zlacker

> Who would rather have spam than targeted ads

I would, because the targeting creeps me out entirely. Instagram were so good at it that I deleted the app. In the old days, you stuck luxury advertising in rich neighborhoods and used demographics for broadcast and other media. That'll do.

>>Hard_S+(OP)
Why should that do when you can do better? Why stop there? That would be like saying "post everything programming related on r/programming, that'll do. Let's ignore that there are more focused venues for my content".

Don't get me wrong, I'm not keen on getting tracked, either. But I can totally see that from a company's perspective, if you can make sure that only people who are interested in your product actually see the ad, that's better. You don't annoy people who aren't interested (not everyone in a rich neighborhood cares about a BMW ad, some already have a Tesla) and you increase effectiveness.

>>querez+wb
> Why should that do when you can do better?

Because "better [for advertisers]" is a euphemism for "worse for advertisees".

> Why stop there?

Because it's deeply unethical.

>>querez+wb
If a stranger comes up to you and addresses you by name, you're probably going to be creeped out. It's human nature. Same thing here - you didn't start this relationship voluntarily or invest in it; why would you react positively to an unknown entity approaching you with prior knowledge about you?