FTC commissioner met with Apple regarding Facebook’s iOS 14 complaints

Post by 6510 » Sat, Nov 21, 2020, 10:42 PM UTC

est31 wrote: post #52

switch007 wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The purpose of ads is to inform people of things they wouldn't otherwise know about That's cute. I've never seen an ad for a wikipedia page though. The real purpose of ads is to convince people to buy things that they otherwise might not have, so that companies can make a profit. Take the https://www.theguardian.com/ . I've got adverts for: - an electric toothbrush. I already have one. But surely the new model is b…

Not a fan of targeted ads, but which ad to show you is only half of the part. The other part is tracking conversions, aka finding out if you actually bought some item after you saw the ad. Also, ads don't have to work for everyone. If they work for some folks, it's already profitable for the platforms. And they do work.

Post by jedberg » Sat, Nov 21, 2020, 10:47 PM UTC

6510 wrote: post #71

est31 wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not a fan of targeted ads, but which ad to show you is only half of the part. The other part is tracking conversions, aka finding out if you actually bought some item after you saw the ad. Also, ads don't have to work for everyone. If they work for some folks, it's already profitable for the platforms. And they do work.

CPC scales with how well ads work. Seller and viewer benefit from working ads. It seems ad platforms benefit most from ads that don't work.

Post by cma » Sat, Nov 21, 2020, 11:04 PM UTC

jedberg wrote: post #47

foolfoolz wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

this is the weirdest take on ads i’ve ever heard. sounds like “i have too much money and enjoy when people show me new ways of spending it”

The purpose of ads is to inform people of things they wouldn't otherwise know about. In that regard, I appreciate good ads that tell me about things I would want to know about and didn't already.

Post by Dylan16807 » Sat, Nov 21, 2020, 11:12 PM UTC

jonas21 wrote: post #54

switch007 wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The purpose of ads is to inform people of things they wouldn't otherwise know about That's cute. I've never seen an ad for a wikipedia page though. The real purpose of ads is to convince people to buy things that they otherwise might not have, so that companies can make a profit. Take the https://www.theguardian.com/ . I've got adverts for: - an electric toothbrush. I already have one. But surely the new model is b…

So what you're saying is that better ad targeting would improve your experience?

Post by Dylan16807 » Sat, Nov 21, 2020, 11:15 PM UTC

jonas21 wrote: post #58

pinko wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the parent question is interesting... you say you derive value from them, so it's somewhat conspicuous and seemingly arbitrary (rather than intentional, or calculated) that you've happened upon exactly $0.00 as the value to you, rather than negative (you'd like no ads unless you're being paid to compensate for the pain, loss of privacy, etc.) or positive (because you enjoy them and derive value out of them as…

Many things end up at exactly $0.00 because the transaction costs (handling payments, dealing with refunds, reporting taxes, etc.) exceed whatever value the thing has. This is part of the reason why so many things are ad-supported to begin with -- even if someone is willing to pay $0.03 to read a random article, there's no effective way to collect that.