FollowYesterday we reported on the new Ello social network and we talked about how some people believe that it’s going to be the death of Facebook. Today, we’re going to take a look at what Facebook is up to these days and we’re certain that you’re not going to like it one bit. It appears that Facebook will keep selling ads based on user data, but this time it is going to use its own ad network called Atlas.
Facebook Will Keep Selling Ads
Have you ever noticed how Facebook is suggesting pages and products based on something you’ve searched on an engine that had nothing to do with Facebook? Well, Facebook does this thing where it uses its user data and sells it to companies that get to do target marketing.
But it seems that Facebook wants a piece of the pie, so in 2013 it purchased Atlas, an ad network, from Microsoft. Atlas cost Facebook $100 million and it works by displaying ads on websites other than Mother Facebook; the ads will be based on Facebook users’ personal data.
If this sounds a bit too intrusive, it’s because it is intrusive. Facebook will keep selling ads based on user data that we give Facebook. Atlas works similar to Google AdWords and it is supposed to be a good thing, that will make shopping smart and advertising even smarter, but isn’t this a violation of privacy?
Erik Johnson, Atlas chief, said in a public statement:
People spend more time on more devices than ever before. This shift in consumer behavior has had a profound impact on a consumer’s path to purchase, both online and in stores. And today’s technology for ad serving and measurement – cookies – are flawed when used alone. Cookies don’t work on mobile, are becoming less accurate in demographic targeting and can’t easily or accurately measure the customer purchase funnel across browsers and devices or into the offline world.
What are your thoughts on this? Drop us a line in the comment section below, we would love to hear what you have to say about the fact that Facebook will keep selling ads based on user data.
