[pz]

That phrasing is a bit loaded. I'm an engineer on Facebook ads (I actually work with Paul, he's sitting right behind me. hi paul) and as much as people want to demonize ads, they do create real value for the businesses that use them and the users that click on them. We never think in terms of "get users to click". If we wanted to do that, we could make the ads bigger, flashier. But we don't because a good user experience is our prime directive, even for ads. And yes, there is a lot of room for improvement. zuck reminds of this regularly.

As I see it I'm building a tool that lets people promote their cause, their business, their band. The fact that they are paying for it is only because there is contention for that space.

[ececconi]

I really think that what Facebook and Google has been doing with ads is nothing short of amazing. I find a lot of products and services that are so tailored to what I desire and want. When I am on Facebook, I am eager to find out what kind of ads are targeting my indexed information. It allows me to run into things I never would have actively seen on the internet.