Viviano

So, I have come across a recent article in the New York Times titled If It s Advertised to You Online, You Probably Shouldn t Buy It. Here s Why. I have posted a summary of the negative aspects of advertising they bring up below (done with the BLUF browser extension). Anyways, I have a communications background and I have for the longest time been obsessed with the quality of communications, particularly in the world of marketing. In my opinion, marketing activities and how technology is used to get users to buy products is so due for innovation. Nobody wants to be targeted on the basis of endless tracking in the background, but sadly everyone has accepted this as the status quo. What do you guys think? What is your opinion on the current state of advertising and how would you want it to change? Do you guys find things you want through advertising or is it more annoying than useful? Looking forward to your opinions! Summary generated by BLUF: Summary of the negative aspects of advertising: The article discusses the negative aspects of online advertising, particularly microtargeting, which allows advertisers to track users' behavior and interests and deliver personalized ads. The article argues that this has led to a decline in traditional news outlets, enabled advertisers to discriminate in ways that are hard for regulators to catch, and allowed politicians to deliver divisive messages directly to niche groups. Additionally, the article cites a study that found that targeted ads are not helping consumers and are often pitching more expensive products from lower-quality vendors than identical products that show up in a simple web search. The article suggests that contextual advertising, rather than surveillance advertising, may be a better approach.