How much does TubeNet know about my activities?

[hup_d_dup]

A few minutes ago I was browsing websites that sell engraved crystal presentation awards. Next, I came to TubeNet and there appeared in the right hand panel an advertisement for "Crystal Glass & Custom Awards, Free Engraving" from FineAwards.com. I'm guessing that FineAwards.com is not a regular TubeNet advertiser.

Does TubeNet know all the websites I visit?

Hup.

[tubaguy9]

TubeNet knows all!

[contraddictions88]

I'm not a big computer dork but my guess would be that the adds run logarithms to look up previously viewed sites. It isn't tubenet, its the add companies. As soon as my Facebook changed to being engaged I had advertisements about honeymoons, wedding shows, etc. show up in the advertisements. Since I just graduated college I often see stuff about going to grad school.

[sousaphone68]

When you look at the users on line at the bottom you often see Google Adsense bot which I think maybe responsible for some of your personalized ads and that old favorite cookies.
The ads have been discussed in the feedback forum interesting reading
viewtopic.php?f=7&t=48448" target="_blank

[sailn2ba]

It's not Tubenet (We're mercifully behind the times). It's your browser. This is only one of the scary things that the current privacy broohaha is all about.
There are a number of REAL vulnerabilities involved here.

[Michael Bush]

Heh. Some people have had the privilege of complaining about much more interesting ads than that!

I use Firefox with this http://www.ghostery.com and see no Google ads at all. (I have it set to allow the Amazon and sponsor ads.) Sean is missing no income from this blockage, because I never click Google ads anyway, no matter how alluring.

[Dan Schultz]

I'm not a big computer dork but my guess would be that the adds run logarithms to look up previously viewed sites....

I'm not the TubeNet police but I've never heard of logarithms being used in that manner. Shouldn't that word have been Algorithms?

I would guess that it's those 'tracking cookies' on your computer causing targeted ads to appear in the margin on TubeNet. TubeNet knows nothing. But.... your computer does!

[Dan Schultz]

Possibly most accurately, they should be referred to as buy-o-rhythms.

+1

[Tom Coffey]

We got rhythms,
We got rhythms.
Who could ask for anything more...

[hup_d_dup]

I would guess that it's those 'tracking cookies' on your computer causing targeted ads to appear in the margin on TubeNet. TubeNet knows nothing. But.... your computer does!

OK, so I see that most of the ads in the right column have some relationship to tubas, or musical instruments, or music. I assume that TubeNet gets a fee for these displays. But why does TubeNet allow an ad for a company that it knows nothing about, except that I have visited their website recently? How can TubeNet monetize that display ad?

By the way, after refreshing the TubeNet page a couple of dozen times, I see that several other ads have come up that have nothing to do with TubeNet but are related to other URLs I have previously visited.

Hup.

[Dan Schultz]

.... By the way, after refreshing the TubeNet page a couple of dozen times, I see that several other ads have come up that have nothing to do with TubeNet but are related to other URLs I have previously visited. Hup.

I think you've answered your own question.

[bisontuba]

You mean this Tubenet or the clone Tubenet...........

[bort]

[hup_d_dup]

I think you've answered your own question.

Well, I had a couple of questions. But I don't know the answer to this one:

How can TubeNet monetize that display ad?

I assume TubeNet wants money for displaying that ad. How do they get payment from a company with which they apparently have had no previous contact?

[cmmalone]

I assume TubeNet wants money for displaying that ad. How do they get payment from a company with which they apparently have had no previous contact?

Sean doesn't get money from the flower shop. Sean gets money from Google Adsense or some other (or multiple other) middle man. That middle man service is who is tracking you through cookies and who is deciding which ads are best to show you in order to maximize the return to their advertisers. Their advertisers choose to spend their money with Google Adsense because Google is good at tracking you and showing you ads that are more likely interesting to you. Part of that is showing Tuba-related ads on a tuba site. But part of that is also tracking what other sites you see ads on to know what you like and giving you ads about that.

The whole mess right now is coming about because cookies are only supposed to be allowed for the site you're visiting. But you're not visiting the ad site. You're visiting Tubenet who is shoving content from the ad site into its page. Some browsers have protections against the ad site writing cookies when you visit a site that embeds their content. Google (and probably other advertisers) do their best to work around this to track you so they can target their ads better. Information is money.

If this freaks you out, turn cookies off. Though cookies are being replaced by a different local storage mechanism so that may not fully protect you.

I can't believe this is my first post to Tubenet...

- Chad

[hup_d_dup]

Chad, thank you!

It finally makes sense.

Hup.

[Dan Schultz]

I assume TubeNet wants money for displaying that ad. How do they get payment from a company with which they apparently have had no previous contact?

Sean doesn't get money from the flower shop. Sean gets money from Google Adsense or some other (or multiple other) middle man...
- Chad

It may not even be a matter of money transfer. When you put up a forum, someone has to pay for bandwidth, administration, etc. Take a look at the Yahoo Forums. They are free but are financed by ads.

We are paying for the entire Internet by virtue of the advertising that's shoved into our faces. I think I would rather have it this way than to pay for all the services that I'm currently using for free.

[Rick Denney]

Chad, thank you!

It finally makes sense.

Hup.

And to further explain, the ads along the right are Google ads, placed their by Google at the time you load the page, not by this site's owner or his software. The ads at the top of the page are Tubenet sponsors.

Rick "who uses Firefox with ad-block" Denney

[Tom Coffey]

I only understand the general outlines of this discussion, not having grown up with computers. Why is it a good idea to store no documents, pictures and no music on an internet-connected computer? Even if cookies show where we surf, that doesn't allow anyone to get at the contents of the computer, does it?
I think anyone like me, typing a message to Tubenet on the office computer, does this everyday.

[Dan Schultz]

.... Bloke "A computer is much more than a TV and a typewriter."

When mine's closed, it works as a snack tray, too!