Google Now pimpin' businesses now?

[gtbarry]

I don't drive along and look at google now often. But today I was riding shotgun while a friend was driving and I got this:



Now, I am not naive enough to believe that google and google now don't push/highlight paid messages as part of their services. But this just seems pretty blatant.

(FYI, I have never searched Big Lots to my knowledge. And I can recall the last time I walked into one was well over a year ago.)

 

[dvhttn]

What hacks me off about your post is the temperature there. 40 deg. F warmer than over here .... aaarrrggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Dave

 

[LeoRexus]

It could be related to a recent Google search he did... it kind of blurs the line a little as far as ads go, but it is supposed to be content based on a search that was done.

 

[Davdi]

The ads annoy me too, when I've bought something online (It doean't matter who from), I get ads for the exact same product or service for the nexy hour or so. Why advertize something I've just bought, it's not like I'm about to buy another.

 

[gtbarry]

What hacks me off about your post is the temperature there. 40 deg. F warmer than over here .... aaarrrggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Dave

You're in the UK, you will never have these temperatures.

Did you know on a clear day you can see from London all the way to Paris? (Feel free to tell people that. They will never be able to prove you wrong.)

 

[gtbarry]

It could be related to a recent Google search he did... it kind of blurs the line a little as far as ads go, but it is supposed to be content based on a search that was done.

Can't recall a single search related to "Big lots" or "bulk purchases" etc. I have done in the last month. I shop at Amazon and costco 90% of the time, and I don't search for/on costco.com - I just drive there.

I guess what you are pointing out makes me think I wouldn't mind if a card was directly or tangentially related to something I searched. This one just seems like it came up cause they were an advertiser and had no relevance to me.

(Overall, I don't care. I can swipe the card away easily. Just seems like a very non-contextual ad for google to give me.)

 

[funkylogik]

Yeah im totally fine with being advertised to if its "paying" for a great service as long as the ads are TARGETED at my interests and needs :thumbup:
I dont wana see random crap

 

[electricpete]

So the op's objection is that the ad is not contextual enough?

That's simply hilarious. Most of the time I hear people complaining about the opposite - they don't like when google examines their searches, email, location, circles etc (depending on privacy settings) to develop targeted ads. Now we have someone complaining that Google isn't doing a good enough job of snooping their personal preferences to determine what ads they should see. (sorry if I'm misunderstanding but that's what I understood your complaint to be).

Guess the big G will always be p*ssing somebody off/

 

[funkylogik]

Nothing google can learn from my searches hurts me. Ive got nothing to hide. I hapily pay for their services by letting them "snoop" but i expect them to use that info to target me properly. No horrible tacky ads for "hot teens in your area" lol (unless thats what im interested in of course)

 

[gtbarry]

So the op's objection is that the ad is not contextual enough?

That's simply hilarious. Most of the time I hear people complaining about the opposite - they don't like when google examines their searches, email, location, circles etc (depending on privacy settings) to develop targeted ads. Now we have someone complaining that Google isn't doing a good enough job of snooping their personal preferences to determine what ads they should see. (sorry if I'm misunderstanding but that's what I understood your complaint to be).

Guess the big G will always be p*ssing somebody off/

My overall all point is that ads will be served to me regardless. Therefore, please make them relevant.

 

[electricpete]

I'm with you. Your complaint is a more logical one than the opposite one (that google shouldn't be trying to figure us out). But somehow I always hear about the opposite complaint... those folks are more vocal.

No offense intended. Your post just got me thinking about the irony.