'Games You May Like on Facebook'. That'd be None. Why are Ads so broken in 2012?

#""Games You May Like on Facebook". That’d be None. Why are Ads so broken in 2012?"

If Facebook paid even a minutes notice to the intention graph rather than the social graph, they’d see that I relentlessly click Hide on all mentions of games. Then maybe they could avoid wasting their valuable screen real-estate pimping something I will never ever ever click on.

I also had a look at some of the ads on FB today. Bloody hell, not a single solitary thing I’m remotely interested in. Just because I’m friends/family with someone on Facebook does not mean I share any of their interests. But when we talk about a movie/TV show/book/product, then you’ve got some useful data.

Given the amount of Likes and Shares I do on Facebook, it really is shocking that they can’t find one thing to recommend to me that I’d actually buy. It doesn’t surprise me at all that their Ad revenue has flattened out.

I really hope someone out there is working on an all new Ads system. I don’t mind Ads, I really don’t, but I haven’t clicked on one in a very long time.

With the amount of “stuff” I generate online, someone should be able to nail me with ads I can’t resist. Yet here we are in 2012 and I still find out about most of the products I buy from people I follow on Twitter/Facebook/Google+, Blogs and Friends. Personal recommendations plus a selection of online reviews seals the deal. There must be a way of packaging that up algorithmic-ally without turning everyone into shills.

Whilst I’m on the subject, can all the re-marketing systems please add a button to their Ads called “I’ve already bloody bought it, stop hounding me.”? Also another one for all the deals Ads which says “I’m a man, I don’t need an upper lip electrolysis deal of the day”

In fact, if an Ad system was announced which said “Give us access to your Twitter/Facebook/Google+/Reader/Amazon/4SQ/Yelp accounts and we promise to only show you Ads/Deals for stuff you and your friends talk about positively”, I’d opt-in tomorrow.

Meanwhile here’s a sponsored Tweet from Coke.

Conor O'Neill

Tech guy who likes running slowly

Bandon, Cork, Ireland https://conoroneill.net