[twy_new_fb_hire]

I view ad targeting as good for the world: they help make my life better by aiming me at products and services relevant to my interests and needs, sometimes when I didn't even know such a thing existed. It saves poor reinvention of the wheel in so many cases.

And FB-the-social-network is also great in theory: groups help you make friends and go deep into very niche interests. Without it, I would be a more normal, less interesting person. Now, with the join of a group, you can immerse yourself in a hobby even if absolutely nobody in a hundred miles shares that interest. It helps people go deeper on what they care about, thus becoming 'weirder' or a more fulfilled version of themselves. And helps people get ads they care about.

[foepys]

> I view ad targeting as good for the world: they help make my life better by aiming me at products and services relevant to my interests and needs, sometimes when I didn't even know such a thing existed. It saves poor reinvention of the wheel in so many cases.

Let me give you another point of view:

Ads benefit the already wealthy corporations above small businesses that cannot pay billions for ads and add another lay on to inequality.

"Reinventing the wheel" is sometimes necessary for innovation, often called disrupting the market.

Also, I believe that endless consumerism is actually killing the planet and ads (no only banner ads but also product placements) play a huge part in making people feel insecure and less worthy just because they don't have the newest gadget.

[disgruntledphd2]

In case you weren't aware, the targeting tools provided by Google and Facebook have actually rebalanced the advertising market back towards smaller businesses.

I kinda agree on the consumerism thing, but that's more a reflection of our society than evil genius advertisers.