detlef Posted November 9, 2009 Share Posted November 9, 2009 So, I got an e-mail from one of my beer reps about pricing for some seasonal beers. The title of the e-mail was "Winter Brews" In the body of the message itself, there were words such as "Rogue", "Bells", "Christmas"... On the right side of the message, there's a list of sponsored links from breweries and sites that had nothing to do with beers but included Rogue, Bells, or Christmas. Certainly this is automated, so I doubt there's some dude going through my e-mail, but it still weirds me out none the less. Not, mind you that they're spamming me with sponsored links because the mailbox is free and they've got to make their money somehow. Rather that it's obvious they're plucking things out of messages sent to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cdrudge Posted November 9, 2009 Share Posted November 9, 2009 Ads? I don't see any ads. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ursa Majoris Posted November 9, 2009 Share Posted November 9, 2009 So, I got an e-mail from one of my beer reps about pricing for some seasonal beers. The title of the e-mail was "Winter Brews" In the body of the message itself, there were words such as "Rogue", "Bells", "Christmas"... On the right side of the message, there's a list of sponsored links from breweries and sites that had nothing to do with beers but included Rogue, Bells, or Christmas. Certainly this is automated, so I doubt there's some dude going through my e-mail, but it still weirds me out none the less. Not, mind you that they're spamming me with sponsored links because the mailbox is free and they've got to make their money somehow. Rather that it's obvious they're plucking things out of messages sent to me. Google is both brilliantly clever and horribly invasive. Elements of their toolbar are nothing but spyware. They have more data on you than you can begin to imagine. The ads you see are selected because of the title of your email and the content. FWIW, Rogue make Brutal Bitter, IIRC, and it's awesome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tazinib1 Posted November 9, 2009 Share Posted November 9, 2009 Google is both brilliantly clever and horribly invasive. Elements of their toolbar are nothing but spyware. They have more data on you than you can begin to imagine. The ads you see are selected because of the title of your email and the content. FWIW, Rogue make Brutal Bitter, IIRC, and it's awesome. Agreed. Word association advertising is nothing new. I'm surprised you havn't caught on until now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtomicCEO Posted November 10, 2009 Share Posted November 10, 2009 Google is both brilliantly clever and horribly invasive. Elements of their toolbar are nothing but spyware. They have more data on you than you can begin to imagine. The ads you see are selected because of the title of your email and the content. FWIW, Rogue make Brutal Bitter, IIRC, and it's awesome. There is a liquor store at the bottom of Breckenridge that I used to stop at after skiing and pick up a 22 of Dead Guy Ale for the ride home. Good stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
detlef Posted November 10, 2009 Author Share Posted November 10, 2009 (edited) Agreed. Word association advertising is nothing new. I'm surprised you havn't caught on until now. Never looked before. I mean, I've always noticed the ads when I searched on Google, but that didn't come as a surprise, nor invasive because you're basically saying, "look up this word or phrase and show me things that pertain to it". If that includes ads, so be it. I get that. My beef is with the fact that they seemingly are saying, "We noticed in the private message this person just sent to you a few phrases and, based on that, thought you might want to check out these links." Edited November 10, 2009 by detlef Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cdrudge Posted November 10, 2009 Share Posted November 10, 2009 My beef is with the fact that they seemingly are saying, "We noticed in the private message this person just sent to you a few phrases and, based on that, thought you might want to check out these links."How do you think that Google provides all their services like gmail for free? It's not because they have so much money that they want to be charitable. They gotta place those ads and the only way that they can match them up is by "reading" your message. They really don't care about your individual message aside from matching a few keywords. The real value isn't in individual messages but in the trillions of messages that they compile. They can profile the messages to see what people are talking about, what subjects are popular, etc. There isn't some guy in some office reading all your mail and determining what ads you see. It's all automated for the few billion messages that they process each day. If you aren't happy with the very remote chance that one of your messages might get reviewed for QA purposes to see if the ad placement logic is accurate, then don't use a free email service. Pay for one or run your own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
detlef Posted November 10, 2009 Author Share Posted November 10, 2009 (edited) How do you think that Google provides all their services like gmail for free? It's not because they have so much money that they want to be charitable. They gotta place those ads and the only way that they can match them up is by "reading" your message. They really don't care about your individual message aside from matching a few keywords. The real value isn't in individual messages but in the trillions of messages that they compile. They can profile the messages to see what people are talking about, what subjects are popular, etc. There isn't some guy in some office reading all your mail and determining what ads you see. It's all automated for the few billion messages that they process each day. If you aren't happy with the very remote chance that one of your messages might get reviewed for QA purposes to see if the ad placement logic is accurate, then don't use a free email service. Pay for one or run your own. Gee, I never thought of that. Oh wait... Certainly this is automated, so I doubt there's some dude going through my e-mail, but it still weirds me out none the less. Not, mind you that they're spamming me with sponsored links because the mailbox is free and they've got to make their money somehow. Rather that it's obvious they're plucking things out of messages sent to me. Really, it was just a random thought. Edited November 10, 2009 by detlef Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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