zzrmark

I haven't read your link but assume that the recent NPR program that devoted an hour to the Mercers and their political meddling was along similar lines.
I didn't learn anything new, besides a few names. Anyone who thinks that anything other than money influences US (and many other) politics is seriously deluded.

What I'd really like to know is why, if targeted internet profiling is the be all and end all of advertising, do I get an inch high stack of advertising crap wedged into my mail box most days? I filter out the middle man and sling the whole lot, unread, into the (recycling) trash can as I head indoors.

As for internet ads, I don't bother with adblockers. I just employ the same tactics used with my ex-wife (mostly whilst I was still married to her ) and ignore them. I don't even register the sidebar rubbish most of the time. Stroll on admen.

moneypenny20

As for internet ads, I don't bother with adblockers. I just employ the same tactics used with my ex-wife (mostly whilst I was still married to her ) and ignore them. I don't even register the sidebar rubbish most of the time. Stroll on admen. [/QUOTE]

I use an awesome app that keeps everything off my page except the stuff I want. No trending, no suggested, no nothing. Just need them to make one for the mobile and I'll be even happier.

No sure what I am supposed to get by doing the odd stupid quiz once in a while.

Pulaski

We get almost nothing now of value in the mail, and have joked about cutting the back off our mailbox and taping a garbage sack to it.

robin1234

One of the things the article highlights, in following the Mercer family from middle class obscurity to fabulous wealth, is that they have some seriously wacky ideas. One is that we can easily survive nuclear war, because radiation is actually good for us. Another is that global warming will assure that the US stays top of the heap, because huge areas of North America will be more productive agriculturally if the temperature and rainfall patterns change. Bob Mercer apparently has a pet climate denial "scientist" who has a sheep farm in Oregon, who he wants Trump to nominate for chief scientific advisor ( or whatever the post is called.)

These are just examples of magical thinking type approaches, that could make the world less safe if they inform government policy.

Anyway, the narrative of the article indicates that Mercer, his daughter and other associates gave large amounts of money to Koch brother non profits & super pacs leading up to the 2012 election. Obviously, they were disillusioned with this approach when many of the candidates they supported, including Romney, lost their elections. So, after that point they decided to make their donations work more effectively, and that's where Bannon, Breitbart et. al., and Cambridge Analytica come in.

Really, the article is worth a read. Yes, it's familiar stuff, but still there are new connections and new dramatis personae to learn about...

Steerpike

As much as I thoroughly dislike Trump, all this tells me is that he did a better job of using the technology tools available to him than Hillary did. When Obama won in in 2008 and 2012, he was hailed as the technology master, out-doing his opponents in using social media and other technology tools.

Had Hillary won, and had it been revealed she used FB advertising techniques, would there be the same outrage (well, I don't hear much outrage, just some concern)?

I visit FB about once a month to see what my two nieces in the UK are up to, as it is just about the only way they communicate. Other than that, I find it a complete waste of time, with 'friends' forever asking me to 'like and share if you agree ...' ... usually to some inane piece of common sense. I've un-friended a ton of people who post endless crap, and I'm down to about 20 friends now, a number that continues to drop.

petitefrancaise

Hillary didn't so that is a moot point. It isn't just that the Trump team used FB and the data given up to Cambridge analytica, it is also that the ads are unregulated, untraceable (they're gone once you scroll) and were aimed specifically at creating division amongst the populace.

I like FB, I use it a lot. It's a fabulous communication tool. I message/video chat with my friends and family all over the world for free.

Pulaski

What were these ads targeted at you by the Republicans saying?
So what message was I missing? .... And as I asked above, what message was FB targeting at you?

But me? ..... I rarely use FB (maybe once or twice a month).

I don't watch TV at all (we have no TV service, not satellite, not cable, not terrestrial) and I don't stream TV - most of my cnn,com I see at work, so I cannot watch videos).

We don't get a newspaper,

I listen to a couple of radio stations for about an hour a day aggregate, mostly while driving, split fairly evenly between a classic rock station and a news/talk station (which is broadcasting NEWS between 7am and 8am and between 6pm and 7pm, not phone-ins and talking heads).

Until a couple of weeks ago we had a subscription to New Yorker, for the factual and literary articles, but New Yorker is "out-there liberal", apparently beyond the editorial staff of the New York Times. I also have a subscription to Car & Driver, and Handyman, neither of which have any political content that I have ever noticed, either in editorials or print ads.

My news mostly comes from CNN.çom, supplemented with a little bbc.çom for British and international news,

So, a simple question: who exactly was feeding me a skewed message? .... Other than CNN, and posters on BE.

Leslie

Russia.

Alan17

No you don't. You use it in exchange for information on you gathered as part of your FB usage, which they then sell on, use for targeted advertising, etc.

Thats their business model, among other things. Nothing comes for free.

Steerpike

Exactly. "It's a fabulous communication tool ..." that is associated with evil, nasty data gathering processes. You can't separate one from the other. You can use Skype for messaging, voice, and video chat, all without the overhead/baggage that is the core of facebook.

mrken30

It's also ATT business model or was until the privacy laws were a problem. Now that internet privacy has gone, maybe it will become the standard business model for everyone.

How AT&T Wants You to Pay For Your Privacy | Time.com

Online privacy? Forget it, even with VPN

Leslie

Just because it didn't happen to you personally doesn't mean it didn't happen.

jeepster

Still obsessing over Trump? Here, read these books and give yourself something else to worry about. Afterall they are the real problem not Trump (note all the footnotes to substantiate their claims).

https://www.amazon.com/George-Bush-W...of+george+bush

https://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&fie...tag=mozilla-20

jeepster

Russia?

Leslie, notice those two books that I listed above? That's your homework assignment.

robin1234

I don't think it's an "either/or" phenomenon is it? And, if I wanted to be better informed about the Bushes, I'm not sure that those books would be a good start.