How would you fix digital advertising?

[NoobCannon]

Not so, your wifi is broadcasting your mac address constantly. Thus unless you turn your wifi off they have a record of a 'unique user' - much like what web advertisers do. Knowing this is incredibly useful - and thus valuable - without ever tying it to a name or contact details.

If you think some company (or consolidating agent) knowing your movements is worth nothing to you fine - but it's worth something to someone.

Oh i know that, the people i work for monitor pedestrian and vehicle traffic using bluetooth for “traffic shaping”

I meant it being no good for advertising

 

[Dave M]

I think a lot people put too much faith in their privacy. If you have any sort of radiating device on you, you’re trackable.

A lot of the old dystopian sci-fi films had the population tagged with some control and/or monitoring device - they never had us buying our own and decorating them in snazzy cases - no one would ever have believed that

 

[Werewolf]

A lot of the old dystopian sci-fi films had the population tagged with some control and/or monitoring device - they never had us buying our own and decorating them in snazzy cases - no one would ever have believed that

I keep seeing comments by Sci-fi writers complaining that if they'd offered up things that have happened in the world today, in their books 20 years ago their editors would have told them to change it as being too unbelievable.;

 

[FoxEye]

If the bus has wifi it's quite possible it tracks which buses you use, what stops you get on and leave at - very useful for automatically totting up which parts of which routes are busy (considering most use day passes or longer, not individual tickets for one journey). Unless you turn off bluetooth/wifi every time you leave the house you're placing trust in a lot of organisations that they won't track you.

For example: http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2017/09/lo...rything-we-learned-from-tfls-official-report/

I've read about similar technology being used to track customer numbers and habits in particular areas of large department stores (before this they used cameras and before that dumb IR beams - so it's just a natural progression).

No they don't/can't track me.

They can identify the device, but unless my network provider will give them my name then they really can't do much except compile anonymous stats.

Moreover since knowing the MAC address of my device doesn't allow them to identify the device on the 'net - even when serving web content to that device - they cannot use that data to serve ads or track me as I use the device.

https://networkengineering.stackexc...an-my-mac-address-be-identified-by-a-web-site

 

[Dave M]

No they don't/can't track me.

They can identify the device, but unless my network provider will give them my name then they really can't do much except compile anonymous stats.

Moreover since knowing the MAC address of my device doesn't allow them to identify the device on the 'net - even when serving web content to that device - they cannot use that data to serve ads or track me as I use the device.

https://networkengineering.stackexc...an-my-mac-address-be-identified-by-a-web-site

You were upset that ad consolidators tracked your browser between different visits and sites. The concept is very similar.

And it's the access point provider who is tracking you - even if you don't connect. Did you read the link? There are private companies offering very similar systems, how many do you walk past each day?

Of course it only takes you to use someone's app (e.g. coffee shop, free WiFi or public transport) once and the anonymous device tracking isn't so anonymous.

 

[FoxEye]

The access point only knows the MAC of my device. Which both tells them nothing about me and does not allow them to target me with ads.

So I fail to see how it's at all similar to browser tracking and serving ads in browsers.

e: I have never knowingly used public wifi.

 

[Deleted member 77746]

Has there been any more advancement of this OP? Do you still want us to remove ad blockers?

@Marmot

 

[Orionaut]

I keep seeing comments by Sci-fi writers complaining that if they'd offered up things that have happened in the world today, in their books 20 years ago their editors would have told them to change it as being too unbelievable.;

Many years ago I recall reading an article that compared

#1 Progress/changes as predicted by professional think tanks etc
#2 Progress/changes as predicted by Sci-Fi authors
#3 Progress/change as actually took place.

Needless to say, #3 was the most dramatic!

(For good or ill! )

 

[Marmot]

Has there been any more advancement of this OP? Do you still want us to remove ad blockers?

@Marmot

I know you loved this thread (you have the second largest number of replies) but I don't think there's much more to add.

It seems that the majority of us are open to monetization via advertising, provided that it is carried out responsibly. The view is that right now it's no where near responsible.

 

[Deleted member 77746]

I know you loved this thread (you have the second largest number of replies) but I don't think there's much more to add.

It seems that the majority of us are open to monetization via advertising, provided that it is carried out responsibly. The view is that right now it's no where near responsible.

Right answer. So how are you going to fix the Internet then?