Many of us have dabbled in Facebook ads at one time or another with mixed results. As an “Ad Placer,” we can carve out what types of people we want to see our ads by geography, age groups, interests, and more. Up until now, as a Facebook user, the ads you see have been a result of what you do on Facebook, your profile, status updates, and interests.
This is all changing and changing dramatically. Facebook is making a shift to give advertisers more options to tailor ads to what people do outside of Facebook. As if we didn’t get the heebie-jeebies already, Facebook is teaming up with retail stores to analyze data about purchases and what Facebook knows about you. In other words, Facebook is sharing with retailers the fact that you saw an ad for shoes and matching it up with the fact that you purchased the same brand in a retail store later. This is powerful information for advertisers and of course, helps Facebook sell more ads.
The reality is, you are being tracked everywhere. The only way to prevent tracking is to stop using the Internet. That is not an option for an Indie Author. Continue reading “Internet Tracking: How To Minimize Data That Is Used”
Ian McEvoy is done with Scotland. No one’s ever used his first name – Ian; he’s always been just McEvoy. The Scotsman is leaving his hardscrabble childhood behind and looking for adventure. McEvoy soaks up science like a sponge. Through scientists he encounters, he learns about profound puzzles built into the fabric of nature. His personal challenge is his tenuous grip on reality. McEvoy forges on from his boisterous youth in the Arizona desert to a surprising climax in the twilight zone of northern Sweden. Does McEvoy’s final insight tell us about our own sense of what is real?