Ads on the Internet - A Necessary Evil [Part 1]
Ads on the Internet | Why
Ads are inevitable in Today’s Internet World. Searched for something on the Internet and got the exact same thing in the ads while browsing later on? This has happened with almost all of us. Whether you are searching for any product on Amazon or any other site, you are greeted with the ads of a similar product while you browse the Internet. Ever wondered why does this happen? Continue reading and you would know it!
Internet & Ads: The Past
It’s rewind time. Let us go back in time when the internet was created. At the time of the creation of the Internet, it was limited. But then pretty soon after a few years, it was made available to the people. During that time, none of us was ready to pay for the services. This made rise a big question for internet content producers. After all, no one wants to work for free. It wasn’t possible for them to make all the services of the Internet for-pay basis. Boom, that’s how the idea of ads was coined. The content was made available to the people for free, but along with ads. This began the Era of Digital Advertising of the Internet.
Well, ads weren’t new as they were served regularly on Television, radio, and so on. ads on the Internet became a thing for the financial survival of Content Creators for the Internet. One can surely say that these days Internet Ads are getting out of control. The question still remains is: Why Ads on the Internet?
Internet & Ads: Medival & Present
Soon, as time passed the companies began to find out that all ads don’t work for everyone. Some ads are for some users and some aren’t. In other words, a particular ad is preferred by one person but at the same time, it isn’t preferred by other people. They felt the need to Target Specific ads to specific people as people’s desires varied. Think about this. How would someone do this for the masses?
Possibilities
You might think of conducting surveys among all the people about their liking, interests and dislikes. However, considering that size, it wasn’t simply possible. On the other hand, you can’t identify who’s using other than knowing by their account. Thus, they decided to use all the data which you create on the Internet to serve you better ads. You may ask, what is the data you create on the Internet? It’s everything you Search, Browsing Patterns, Clicks, the sites you visit, and so on. Sounds scary, but it is both ways.
The companies use these data to fetch you better ads, and suggestions. This means that the next time you search for something, they keep a record of it anonymously. This record helps them to know what you might be looking for. Once they know about this, they serve you an Ad Related to it.
So, the next time you visit on the Internet and found out ads of the same what you were looking for, don’t panic. It’s one of the ways of the content providers to make money as they get paid for the ads you interact with or watch.
All about Hyper-Threading Part I
This is what Google says in its help section for why you see a particular ad:
“The Internet is free and whatever is free comes with a cost. Be it your Privacy or anything else.”
Evil Side to Ads on Internet
There can be fatal things too at times. Yes, the data they mine about you can be used by them or even be sold to someone else too. Such incidents have occurred in recent years too. Remember the Cambridge Analytica Scandal on Facebook? Know More Here. Yes, that’s one of the evil ways of how your data can be used when it gets into the wrong hands. It’s more like Trust no one with your data and turn of data tracking wherever you can. (This is a topic for some other day)
Facebook's Research Program for Applause wasn't actually by Facebook.
I hope this gave a clear insight into why ads exist in the first place on the Internet. If you found this useful or interesting, consider sharing with your friends! Subscribe to Notifications from us and follow us on our Social Handles so you won’t miss new interesting posts from us.
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