this post was submitted on 17 Jun 2024
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That's not how ads work
It's how they should work.
When I get an ad in the mail, the advertiser doesn't know that I actually looked at it. When I grab a newspaper ad at the store, the advertiser doesn't know that I did that unless I use a coupon or something.
That's how I'd like online ads to work, but with a bit of targeting based on local-only data.
If they want me to look at ads, they're going to need to respect my privacy. If not, I'm content leaving my ad-blocker enabled.
The whole point of targeted advertising is that you get to bid on people you want. You want a old fat guy in Oklahoma? Done You want to advertise gambling apps to people who have a history of gambling? Done.
That's certainly true from Google's or Meta's perspective, but it wasn't always that way.
I get ads in my mailbox that are completely irrelevant to me, like Medicare ads (probably for the previous owner). As a kid, I watched lots of ads on TV that definitely weren't applicable to me (e.g. cutco knives, when I wasn't old enough to use a knife). I see billboards on my way to work for debt relief (not in any debt, aside from mortgage) and addiction recovery (no addictions here). Companies pay quite a bit for those ads even if they won't be relevant for most people because of the sheer reach of those ads.
I'm proposing a middleground. Ad companies don't get as accurate of targeting for ads, but in exchange they get seen by people who would otherwise block them.