ad was superfluous? The ad triggered a series of events that helped my friend. The doctor, for whatever reason, was not the primary motivation.

> How does it seem like the ad was superfluous?

just to be clear i don't know your friend or their life or their medical condition or if the drug you saw an ad for treats their condition or if you saw an ad for a drug or if your friend has a medical conditon or if you have a friend at all... and i don't know if every event in a chain of events is necessary to the eventual outcome of that chain of events... and i can't see into the alternate reality wherein you didn't see that ad for a drug, to know your friend would've been fine in the end... and so on.

i'm speaking more generally, saying advertising is superfluous to medicine.

Re: We're testing new ad formats in Search and expanding our Direct Offers pilot

#365

Post by edoceo »

nticompass wrote: post #289
lesostep wrote: post #287

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> mostly useful for B2C penetration Might be useful for a B that wants to penetrate some C, but is it really useful from a penetrated C perspective?

Are we still talking about ads?

Of course. It seems like an illustration of who's getting F-ed

Re: We're testing new ad formats in Search and expanding our Direct Offers pilot

#366

Post by cucumber3732842 »

thih9 wrote: post #331
nelblu wrote: post #15

> We’re introducing more helpful ads in AI Mode I always chuckle when ad companies say that. I have never seen a helpful ad in google search, but well I have been using adblockers forever so I would not know.I am honestly curious though, for those who don't use adblockers - what percentage of ads that you see are actually helpful?

It’s because you haven’t given them enough access to your data. Otherwise they would be able to offer more personalized and accurate ads. I should know, I block tracking and see annoying and unhelpful ads. And I browse social media with their algorithmic feeds, where the content is hyper personalized, helpful and mostly ads too.

I remember the good ol' days when you'd search for the specs on a 10yo server you pulled out of the dumpster and then a day later you'd see "Aging HPC infrastructure, upgrade to latest IBM X-series blade architecture" banner adds in hilariously irrelevant places like thepiratebay or a certain hub of videos.

Those "naive" ads from 15+yr ago are far more relevant than anything I've ever seen since.

Re: We're testing new ad formats in Search and expanding our Direct Offers pilot

#367

Post by boldlybold »

margorczynski wrote: post #308

But who'll pay for those ads? Why would I pay Google if it just plops out some LLM answer with maybe my site as a source - which 90%+ of people will ignore as they don't care about it.

Is this any different than current search ads (as far as people ignoring them)? I think this is a lot better for Google. It's always at the top of the page, harder to block with an adblocker, possibly more trusted (we'll see...)

Re: We're testing new ad formats in Search and expanding our Direct Offers pilot

#368

Post by ajross »

nelblu wrote: post #15

> We’re introducing more helpful ads in AI Mode I always chuckle when ad companies say that. I have never seen a helpful ad in google search, but well I have been using adblockers forever so I would not know.I am honestly curious though, for those who don't use adblockers - what percentage of ads that you see are actually helpful?

> I have never seen a helpful ad in google search, but well I have been using adblockers forever so I would not know.

That this self-awarely-self-contradicting quip is the top comment on the page is about as essential a summation of HN's collective thought as I can think of.

I remain amazed at the pathology that results in the truth that, even in the world as it exists today, the one enemy that truly unites the supposedly-elite techno-leaders of our increasingly advanced society is...

...horror about seeing advertisements for products we're probably buying anyway.

Re: We're testing new ad formats in Search and expanding our Direct Offers pilot

#369

Post by HWR_14 »

account42 wrote: post #347
HWR_14 wrote: post #314

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you expect them to include a red flashing light and alarm in the middle of the scene? The credits are where I would expect to see those disclosures

I'd expect the notice to be on the same screen where the ad or ad-like content is shown if the regulation intends to actually make a difference.

So you expect the movie to pause for a disclaimer?

Re: We're testing new ad formats in Search and expanding our Direct Offers pilot

#370

Post by smsm42 »

sedawkgrep wrote: post #62
nelblu wrote: post #15

> We’re introducing more helpful ads in AI Mode I always chuckle when ad companies say that. I have never seen a helpful ad in google search, but well I have been using adblockers forever so I would not know.I am honestly curious though, for those who don't use adblockers - what percentage of ads that you see are actually helpful?

Since when have we considered ads something helpful? Their purpose isn’t to be helpful. They're there to sell you something, and nothing more. Any semblance of helpfulness is misinterpretation and merely coincidental.

Selling something to me can occasionally be helpful, because I need things from time to time, and at that moment offering to sell me a thing that I need is helpful. What is annoying is that with all billions upon billions supposedly spent on figuring out what I need to sell it to me, the best they can do is "oh, you bought shoes once? Clearly you're the guy who's into buying shoes, let us spam you with shoes ads for the next 5 years!"
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