Someone was telling me that Google scans all of your G-Mail for keywords to indicate your interests. It then targets you with Google originated spam that matches keywords in your email. I don't know if this is true or not. Can anyone shed some light on the subject?
My understanding is that both Google and Microsoft do this. Honestly, in this day and age, one needs to expect data mining to occur with anything sent in an electronic format.
Whenever you open a gmail webpage, there are ads. The ads are typically on the right side of the page, or at the bottom. You may not pay much attention to them, but they are there. How does Google decide what ads to show you? As you indicated, your gmail messages are automatically scanned by a computer. If the computer picks up a keyword in your mail, they will post a relevant ad. For example, as Google itself says: Note that Google's computer also know your general location, so it will try to advertise a camera store that is in your local area. This doesn't mean that you get spam in your inbox. It does means that you will get targeted ads on the sides and bottom of your gmail webpages. And the same is true for any other "free" Google service. If you use Google search, the results page will have ads that reflect your search terms. If you used Google Maps, there will be ads for local attractions along the route. Google is an advertising company. They provide attractive free services on the web, get millions of people to use their webpages, then sell ads on those webpages. How did you think Google makes money?
If you want "free" email, from anybody, then you can expect ads. "Free" really means "ad-supported". If you are uncomfortable with the ad-supported approach, then pay for the service yourself. Microsoft, for example, will be happy to provide you with a completely ad-free email service. But it will cost you $19.95 per year.
I'm amused at how you have managed to give a snarky reply to a simple and honest question. My only concern would be, as I was told, Google sending spam that is related to your keywords and putting it into your inbox. I was told that this happens and was wondering if it was true. I have actually used Google advertising for a business venture, so I am aware of how Google makes money.
Do you get much spam in your Gmail inbox? Virtually all of the spam I get goes straight to the spam folder so I never see it.
Anything free on the Internet for you, means you're the product. Do not expect anything beyond that. Just likes you're a farmer, and you raise your chickens. Your chickens get free place to live and free food to eat. At the end, they are your products. So, when it comes to telecommunication; do you expect any privacy. Even though you use pigeon to carry your letter, it will be killed by the Federal Government's drones to intercept your message.
Exactly. Well, unless you use encryption, but most people can't be bothered even though it's just not that hard.
The average computer user has no clue how Google makes money. Joe Average knows only that Google provides lots of great free stuff online: free search, free maps, free email, free youtube videos, etc. My comment was intended to make Joe Average stop and think about it for a minute. Google is a for-profit company -- a very successful one -- and they don't provide free stuff as a public service. If you aren't Joe Average, then the comment may not apply to you specifically, but it will still make other readers stop and think. Google became successful by providing a great search engine. They then became profitable by looking for keywords in search queries, and serving up relevant ads. And they do exactly the same thing with your gmail: they look for keywords in your messages, then serve up relevant ads.
Of course they do - and if Joe Average hasn't noticed that the ads often reflect his own interests or search history -- then I'm surprised. I know plenty of "average" people who have twigged to this. I'm no Einstein and I first noticed it long ago. It's even been an occasional dinner-table topic at my son's house. And - as said in this thread, any other "free" email provider does the same thing. Interesting that TEKMAN should mention pigeons. Back a couple of centuries ago, the Rothschilds made a lot of money because they had information ahead of competitors. I think that principle still works today. :smile: Reason: they had the best and most carrier pigeons. And unfortunately, TEKMAN may have something there, about the drones. :sad: Johann
To be fair, there is at least one large commercial provider of "free" email that doesn't subsidize their service through ads. If you use a Mac or iPhone, then you get ad-free iCloud email from Apple at no cost. The catch here is that you need to have an Apple product, which means paying Apple a premium for their expensive hardware. In this case, the cost of "free" email is subsidized by hardware sales, rather than by ads. So you are effectively paying Apple for ad-free email service, as you can do with Microsoft, though in a different way.
This whole thread reminds me of a science-fiction story I read about 50 years ago. In a future, ad-drenched USA, there were some people who were so traumatized by the ever-present ads (even on toilet paper) that they had to seek "under-the-radar" houses to live in. This evasion of ads was against the law, so the protagonist went down to the slum district of his city, to rent a room in a clandestine "ad-free" house he'd heard about. No radio, no TV, no newspapers etc. He paid a ton of money and took his suitcase upstairs. Down below, the "landlady" was on the phone: "Doctor? Please come now. We have another one." It's a tribute to the writer's imagination, that he was able to envision such a world with no thought of something like Google, or even the Internet itself. Then again, there were no home computers in those days - around 1960. :smile: Johann
In Google's dream world, you would never pay for hardware or software again. You would get a free laptop or tablet from Google, equipped with a free Google operating system. You would use free Google Docs for word processing and spreadsheets, free Google Chrome to browse the Web, and free Gmail to send messages. You would have free Google Plus to stay in touch with your friends, and you could download free games from Google Play. Everything would be "free" -- but everything would have ads. And everything that you do would be monitored, in order to better target those ads. Most of the pieces for this vision, except for the free hardware, are already in place. Of course, companies like Microsoft or Apple would also like to control all aspects of your hardware and software. But their vision doesn't require you to look at ads. Microsoft and Apple want payment for hardware and software the old-fashioned way -- with money.
Looks like a person who could write "Supreme Mega-Adbuster" software that could remove all that would make a killing. Then again, if (s)he did, Google's software gurus would write stuff that would disable it, or get around it. Leading to another round of "Super Ad-killer 2.0" and more ingenuity from Google -- ad infinitum. I've said once or twice that I'd "never buy" an Apple product, solely because of what I viewed as some local dealer arrogance and chicanery in the very early days - 1980s. I have, however, bought my son an IPod Touch - because it was Christmas and he wanted one - and chipped in for an IPod and some IPhone stuff for my grand-daughter. I might change now, and buy products from them. My other son has a Mac Mini and his wife has an IPad. All their products seem sooo good! My one remaining objection: Yes, products are "designed by Apple in California" as they say. But they're not made there. They're made in Asia, at places like Foxconn. Then again - so are my camera (Canon) my phone (Samsung) my printer (Lexmark) my old desktop computer (IBM) and probably all the clothes I'm wearing. My gripe: the only things I own that were made here were made by me. I have nothing against Asia or its people, but I'd like to see at least some of my money spent at home - not just in taxes, but for the benefit of people who work here. Johann
I think you will find that virtually all computers, tablets, smartphones, and MP3 players -- regardless of manufacturer -- are made in Asia at places like Foxconn. Although Apple's new high-end Mac Pro line, scheduled for introduction this fall, will apparently be "Designed by Apple in California - Assembled in USA".
Yes, virtually all these devices are all made in Asia, as you say. That's encouraging news about Apple's Mac Pro line. I hope their decision works well and possibly starts a trend. Asia will doubtless always have the bulk of production, but it would be good to have some domestic products - and the jobs that go with them. And the "premium goods, made (or assembled) here, cost more" strategy sounds fine to me. I'll start saving. :smile: Johann
Yeah, you better start now. The recently-discontinued Mac Pro line started at $2,500. The pricing on the new Mac Pro line has not been announced, but there is speculation that it will cost more. Still sound fine ?
If you want to see an objective evaluation of Google Gmail's ad-supported approach, then don't watch this brief video. The video was produced by Microsoft, and it is totally biased in favor of paid ad-less email, as opposed to free ad-supported email. But it's also really funny.
