Posted on 04/17/2011 9:17:09 AM PDT by STARWISE
Profiles, status updates and messages all include a mother lode of voluntarily provided information. The social media site is using it to help advertisers find exactly who they want to reach. Privacy watchdogs are aghast.
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Julee Morrison has been obsessed with Bon Jovi since she was a teenager.
So when paid ads for fan sites started popping up on the 41-year-old Salt Lake City blogger's Facebook page, she was thrilled. She described herself as a "clicking fool," perusing videos and photos of the New Jersey rockers.
Then it dawned on Morrison why all those Bon Jovi ads appeared every time she logged on to the social networking site.
"Facebook is reading my profile, my interests, the people and pages I am 'friends' with, and targeting me," Morrison said. "It's brilliant social media but it's absolutely creepy."
For Facebook users, the free ride is over.
*snip*
Now the Palo Alto company is looking to cash in on this mother lode of personal information by helping advertisers pinpoint exactly whom they want to reach. This is no idle boast. Facebook doesn't have to guess who its users are or what they like. Facebook knows, because members volunteer this information freely — and frequently — in their profiles, status updates, wall posts, messages and "likes."
It's now tracking this activity, shooting online ads to users based on their demographics, interests, even what they say to friends on the site — sometimes within minutes of them typing a key word or phrase.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
“...with a couple of ad ons that block the tracking...”
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Which ones do you like?
I am using AdBlocker Plus and NoScripts. NoScripts can be a pain as you may have to allow content on some pages you trust and frequent - but it is easy to do.
since becoming a member of facebook is voluntary... I don’t see the big deal. Members also have the option of not “liking” pages or putting too much on their profiles... that would certainly curtail the fishing of data.
Me too plus flashblock; makes surfing more enjoyable.
You are right, Noscript takes a bit of configuring, but is worth it to me.
Internet Explorer also has private browsing. I’ve noticed a huge change and lack of temp internet files in my cache since I’ve been using it. I like it
http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows-vista/open-ies-private-browsing-mode-the-easy-way/
And what’s wrong with targeted advertising, exactly? Is it really any different from the Freepathon ads that appeal to conservative values and policies?
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Uh .. I believe .. YES!
As far as I know and have seen, FR doesn’t invade your computer and track your browsing travels for ad targeting to you in personal emails.
Lovely .. just lovely... (clever FReebot .. LOL ..;)
Thanks .. Firefox got too glitchy, with constant
tweaks and annoying updates. I uninstalled it,
and my surfing experience with IE private
browsing is a whole lot saner.
Zuckerberg is a completely arrogant twirp .. can’t stand the elitist jerk.
Fudge the data? No way. I’m proud to say I was born on Mars 500 years ago. September 31st to be exact.
Save Lazamataz
I use Facebook because it’s a free way to have light contact with distant friends and relatives. When I set up my account I was’t stupid enough to actually give them my real birthday or other personal information, that would just be dumb.
However, a web page can contain elements served up from other domains (like posting an image on FR).
Some sites contain elements that come from the facebook servers (they have a relationship with facebook). When those elements are retrieved by your browser as it builds the page, facebook servers get their cookie and serve up facebook content in the page.
So you see elements on the page that were actually served up from facebook (your friends, contextual ads, etc), even though you are not actually visiting facebook.
In addition, the request to facebook servers, embedded in the page, can also contain information (domain, etc) that is collected by facebook. In that manner, facebook can track your surfing habits, adding to its knowledge about you.
I don't have a facebook page and probably never will.
BTW, there is no security advantage to any of the browsers. Explorer is as secure as any if you configure it properly (perhaps more so).
Just because they didn’t read it doesn’t mean the info isn’t there and doesn’t mean you haven’t agreed to it when you check the “I agree” box. And frankly it’s not cryptic at all, here’s the relevant passages from the terms:
For content that is covered by intellectual property rights, like photos and videos (”IP content”), you specifically give us the following permission, subject to your privacy and application settings: you grant us a non-exclusive, transferable, sub-licensable, royalty-free, worldwide license to use any IP content that you post on or in connection with Facebook (”IP License”). This IP License ends when you delete your IP content or your account unless your content has been shared with others, and they have not deleted it.
When you publish content or information using the “everyone” setting, it means that you are allowing everyone, including people off of Facebook, to access and use that information, and to associate it with you (i.e., your name and profile picture).
Pretty straightforward stuff. If you stick it on FB they own, and “everyone” really does mean EVERYONE.
People can “claim” anything, whether or not they’ll win is another matter. And most of those folks who claim they didn’t understand their mortgage lose.
The point is they DID consent, if they didn’t know what they consented to it’s because they’re morons, and that’s 100% their problem.
Well, I suppose I sounded paranoid in that post. But in fact, I’m not. Mainly because I figure anyone who thinks they are anonymous on the web is basically living in a total dream world.
If they WANT to find out about you, they WILL find out about you.
I mean look at the people who make threats or send malicious emails on the net. Usually, somebodys gonna knock on your door (or knock your door down!) within about twenty minutes.
The internet is still a subnet of one of the military nets.
I know that one for a fact.
Each ethernet adapter has certain DOD protocols it needs to recognize. Well, at least the big hub ones.
Thank you, JoeProBono, for joining our cause to save Lazamataz.
Wazzup with Laz?
Did he hit it so hard he got banned?
Dude, dude, use Gmail? While you are writing your e-mail (in any language) it gets saved every so many seconds, right? It gets saved dude, and analyzed for keywords which then lead the evilll Google Corporation to display ads related to those keywords, right on the right side of the screen, dude. Your profile gets updated in the databases of the evillll Google Corporation. Dude, Google knows more about you than the FBI, dude!
Laz has always had my best interest at heart so I'm here for him when he needs me.
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