The only product I bought after clicking an ad
This is the laptop bag for my Lenovo Yoga N26 11.6” Chromebook. Nothing fancy, just a cheap Amazon Basics shoulder bag that does the job.
What makes the item interesting is it's the only product I ever bought after clicking an online ad.
I had googled and searched extensively Amazon, eBay, and other retailer websites without coming across anything that met my requirements. Then, on an unrelated website, I saw an Amazon ad for that bag. It was exactly what I wanted, it seemed 3D-printed from the spec in my brain. I immediately clicked the ad and bought the product.
The event is even more remarkable considering I've been surfing the web for almost three decades. Yet none of the countless ads I was served were compelling enough to lead to a click, let alone a purchase.
The first reason I nearly never find ads that match what I want is that, although I don't use ad-blockers, I tune out ads and hardly notice them.
But, even when I do check out the ads, nothing matches my interests or needs. All I get is braindead remarketing that follows me across the web to push stuff I already own or researched and discarded.
Putting aside for a moment the security and privacy issues with online advertising, I'd love ads that drew attention to stuff I really want, like the Amazon one. Yet, despite all the tracking, personalization, machine learning, and advanced technologies the advertising industry deploys, the results are irrelevant or underwhelming.
I can't think of anything more inefficient than the online advertising industry.
Discuss...
Email | Reply @amoroso@fosstodon.org