The Boston Diaries

The ongoing saga of a programmer who doesn't live in Boston, nor does he even like Boston, but yet named his weblog/journal “The Boston Diaries.”

Go figure.

Tuesday, November 14, 2017

My­Face­Google­LinkedBook­Plus­In­Space is stalking me

I was a bit surprised to see an ad for the ceramic Department 56 National Lampoon Christmas Vacation The Griswold Family Tree on Face­Google­Linked­MySpace­Book­Plus­In. It was surprising because yesterday, Bunny came across a picture of an inflatable National Lampoon Christmas Vacation The Griswold Family Tree and was threatening her brother with it. She did a search and found the one on Amazon and sent her brother the link.

Now, why would I be getting the ad on Linked­My­Face­GoogleIn­Space­Book­Plus? Is Face­Google­Linked­MyBook­Plus­In­Space listening in to us via our phones? Does the NSA have a sideline of selling information to advertisers to help their bottom line? Is Linked­My­Face­GooglePlus­In­Space­Book psychic (or psychotic—could go either way)?

No. It's just simple tracking via the web [“Simple,” he says. Ha! —Editor].

Bunny did a search for the Griswold Family Tree (or something along those lines) and some of the resulting pages she visited included bits of of HTML or Javascript or images that said “person from such-n-such IP address did a search for this.” And some of that tracking is either done directly by Google­Linked­My­FacePlus­In­Space­Book or is sold to them. Bunny does not have a Linked­My­Face­GoogleSpace­Book­Plus­In account (she did at one point, several years ago, for all of five hours) but that doesn't mean Face­Google­Linked­MyPlus­In­Space­Book doesn't keep track of her. They do.

But what does that have to do with me?

Well, I do have a My­Face­Google­LinkedIn­Space­Book­Plus account. And Google­Linked­My­FacePlus­In­Space­Book knows I log in from the same IP address that did a search for “The Griswold Family Tree” and while I may not have been the one that did the search (since the search wasn't tied to an account—and just because I'm not logged in doesn't mean Linked­My­Face­GoogleIn­Space­Book­Plus can't track my viewing habits on the web), I did come from an IP address that did! And thus, I too, might be interested in the ceramic Department 56 National Lampoon Christmas Vacation The Griswold Family Tree.

No, not really.

Obligatory Picture

[The future's so bright, I gotta wear shades]

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