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Thread: Facebook is watching you..........

  1. #21
    Williamsmith
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    Quote Originally Posted by SteveinMN View Post
    Last person I heard of who did that was Ted Kaczynski and that did not work out well for him either.
    Some of what Ted wrote about made sense.......unfortunately it manifested itself in homicidal insanity. But he was nuts beforehand he went to the mountains.

  2. #22
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    I receive offers from my CC company, wanting me to use it at grocery stores, gas stations, etc. I don't generally buy something that will be used up before the bill arrives (can think of one exception). I also tend to use it, primarily for internet purchases (which can include stuff for work).
    What they are wanting is information to get a better grasp of me for their predictive algorithms. There is an old story about that, where a man gets PO'd that his daughter received ad's for diapers and formula, and she is still in high school. He contacts the store and cusses the manager out, who says he will put a stop to it. He comes home and finds out his daughter IS pregnant. It is a true story, that I don't remember if it was Target or Walmart.
    Big Data, will eventually help them know what values, etc. your teaching your kids and is already used to predict your behavior.

  3. #23
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    Does Facebook know where I left my glasses? Siri has been no help at all, and the NSA won’t respond to my texts.

  4. #24
    Senior Member CathyA's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by LDAHL View Post
    Does Facebook know where I left my glasses? Siri has been no help at all, and the NSA won’t respond to my texts.
    LOL! I just wish there were "Find My Phone-type" apps for lots of other things!

    speaking of Siri.......DH and I were taking a rid awhile back in my cart over our property. He didn't even think he had his phone turned on. He cussed. When out of his phone came "I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that." YIKES!

  5. #25
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    My friend told me about some software that can extract from your fb information about your life, hobbies, sexual life and character just based on your activity over the years. The software uses some algorithm to sort of "read between the lines" and discover personal facts about you, even though you haven't ever expressed them anywhere. It should be very accurate - to the point that it can tell that you like to smoke a cigarette or two when out with friends.

    According to my friend, you can protect yourself by deleting your account after couple of years and creating a new one from scratch - this way software like that doesn't have access to enough information to pull out such details.

  6. #26
    Senior Member SteveinMN's Avatar
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    Facebook likely does make guesses about things like sexual preference or whether one is a smoker based on activity like groups joined, things "liked", pictures showing you with a cigarette in your mouth, etc. But as someone who's worked with computers for more than three decades, it's hard for me to believe that an algorithm could divine reliable facts (like sexual activity or whether you enjoy a cigarette when out with friends) from information you don't provide. Computers just don't work that way.

    And, frankly, deleting an account after a couple of years of posts and Likes and groups joined is closing the barn door well after the horses have left and their foals have grown up. Never mind other Web sites you visit that set cookies for Facebook or for companies from which Facebook gets data to tailor what it presents to you. If your friends are that eager to throw off the angel of Facebook stalking, they're better off deleting their accounts and never going back.
    Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome. - Booker T. Washington

  7. #27
    Senior Member bae's Avatar
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    Here's a hair-raising experience I had last week:

    I went to the next island over to meet up with a friend, a farmer, to attend a political kickoff event for a local candidate. The event was held in the 4H barn at the county fairgrounds.

    After the event, I went with my friend to scope out possible competition for a product idea she had. It involved the purchase of a semi-pro-grade freeze-dry machine. We discussed the technical details in the car. Spent 10 minutes at the farmer's market looking for competition. Got back in the car, and drove onto the ferry.

    At no time during the expedition did either of us use our telephones.

    About an hour after I returned home, I popped open Facebook because my kid sent me a cat picture. There, in my Facebook stream, was a sponsored ad for a high-end bit of freeze-drying equipment. Something I myself haven't searched for. How weird is that? For the next day or so, it offered up ads for this sort of gear.

    I don't have Facebook and/or Messenger installed on my bone-stock phone either.

    My hypothesis is that both my friend and I had our phones *on*, Facebook deduced that we were together, noted we visited the fairgrounds (and perhaps even the 4H barn), were around about 40 other farmers for about an hour at the event there, and then visited the farmers' market. And that my friend either before the day, or when she returned home, must have done some investigation on freeze-drying gear. And so it deduced that I too must want such things.

    A bit off-putting.

  8. #28
    Senior Member Teacher Terry's Avatar
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    Bae, that is totally creepy.

  9. #29
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    Quote Originally Posted by bae View Post
    Here's a hair-raising experience I had last week:

    I went to the next island over to meet up with a friend, a farmer, to attend a political kickoff event for a local candidate. The event was held in the 4H barn at the county fairgrounds.

    After the event, I went with my friend to scope out possible competition for a product idea she had. It involved the purchase of a semi-pro-grade freeze-dry machine. We discussed the technical details in the car. Spent 10 minutes at the farmer's market looking for competition. Got back in the car, and drove onto the ferry.

    At no time during the expedition did either of us use our telephones.

    About an hour after I returned home, I popped open Facebook because my kid sent me a cat picture. There, in my Facebook stream, was a sponsored ad for a high-end bit of freeze-drying equipment. Something I myself haven't searched for. How weird is that? For the next day or so, it offered up ads for this sort of gear.

    I don't have Facebook and/or Messenger installed on my bone-stock phone either.

    My hypothesis is that both my friend and I had our phones *on*, Facebook deduced that we were together, noted we visited the fairgrounds (and perhaps even the 4H barn), were around about 40 other farmers for about an hour at the event there, and then visited the farmers' market. And that my friend either before the day, or when she returned home, must have done some investigation on freeze-drying gear. And so it deduced that I too must want such things.

    A bit off-putting.
    Deus semper videt.

  10. #30
    Senior Member catherine's Avatar
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    Wow. That is REALLY creepy. I'm at the point where I applaud people like my DIL (a cybersecurity professional) and my DS (a Luddite) who have made conscious decisions to avoid Facebook. One surefire way to be disowned by my DIL would be to post a picture of my grandkids on social media.
    Last edited by catherine; 5-1-18 at 3:31pm.
    "Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it--every, every minute?" Emily Webb, Our Town
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