Why Gay Men Are Worth So Much To Facebook 270
Barence writes "PC Pro has a feature on how social networks sold your privacy, which includes some interesting comparisons on the value of different demographics to Facebook. For example, an advert that targets everyone within a 10-mile radius of a medium-sized British town (Dorking) is valued at 28p per click by Facebook's advertising tool. However, targeting single gay men in the area with a preference for nightclubbing raises the price to 71p per click — 2.5x the price of targeting the general public. Such precise targeting also raises other issues. Whittling down ads to target such precise demographics can result in ads targeting as few as 20 people, making it theoretically possible to identify those targeted. 'I think the worst scenario might be where someone who hates gays uses Facebook's targeting to identify gay users and later attack them,' says Paul Francis, scientific director of the Max Planck Institute for Software Systems."
Re:What about ladyboys/shemales? (Score:5, Funny)
Wait, wait, let me get this right (Score:5, Funny)
Paul Francis, uh, "scientific" director of the Max Planck Institute for Software Systems, has figured out that if I choose to declare that I'm gay on my public Failbook profile, then people can use that information to determine my sexuality?
Whoa, that's some cutting edge research there. Thanks for looking out for me, Paul.
Because they're fabulous? (Score:5, Funny)
Page 3 before gay men are even mentioned and that's the headline? I'm not even going to bother making an on topic post.
Re:Don't want to be targeted? (Score:5, Funny)
Don't want to be targeted? Don't use Facebook
and don't live in a town called Dorking.
Re:What about ladyboys/shemales? (Score:5, Funny)
You'll have to excuse Slashdot, you have to understand that to many of us a shemale is uncomfortably close to a transporter accident, so it's bothering us at a primal geek level.
Re:Wait, wait, let me get this right (Score:5, Funny)
Gay men and iDevices (Score:0, Funny)
You need to stop perpetuating that hurtful stereotype. Just because I like men doesn't mean I don't like digital freedom.
Dammit (Score:5, Funny)
I knew something was odd about that add for a Gay Male who finished school in '95 in the small town of Skibbereen working as a barista in Starbucks in Blackrock, with horn rim glasses and wearing a hoodie currently typing on ... aaaarrrrgggggggggg
Damn it, Bob, you got it totally wrong! (Score:2, Funny)
Signed, MZ.
Re:Wait, wait, let me get this right (Score:4, Funny)
Sweet jesus, if that's really how hard they party, I need more gay friends.
"Guys, I think we really gotta take it down a notch. This is the third time this month we've woken up, hung over, on Sunday morning in Mogadishu. It's fun, but this walk of shame is killing me."
Re:What about ladyboys/shemales? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Wait, wait, let me get this right (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Wait, wait, let me get this right (Score:4, Funny)
I'm throwing my ticket money at the computer screen right now. WHY WON'T YOU TAKE IT?