Facebook takes your stated interests into account when choosing your ads. My Ad Board used to feature about two or three interior design-related ads at a given moment. On a hunch, I removed "interior design" from my interests, and went to check my ad board again. They all vanished.
Removing "vegetarianism" had a similar effect (except with PETA and animal shelter ads).
Having "knitting" in my interests gives me ads for knitting supplies, and listing "DDR" got me an ad for a fairly cool online music game. It's kind of fun to mess with your list an see what happens. I saw an ad once titled "Esoteric Mystery School".
I have noticed two strange things. First, I'm suddenly getting a LOT of teeth whitening ads... not sure what that's about. And second, the instant I updated my profile to reflect the fact that I was no longer in grad school, I started getting ads for investments and homebuying. Hm.
Eh, the Heritage Foundation can have me on their mailing list if they want. What's that going to do to me? It's not like any conservative propaganda they send is going to cause any issues. I'm going to order some and be grateful for the opportunity to hand them out to family members who THINK they know what the Constitution says.
Basic needs: food, clothing, shelter, utilities, transportation, communication... and paying your bills.
So when you buy that flatscreen tv on "90 days same as cash" and have to pay it off, that payment just became a NEED!
Congratulations, you just turned a fancy TV into a genuine need by agreeing to make payments on it. Wants become needs very quickly when financed by debt.
Well, I guess I'm glad to hear that not every single woman is forced to look at dating ads - My Little Pony isn't my personal favorite (Rainbow Bright was), but that better than the wooing lawyer ads.
Xin, I didn't realize that it showed my status change! That's funny. Probably threw my family for a loop, though.
I haven't tried Facebook yet, but those types of downmarket ads are one reason I stopped using My Yahoo. Last time I checked, they were impossible to turn off, and all I ever got was dating (even though Yahoo knows I'm married), weight loss, and easy credit banners glaring and blinking at me every time I logged on. iGoogle is so much more serene!
Huh, clearly I am not paying attention online because my first thought was- where are the facebook ads? However after logging on I see I am a target for world vision and contacts and eye-glasses. Does facebook know something I don't about my eyesight? Because I currently don't even have glasses...
Better than offering me high caliber singles or hot lawyers though!
As someone who regularly puts ketchup in everything from soup to scrambled eggs, it's definitely a necessity in my house. But brand-name? In a taste test I honestly wouldn't be able to tell the difference. After leaving college and fending for myself (rent-wise) I have quickly learned the value of store brand items.
Just don't get the manager's special chicken! I was sick as a dog on Wednesday....anything with the potential to give you food poisoning is NOT something to skimp on. That's the lesson I've learned this week.
Great post. Good thing for people to remember in times of economic crisis. Living within your means isn't miserly, it's just common sense (which used to be a virtue). And it's something a lot of people seem to be lacking lately, giving the number of mortgages people are defaulting on for buying houses that they couldn't afford to begin with....
I've never listed my marital status or my preference and I frequently see those ridiculous Green Tea weightloss ads. I always give them a thumbs down too. I wish Facebook would take me seriously when I say I'm not the target market for that.
I get the same ads- diets, dating and wedding-related services. So talk about confused! I am happily partnered to a man, so I guess facebook is telling me we should hurry up and get married or go find me a man that will marry me. Oh, and of course I need to lose 20 pounds before any of that can happen. I thought I was alone in my annoyance at these ads. Glad to know I'm not the only one in the fat, lonely lady boat.
I'm 28 and female, and all I get are ads for engagement rings. Aimed at men. Seriously, I've never even gotten a weight loss ad or anything else that I can remember. Things like "Buy her the ring of her dreams!" constantly. Perhaps it's for when my boyfriend is looking over my shoulder? Or to get me to start bugging him to buy me one? Facebook, are you trying to tell me that 4 years is a long time to be "in a relationship with"?
Aside from those persons who are born with or develop diseases in childhood, there are two types of people who have trouble getting affordable insurance due to preexisting condidtions: Those who choose to wait until they are sick to try to buy it, and those whose insurance is linked to their employment. The latter is a problem that should be corrected legislatively. As for people who wait until they are sick to try to buy insurance, how is that different from someone waiting until their house in on fire before trying to buy homeowners insurance? Isn't that simply greed and irresponsibility?
No, sick people are not all losers who deserve what they get, but confusing the need for charity or a government safety net with the need for massive government changes to a huge section of the economy is dangerous.
The surveys I've seen suggest that more than 30% of Canadians are either somewhat or very dissatisfied with the quality of health care they receive. This compares with about 10% of Americans who are dissatisfied with the quality of their own care.
Where it gets interesting is that Canadians are more satisfied with their "system" even though it works less well for them individually, while Americans are more dissatisfied with their "system" even though it generally works quite well for them individually.
Whenever we find that people's theoretical beliefs are contradicted by their personal observations, an explanation is needed. Unbalanced reporting? Demagogery? Sentimentality? I'm not sure.
To be really blunt about it, though, as much as I might sympathize with your friend with diabetes if I knew enough about his situation, I do not want the quality of my own health care diminished in order to ease his financial burdens. I contribute to charity and I pay taxes for social welfare programs that help people who are unable to pay for their own care, but I am not prepared to sacrifice my health or that of my family for his pocketbook.
Because let's face it, his problem isn't the quality of his health care, but its cost. You left out of your story how much money your friend makes/has, so the fact that he pays $1,000 a month for insurance (and probably uses that much in terms of health services) doesn't tell me that he is in any way rendered indigent by the expense. I'm sure he'd rather have the money for more fun things, but that's not the point, is it?
Health care is a limited resource under any system. Price is one way of rationing it, political control (discrimination, inconvenience, lack of choice, waiting times) is another, but like it or not, health care will always be rationed, just like any finite resource. All political rationing introduces distortions into the system, which grow larger and more onerous over time. I would prefer that political rationing be done only for that relatively small (about 10%) proportion of the population that is truly unable to pay for its own care, rather than for all of us.
As the saying goes, "The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of the blessings; the only virtue of socialism is the equal sharing of the misery." And even that virtue is only theoretical, since in all systems, those who are richest will always find a way to get the best.
Eh, I don't know. I used to wear my black jacket with almost everything, even when I lived in NYC, because it matched all my grey pants and looked really good with jeans on casual Friday.
A friend of mine who worked for an investment back bought four suits for $800 total - seems like a lot, but they lasted her a good 5 years until she went to grad school. She occasionally mixed and matched, but mostly kept the suits as a whole ensemble. The key to making things look different from day to day was to change her shirt, hairstyle, and accessories.
We have bought nothing but Ultrabrite since Consumer Reports listed it as the best toothpaste on the market a few years back. Honestly, I went to the dentist yesterday with a clean report so it must be good. Plus a big tube is like $0.89 at Walmart* and only like $1 at the grocery store! That's a third of the price of Colgate/Crest and it's made by Colgate.
I think it's Colgate's strategy to downplay their cheap brand because it works so well and with zero marketing they can sell it for so much less.
Paul, you are right on the mark with the last two sentences.
It's not a matter of right or left, it's about right and wrong. I don't care if it was the Communist Party giving away free copies of the U.S. Constitution and the Declaration, so long as its contents are identical to that of the actual documents.
I feel that we as Americans have lost touch with what are rights and responsibilities are as citizens. With everything going on in the world, I want to be armed with knowledge to fight off potential threats of removing my freedoms.
Facebook takes your stated interests into account when choosing your ads. My Ad Board used to feature about two or three interior design-related ads at a given moment. On a hunch, I removed "interior design" from my interests, and went to check my ad board again. They all vanished.
Removing "vegetarianism" had a similar effect (except with PETA and animal shelter ads).
Having "knitting" in my interests gives me ads for knitting supplies, and listing "DDR" got me an ad for a fairly cool online music game. It's kind of fun to mess with your list an see what happens. I saw an ad once titled "Esoteric Mystery School".
I have noticed two strange things. First, I'm suddenly getting a LOT of teeth whitening ads... not sure what that's about. And second, the instant I updated my profile to reflect the fact that I was no longer in grad school, I started getting ads for investments and homebuying. Hm.
Eh, the Heritage Foundation can have me on their mailing list if they want. What's that going to do to me? It's not like any conservative propaganda they send is going to cause any issues. I'm going to order some and be grateful for the opportunity to hand them out to family members who THINK they know what the Constitution says.
I wonder if I've lost so much money that it's too late to move everything. I'm afraid to even look at my IRA.
Basic needs: food, clothing, shelter, utilities, transportation, communication... and paying your bills.
So when you buy that flatscreen tv on "90 days same as cash" and have to pay it off, that payment just became a NEED!
Congratulations, you just turned a fancy TV into a genuine need by agreeing to make payments on it. Wants become needs very quickly when financed by debt.
Well, I guess I'm glad to hear that not every single woman is forced to look at dating ads - My Little Pony isn't my personal favorite (Rainbow Bright was), but that better than the wooing lawyer ads.
Xin, I didn't realize that it showed my status change! That's funny. Probably threw my family for a loop, though.
i didnt realize anyone took Facebook seriously
I haven't tried Facebook yet, but those types of downmarket ads are one reason I stopped using My Yahoo. Last time I checked, they were impossible to turn off, and all I ever got was dating (even though Yahoo knows I'm married), weight loss, and easy credit banners glaring and blinking at me every time I logged on. iGoogle is so much more serene!
Huh, clearly I am not paying attention online because my first thought was- where are the facebook ads? However after logging on I see I am a target for world vision and contacts and eye-glasses. Does facebook know something I don't about my eyesight? Because I currently don't even have glasses...
Better than offering me high caliber singles or hot lawyers though!
As someone who regularly puts ketchup in everything from soup to scrambled eggs, it's definitely a necessity in my house. But brand-name? In a taste test I honestly wouldn't be able to tell the difference. After leaving college and fending for myself (rent-wise) I have quickly learned the value of store brand items.
Just don't get the manager's special chicken! I was sick as a dog on Wednesday....anything with the potential to give you food poisoning is NOT something to skimp on. That's the lesson I've learned this week.
Great post. Good thing for people to remember in times of economic crisis. Living within your means isn't miserly, it's just common sense (which used to be a virtue). And it's something a lot of people seem to be lacking lately, giving the number of mortgages people are defaulting on for buying houses that they couldn't afford to begin with....
You know, I'm often told I act like an old man when it comes to money. It's good to know that's also a positive!
I've never listed my marital status or my preference and I frequently see those ridiculous Green Tea weightloss ads. I always give them a thumbs down too. I wish Facebook would take me seriously when I say I'm not the target market for that.
I was bold and clicked on the "More Ads" link from Facebook; here are all the ads that Facebook thinks will be meaningful to me (sorry about the stupid gray bar): http://img505.imageshack.us/my.php?image=facebookadsru0.jpg.
I am 27, female, in a relationship, art school grad, living in Houston. It's sad that gmail ads are still more relevant than these Facebook ads.
I get the same ads- diets, dating and wedding-related services. So talk about confused! I am happily partnered to a man, so I guess facebook is telling me we should hurry up and get married or go find me a man that will marry me. Oh, and of course I need to lose 20 pounds before any of that can happen. I thought I was alone in my annoyance at these ads. Glad to know I'm not the only one in the fat, lonely lady boat.
As soon as I became a fan of "My Little Pony" I now constantly get an ad for the My Little Pony Pricing Guide. Well, at least it's a book!!
Paul,
You sound like my dad...totally old school, and I say that as a compliment
I'm 28 and female, and all I get are ads for engagement rings. Aimed at men. Seriously, I've never even gotten a weight loss ad or anything else that I can remember. Things like "Buy her the ring of her dreams!" constantly. Perhaps it's for when my boyfriend is looking over my shoulder? Or to get me to start bugging him to buy me one? Facebook, are you trying to tell me that 4 years is a long time to be "in a relationship with"?
Aside from those persons who are born with or develop diseases in childhood, there are two types of people who have trouble getting affordable insurance due to preexisting condidtions: Those who choose to wait until they are sick to try to buy it, and those whose insurance is linked to their employment. The latter is a problem that should be corrected legislatively. As for people who wait until they are sick to try to buy insurance, how is that different from someone waiting until their house in on fire before trying to buy homeowners insurance? Isn't that simply greed and irresponsibility?
No, sick people are not all losers who deserve what they get, but confusing the need for charity or a government safety net with the need for massive government changes to a huge section of the economy is dangerous.
The surveys I've seen suggest that more than 30% of Canadians are either somewhat or very dissatisfied with the quality of health care they receive. This compares with about 10% of Americans who are dissatisfied with the quality of their own care.
Where it gets interesting is that Canadians are more satisfied with their "system" even though it works less well for them individually, while Americans are more dissatisfied with their "system" even though it generally works quite well for them individually.
Whenever we find that people's theoretical beliefs are contradicted by their personal observations, an explanation is needed. Unbalanced reporting? Demagogery? Sentimentality? I'm not sure.
To be really blunt about it, though, as much as I might sympathize with your friend with diabetes if I knew enough about his situation, I do not want the quality of my own health care diminished in order to ease his financial burdens. I contribute to charity and I pay taxes for social welfare programs that help people who are unable to pay for their own care, but I am not prepared to sacrifice my health or that of my family for his pocketbook.
Because let's face it, his problem isn't the quality of his health care, but its cost. You left out of your story how much money your friend makes/has, so the fact that he pays $1,000 a month for insurance (and probably uses that much in terms of health services) doesn't tell me that he is in any way rendered indigent by the expense. I'm sure he'd rather have the money for more fun things, but that's not the point, is it?
Health care is a limited resource under any system. Price is one way of rationing it, political control (discrimination, inconvenience, lack of choice, waiting times) is another, but like it or not, health care will always be rationed, just like any finite resource. All political rationing introduces distortions into the system, which grow larger and more onerous over time. I would prefer that political rationing be done only for that relatively small (about 10%) proportion of the population that is truly unable to pay for its own care, rather than for all of us.
As the saying goes, "The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of the blessings; the only virtue of socialism is the equal sharing of the misery." And even that virtue is only theoretical, since in all systems, those who are richest will always find a way to get the best.
Thank you so much; this is your best post yet.
I do think ketchup is a necessity (!)heinz, yes. And Hellmans mayo. Everything else can be generic.
hahaha Run FATBOY RUN! I remember you changing your status to a lesbian..and changing it back...
and does not see my emails :-(
Eh, I don't know. I used to wear my black jacket with almost everything, even when I lived in NYC, because it matched all my grey pants and looked really good with jeans on casual Friday.
A friend of mine who worked for an investment back bought four suits for $800 total - seems like a lot, but they lasted her a good 5 years until she went to grad school. She occasionally mixed and matched, but mostly kept the suits as a whole ensemble. The key to making things look different from day to day was to change her shirt, hairstyle, and accessories.
Every workplace is a bit different.
Thanks, Matt. Great to have you reading. :)
We have bought nothing but Ultrabrite since Consumer Reports listed it as the best toothpaste on the market a few years back. Honestly, I went to the dentist yesterday with a clean report so it must be good. Plus a big tube is like $0.89 at Walmart* and only like $1 at the grocery store! That's a third of the price of Colgate/Crest and it's made by Colgate.
I think it's Colgate's strategy to downplay their cheap brand because it works so well and with zero marketing they can sell it for so much less.
I second that motion
Paul, you are right on the mark with the last two sentences.
It's not a matter of right or left, it's about right and wrong. I don't care if it was the Communist Party giving away free copies of the U.S. Constitution and the Declaration, so long as its contents are identical to that of the actual documents.
I feel that we as Americans have lost touch with what are rights and responsibilities are as citizens. With everything going on in the world, I want to be armed with knowledge to fight off potential threats of removing my freedoms.