It’s not new even… see Guano Islands Act of 1856. It allowed U.S. citizens to capture (literally) crappy islands in the name of the government. Some say it’s how the empire got started.
The profiling is really the problem.. we are all being put in socia economic boxes and then certain offers, jobs and such are just not shown to some ...
A researcher at Stanford doing research on facial recognition found that darker complexions will not get the same opportunities.
This goes much deeper than "just" the unacceptable breach of privacy....
The conversion rate on web advertising is miserable. They're using shotguns to hit dust specks in an economy where discretionary income is squeezed tighter and tighter.
When Gmail first came out, I was rather amused by the incompetence of the ads. One in particular, for a DIY (hardware) store mystified me, until I remembered having signed off a message to a friend with "Well, screw that!" ... 🤣🤣
I've had many friends comment on the spookiness the ad content presented to them. When I explain how tech companies, most especially Google, watch everything you do (including what's in your email) in order to curate ads, they are almost invariably unaware of this. They're usually also unaware that there are alternative search engines.
I'm a big fan of ad blockers and tracker blockers. The DuckDuckGo browser is pretty good for this without requiring extensions.
I also make it a point to never ever click on an ad, never ever log into a website using my Google credentials, and minimize any interaction with Google as much as possible.
I have done product testing and mystery shipping for companies before. I purchase the item but the company pays me back with a little extra for the honest review. This means I have tons of ads for products I would never in a million years buy for myself or others because sites are using my purchased items and search data as if it reflects my own interests.
Oops! When I saw the reference to fertiliser, I thought you were alluding to the Maltese flagged merchant ship moored off the Kent coast of England. It has 20,000 tons of Russian ammonium nitrate in the hold and the ship is disabled after a grounding earlier in its journey! It needs to be towed by a tug and has been at sea for 38 days now because no country will let it dock anywhere to undergo repairs! The shipment was on its way to the Canary Islands and it is currently waiting in international water close to a British seaside resort, Margate. It is waiting for permission to pass through the Dover straits, a very busy strip of water no more than 26 miles wide.
The Brit press was making full use of this snippet of news to terrorise us that Russian fertiliser is liable to detonate because it is the same substance which blew up Beirut, a few years ago.
These days, unlike talk, crap can be expensive.
Tell me about it. I just fertilized my front pasture with chicken litter. Ouch! Data may be the new oil, but crap is the new silver.
It’s not new even… see Guano Islands Act of 1856. It allowed U.S. citizens to capture (literally) crappy islands in the name of the government. Some say it’s how the empire got started.
I’m going to look into that. Great piece Rat, as always.
The profiling is really the problem.. we are all being put in socia economic boxes and then certain offers, jobs and such are just not shown to some ...
A researcher at Stanford doing research on facial recognition found that darker complexions will not get the same opportunities.
This goes much deeper than "just" the unacceptable breach of privacy....
Divide and conquer...
Crap is right!!
Thanks Rat!
The conversion rate on web advertising is miserable. They're using shotguns to hit dust specks in an economy where discretionary income is squeezed tighter and tighter.
When Gmail first came out, I was rather amused by the incompetence of the ads. One in particular, for a DIY (hardware) store mystified me, until I remembered having signed off a message to a friend with "Well, screw that!" ... 🤣🤣
I've had many friends comment on the spookiness the ad content presented to them. When I explain how tech companies, most especially Google, watch everything you do (including what's in your email) in order to curate ads, they are almost invariably unaware of this. They're usually also unaware that there are alternative search engines.
I'm a big fan of ad blockers and tracker blockers. The DuckDuckGo browser is pretty good for this without requiring extensions.
I also make it a point to never ever click on an ad, never ever log into a website using my Google credentials, and minimize any interaction with Google as much as possible.
I have done product testing and mystery shipping for companies before. I purchase the item but the company pays me back with a little extra for the honest review. This means I have tons of ads for products I would never in a million years buy for myself or others because sites are using my purchased items and search data as if it reflects my own interests.
Oops! When I saw the reference to fertiliser, I thought you were alluding to the Maltese flagged merchant ship moored off the Kent coast of England. It has 20,000 tons of Russian ammonium nitrate in the hold and the ship is disabled after a grounding earlier in its journey! It needs to be towed by a tug and has been at sea for 38 days now because no country will let it dock anywhere to undergo repairs! The shipment was on its way to the Canary Islands and it is currently waiting in international water close to a British seaside resort, Margate. It is waiting for permission to pass through the Dover straits, a very busy strip of water no more than 26 miles wide.
The Brit press was making full use of this snippet of news to terrorise us that Russian fertiliser is liable to detonate because it is the same substance which blew up Beirut, a few years ago.
similarly bullshit, is word I use frequently.