[kerng]

Given the sophistication that we just now start to fully realize, adblockers probably dont help that much - i mean they get the obvious stuff out of the way, which is great. But there other forms of tracking (like super cookies), and others we might not even be aware of. The entire combination of what information some companies gather and exchange behind the scene is not that well understood at scale.

[nopreserveroot]

They can collect all they like, but if you never see any advertisements, it has little influence over you. I was not commenting on the violation of privacy these bad actors commit through the collection.

[oldsklgdfth]

It's easy to ignore the ads if you know they are ads. What about sponsered content in movies, music, tv, news, etc? We have seen all of these used. The drive to promote a message to someone goes waay beyond advertising.

[nopreserveroot]

This discussion is veering off course. Well made adblocking removes 'native' ads as well. Product placement is irrelevant to my point, as it does not utilize my stolen demographic info to drive marketing decisions. And though you delude yourself into thinking that you are successfully ignoring ads they are still influencing you in subtle ways.

[dhimes]

Exactly. Or that innocuous Medium post that just seems like some guy talking, when in fact it is a carefully crafted piece of psychological manipulation.

[oldsklgdfth]

Lifestyle marketing isn't a new idea. It's part of what made tabacoo successful. But they were making educated guesses on what might work, i.e. the cowboy smoking.

The difference I see is that there is feedback on the ads other than sales and it seems like you could closely tailor ads to specific demographics.

[skybrian]

Hmmm, how about amateur psychological manipulation that went viral because it's emotionally effective?

I think this is the risk we pay by reading the Internet? The filtering implicit in things going viral is a mixed bag.

[kerng]

I think the implications are way beyond what you see in your browser and perceive as ads.

Imagine a billboard, you drive and the content changes because your GPS is close to that billboard and stuff like that - real world changes like that will happen, if not already.

There is also the product placement and as Cambridge Analytica describes entire personas and website being made just to target individuals and change their perception and opinions - this can all be automated at scale with current technology.

[gaius]

Imagine a billboard, you drive and the content changes because your GPS is close to that billboard

Or your Google self-driving car just happens to pick a route past certain billboards and retailers...