[seren]

I only realized very recently what makes me uneasy with web advertising. (This week from a HN comment)

If you see a billboard in the street or an ad in paper journal, you are exposed to the brand name for a few seconds and that's it.

If you are exposed to a web ad, you are exposed to the brand name for a few seconds AND your actions, the fact you have visited the page, from which IP at which time of the day, with which browser is recorded in a database for later use (and is certainly going to be sold or replicated by multiple entities).

So it is not so much the advertising part that his annoying but rather the "tracking". The fact that advertising network (or social buttons) are pervasive through many sites makes the matter worse.

The biggest lie is to still call that "advertising", this has nothing to do with old school advertising.

[duiker101]

I have a different view, I might be a very special case but that type of tracking doesn't bother me much, actually if it helps me suggest better ads that suit me, I almost welcome it.

What bothers me, borrowing from your example of the billboard, is that they don't block your content and make you wait in line. Ads on a video, popups, interstitial, they all slow me down and annoy me.

[halviti]

What about when it was revealed that facebook was using their like buttons as a way to build dossiers on people?

You could have never have even visited facebook.com and have never had a profile, but still this company was using its cookies to build a profile of you on the internet. All of the articles you read on the internet, the sites you visit, all being collected and tallied by some faceless internet behemoth.

That sort of thing doesn't bother you?

[mackwic]

> That sort of thing doesn't bother you? He just said that this doesn't bother _him_. The key element here is _the choice_. The choice to be tracked, or not to.

The systematic tacking and profiling of all users of the web is disturbing and I am against it, but honestly, I still prefer Google at the commands rather that any government I can think of. Not that it justify in any way the tracking. It's a dangerous weapon.

[rnovak]

With every Snowden leak that has come out, you don't think the Government has access to ALL of google's tracking data? Even if they didn't, all it would take is the mere thought that you might doing something wrong, and they'll subpoena it/get a warrant.

[jordanpg]

Why should it bother him? What is the problem with Facebook having a dossier on him? Isn't just to show him more targeted ads?

[totoroisalive]

Good point nsa.

[beagle3]

> The biggest lie is to still call that "advertising", this has nothing to do with old school advertising.

We (the people who realize that) should therefore coin and promote a new term, which will make this more obvious. I propose "advertracking". Everyone, start using it when referring to the internet advertising/tracking business and make your readers/listeneres aware.