Tech companies know everything about me – so why do they try to sell me so much rubbish? | Joel Snape
No, Amazon, I do not want to buy another version of the thing I just bought, or any other random object I don’t recognise or understand We live, as I’m sure someone’s chief growth officer has recently boasted on an earnings call, in a golden age for data capture. Jeff Bezos knows what I buy, read and watch; Mark Zuckerberg will be aware that I recently sold a car transport box for a medium-sized…
In the current era of extensive data collection, tech giants Amazon, Facebook, and Netflix possess an incredible amount of personal information about their users. Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, and other industry leaders are undoubtedly well aware of their customers' purchasing habits, reading preferences, and even certain aspects of their personal lives. This wealth of data has led to a phenomenon where ads presented to consumers often fail to match their actual interests or needs.
For instance, even after reading multiple books, Amazon continues to bombard me with advertisements for best-selling fantasy trilogies, regardless of my lack of interest in such genres. Similarly, Netflix's algorithm, despite knowing my past preferences, frequently suggests the stage-play adaptation of Stranger Things, a show I previously dismissed after only one season.
Amazon's advertising strategy doesn't seem to improve, as it repeatedly pushes products that I've just purchased, suggesting that their predictive algorithms have yet to perfect their accuracy.
Even platforms like Reddit and X, which should be well-versed in their users' interests, present me with software products that I neither understand nor desire. This raises the question: Given the vast trove of personal data these companies have access to, why are they persisting in selling me products I have no interest in?
Written by urgent.news from Guardian Business's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — it may contain errors, so check the original before relying on it.
