Email Advertising co-incidence?

[ls99]

A few hours ago I mentioned socks in the what did you today thread. A little while ago got a spam ad for socks in my email. I have never before received email spam for socks.
Are members' email locked from use or scraping by advertisers/vendors?

A very suspicious co-incidence.

[ivinsfan]

it's more likely a browser spying issue I would think...

[MichaelB]

This is not uncommon and is probably Google. The major tech companies, Google, Amazon and Facebook, track you across the internet, build a profile and sell it to advertisers.

[braumeister]

Yes, everyone is being tracked all the time. ALL the time.

[ls99]

Great, seems clearing the cache often enough is not enough. Maybe after exiting each website is not enough either. If google, darn creepy bastids. The spam was in a non google inbox.
BTW, if my source of new socks is goodwill, what makes some seller think I will buy at retail? Doh! Espaecially from spam! Which I never read, just send to bit bucket.

[ivinsfan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ls99 Great, seems clearing the cache often enough is not enough. Maybe after exiting each website is not enough either. If google, darn creepy bastids. The spam was in a non google inbox. BTW, if my source of new socks is goodwill, what makes some seller think I will buy at retail? Doh! Espaecially from spam! Which I never read, just send to bit bucket.

Oh come on, Google says we are only here to help make your life easier.. One click thinking..

[CDRE]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ivinsfan it's more likely a browser spying issue I would think...

Its "The Age of Surveillance Capitalism", a great book to read that is quite lengthy but this link provides a synopsis.

[MichaelB]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ls99 Great, seems clearing the cache often enough is not enough. Maybe after exiting each website is not enough either. If google, darn creepy bastids. The spam was in a non google inbox. BTW, if my source of new socks is goodwill, what makes some seller think I will buy at retail? Doh! Espaecially from spam! Which I never read, just send to bit bucket.

Just think, all those poor electrons that sacrificed their existence to bring that spam to your computer and you delete without a thought! Heartbreaking.

The only way to stop the tracking is to use a VPN and browse in private mode.

[ExFlyBoy5]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CDRE Its "The Age of Surveillance Capitalism", a great book to read that is quite lengthy but this link provides a synopsis.

And at over 2 years old is probably a bit outdated.

[CaptTom]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ls99 Great, seems clearing the cache often enough is not enough. Maybe after exiting each website is not enough either. If google, darn creepy bastids. The spam was in a non google inbox. BTW, if my source of new socks is goodwill, what makes some seller think I will buy at retail? Doh! Espaecially from spam! Which I never read, just send to bit bucket.

The cache has nothing to do with it. You need to clear cookies after each web site. At a minimum, you should have your browser set to clear them after each session. And remember to close your browser when done.

Even better, block third-party cookies ("trackers") using an add-on tool like Ghostery.

And no, there's no logic to the kinds of ads we see. I think the advertisers are getting ripped off, too. They want to join the digital age, and they're sold all kinds of ad products which claim to use big data to target the ads at people who might be interested in their products.

But as you say, we all ignore ads anyway. Plus, after I've bought something (say, a half-dozen pair of socks) is the absolute worst time to try to sell me more. I laugh when Amazon "recommends" once-in-a-lifetime products that I recently purchased. Why would I possible want another?

Think about it. Someone paid for those ads, thinking it would help them connect with interested customers. What BS!

[braumeister]

In case anyone still doubts the universal tracking, I remember reading a great article a year or so ago that described the system used in some large department stores. I think Macy's was one of them.

They have wifi spots all over the store that pick up on the cell phone in your pocket. Then they track you as you walk through the store, noting where you stop to look at various displays. There are cameras hidden inside mannequins that note what you look at and how long you look. The accumulated data tells them what specifically interests you, so they can target you with ads that are hyper-customized.

And no, I'm not kidding about any of this. Use your favorite internet search engine to look for "tracking customer inside store" just for starters.

[Aerides]

if it makes you feel any better, i just got an ad-email in gmail for s o c k s and alls I did was read this thread

[Janet H]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ls99 Are members' email locked from use or scraping by advertisers/vendors? A very suspicious co-incidence.

Yes - member email address are locked up. We don't sell, share or rent this info.

I got socks for Christmas

[cbo111]

There are some retail websites that are quite intrusive. Midwestsports.com is one. I will scroll through their selection of shirts. If I pause on an item for more than about 30 seconds, but not put it in my cart, they will email me within 24 hours to "take another look at that shirt!" Creepy.
I used to wonder how and why Yahoo was providing me with a free email system for the past ~15 years, then I learned they weren't the product, I was.

[Janet H]

It's worth noting here (so can you can be sufficiently outraged) that laws changed this last year in the USA to allow ISPs to track AND sell your surfing data.

My guess is that this may becoming fairly common.

Good overview here: https://www.androidauthority.com/isp-tracking-1167088/

[ivinsfan]

I'm a bad girl. I'm annoyed at Kohls, they took away my MVC free shipping in Jan20 and for the entire holiday season if you wanted ship to home it was 75 bucks for free shipping. That doesn't seem very COVID friendly. So at random times I would put 60 bucks of random stuff in my cart and not buy it. I'd get don't forget your cart items, or complete your purchase email. After a few days I'd go empty the cart.!!!

So imagine my reaction when I got an email saying, Hello Ivinsfan, we have upgraded to to free MVC shipping thanks for being such a valued customer...

[Major Tom]

Just think of all that technology being put to use to figure out that you need to buy (wait for it) - socks. I do hope they don't also cotton on to the fact that we also purchase underwear. Now *that* would be a huge invasion of our privacy

[SecondCor521]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CaptTom And no, there's no logic to the kinds of ads we see. I think the advertisers are getting ripped off, too. They want to join the digital age, and they're sold all kinds of ad products which claim to use big data to target the ads at people who might be interested in their products.

Indeed. I can tell FB tracks my search history because the connection between what I search on and what my FB ads are is impossible to miss.

However, sometimes something goes haywire. Lately, for some reason, FB thinks I am a dentist or running a dentist's office. I am not, but thanks for keeping me amused, FB

[Jerry1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CaptTom Plus, after I've bought something (say, a half-dozen pair of socks) is the absolute worst time to try to sell me more. I laugh when Amazon "recommends" once-in-a-lifetime products that I recently purchased. Why would I possible want another? Think about it. Someone paid for those ads, thinking it would help them connect with interested customers. What BS!

This cracks me up. I see it a lot. All their great data and they haven’t figured out that I’m a buyer, not a shopper. By the time I get an email or some other ad, I’ve already bought what I want. Good use of somebody’s money (not).

[CaptTom]

OK, this is going to be depressing, but I have to go there...

Targeted ads are bad. Targeted YouTube videos are even worse. As we all know, they keep us in an echo chamber of our own preferences and prejudices, based on what we've previously watched.

But as I've mentioned above, they don't track me. I clear my cookies, and block tracking cookies. Each time I open YouTube I get the "generic" list of videos that YouTube thinks the average Amercan would be interested in.

This is probably the most depressing thing I see each day. It's clear from the pointless drivel presented that the average American is a gullible fool. And remember, half of us are below average.