Thursday, March 12, 2009

Facebook ads: Marketer's paradise, user's hell?

Scanning through some articles about latest Facebook news, I came across something (yet again!) brand new. The recent news is that now Facebook can have ads that target you by language and location. According to the article I read on New York Times, ads targeting languages were not surprising now that Facebook can be used in many languages. However, targeting users with location-specific ads is the more interesting one among two of the updates. With this feature, the advertisers can tap into detailed demographics of the users (if they have provided them) and even have the possibility to introduce hyperlocal ads.  Wouldn't that be marketer's paradise? Would that also be user's paradise? Or not? 
It really depends on how much the user is willing to share. With these new features, it gets harder to maintain your privacy online. Even though there is still the option of opting out, some people will just not bother with it. The ultimate level of interactivity and individualization! Will that add to our Facebook experience as we warmly welcome ads about near-by restaurants, gyms, theaters or cause some people withdraw usage as these ads get too nosy about our lives? Some people really do not want to know or be known about...
There is no way of telling now since the feature can only work in the USA, the UK and Canada.  As Facebook exploits all interactive features of Web 2.0, we can only sit back and see what it will do next.


No comments:

Post a Comment