Chronotope’s avatarChronotope’s Twitter Archive—№ 127,635

  1. Yup. “Facebook’s argument that its ad-targeting regime is good for small businesses is not only self interested — it is plain wrong,” theintercept.com/2020/12/24/facebook-ad-targeting-small-business/
    OpenGraph image for theintercept.com/2020/12/24/facebook-ad-targeting-small-business/oh my god twitter doesn’t include alt text from images in their APIoh my god twitter doesn’t include alt text from images in their API
    1. …in reply to @Chronotope
      The low quality of Facebook audiences has been a known known for a while. Chronotope/1078012426560380930?s=19
      1. …in reply to @Chronotope
        1. …in reply to @Chronotope
          Hyper-personalized ad targeting is a fraud. It always has been and it always will be.
          1. …in reply to @Chronotope
            The big issue here isn't even if Facebook ads work or not, it is if--by promising their system works in a way it does & can not--they have manipulated expectations in-market in such a way that it destroys more honest competition who can't meet the expectations they falsely create
            1. …in reply to @Chronotope
              The point isn't: do Facebook ads drive dollars to small businesses. It is: if they do so through false promises that hype targeting as required when ads can be successful without it. Because if that's true, then a whole industry is built on a pile of bullshit.
              1. …in reply to @Chronotope
                The problem is deformation of the market and the ecosystem of marketing, more on that here: Chronotope/1290630115316072448?s=19
                1. …in reply to @Chronotope
                  This conversation is fragmenting, but to be clear, as in the above embedded thread: yes there is personalization and also targeting, but the issue isn't if FB's targeting gives returns or not; it is if the personalization methodology is a false promise w/a larger impact.
                  1. …in reply to @Chronotope
                    Facebook both wants to present itself as having the best technology and also as if it's decisions and marketing have no larger impact on the world, ecosystem of advertising, or ad tech systems. But obviously it does, and how it presents itself fundamentally matters.
                    1. …in reply to @Chronotope
                      Facebook presents 'personalization' as the key to its success for small biz (target exactly the right people) but if that isn't the key, regardless of the success, that has a big impact on how everyone looks at advertising on the web and how ad tech moves...
                      1. …in reply to @Chronotope
                        Does it succeed for small businesses? I mean... this isn't the only question that matters: if the tools you are using lie to you, if the metrics are wrong, or doubled, but sales still goes up, is 'sales go up' the only thing that matters here?
                        1. …in reply to @Chronotope
                          Perhaps I'm not 'capitalist' enough, and the answer should always be 'things that make dollar numbers go up faster are good', but I think a wider view of the ecosystem sees a larger impact beyond that,
                          1. …in reply to @Chronotope
                            There are bigger issues about how we make decisions about the future of the web that derive from FB's positioning. In the same way apparently fake video numbers deformed content decisions by media, obscuring methodology of ad conversions has an impact on companies everywhere.
                            1. …in reply to @Chronotope
                              In the interests of fairness stand by while I embed some of the counter arguments here:
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                                              I have hopefully captured all the threads arguing with me here, I do not intend nor am I trying to misrepresent them and I think they all have things of value to say that I prefer included in this thread...
                                              1. …in reply to @Chronotope
                                                However, they all do seem to come fundamentally from the position that 'Facebook ads make sales go up faster so if they function via targeting specific people or using other methods to select who ads are shown to is irrelevant' and I believe that misses the larger picture...
                                                1. …in reply to @Chronotope
                                                  As an example Facebook misleading on the efficacy of its video had a known effect, I think we can all agree on that: theverge.com/2018/10/17/17989712/facebook-inaccurate-video-metrics-inflation-lawsuit
                                                  OpenGraph image for theverge.com/2018/10/17/17989712/facebook-inaccurate-video-metrics-inflation-lawsuit
                                                  1. …in reply to @Chronotope
                                                    FB making it too difficult to understand the actual methodology of its ad tech, creating confusion out of if it comes from selecting audience in hyper detail or other ways, & potentially misrepresenting how their ads work similarly has an ecosystem-level impact that advantages FB
                                                    1. …in reply to @Chronotope
                                                      It sets unrealistic expectations about how ad tech should work that only Facebook can fulfill and that changes how the ecosystem works, how pricing is understood and accounted for, how competitors model themselves and more.
                                                      1. …in reply to @Chronotope
                                                        Further: it continues to potentially falsely push hyper-personalized ads as a narrative when that narrative is harmful to society, advertisers, publishers, the world, and *also* the bottom lines of everyone but Facebook.
                                                        1. …in reply to @Chronotope
                                                          If your only concern is: 'make sales numbers go up faster' ok, yeah Facebook ads prob give you nothing to complain about. But you're missing out on not only larger concerns that impact sustainability of small businesses, but also potential new ways to make numbers go up faster.
                                                          1. …in reply to @Chronotope
                                                            Just because a thing works better, doesn't mean that is the best way for a thing to work.
                                                            1. …in reply to @Chronotope
                                                              Also, just one additional note: Small businesses existed and prospered before Facebook even existed you know?


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