(no subject)
I keep finding websites that, in order to view their content or post on their forums, you are required to either create a new username/pass or you can use your Facebook username/pass. I didn't think much of it at first but then I realized that after using my FB username/pass to log onto a forum to discuss bicycle products, I began to see advertisements for those VERY SAME products on my sidebar. It just bothers the hell outta me that I'm being monitored like that. Don't get me wrong, I don't have shit to hide- I just loathe the idea of our being studied like rats in a cage so some company can profit off us. A website as enormous as FB must have significant maintenance costs and I'm wondering if ad space alone is lucrative enough to fund that. Yanno what big companies like Nike and Walmart would pay big bucks for? Comprehensive individual AND community profiles with details on our interests, activities, brand preferences, musical preferences, etc. The list just goes on. Information like that enables a company to know where the most profitable locations would be to launch a new store. It enables them to tailor not only their advertising methods but also what they produce. . . A lot of companies already direct their advertisements toward younger audiences because it's proven to be the most lucrative direction. Hook them young so they become lifelong loyal consumers of your product. It probably explains why FB, after opening for use to the general public (and not just college students), began to incorporate more games.
It may all seem sterile at first glance, but the more I think about it, the more insidious it begins to seem to me. I just wish I knew what I could do about it. I could stop using the site but it's not like I'll incite a mass exodus from FB and ultimately I'lll have abandoned an effective networking tool. It's just a damned shame.
It may all seem sterile at first glance, but the more I think about it, the more insidious it begins to seem to me. I just wish I knew what I could do about it. I could stop using the site but it's not like I'll incite a mass exodus from FB and ultimately I'lll have abandoned an effective networking tool. It's just a damned shame.