Misc. Ramblings

It seems that we are hit by so many ads that most times we don't even notice them. But sometimes we do.

For example, I went to a news site recently to read a story about a judge who will rule on a case in which his or her recent pay raise is the issue in dispute. That's an interesting situation because it appears to be a conflict of interest.

But what caught my eye was an ad that the news site was serving. First, let me say that I realize that web pages can be created that are tailored, in one way or another, to the individual viewing the page. I think the best known examples are Google ads that appear based on the terms you are searching on.

So, I guess I shouldn't be surprised that at least one other site seems to be keying in on who you are by, I think, parsing your domain in the hope of selling you something. The ad below is the one that appeared on the site:

The ad is for a national chain of electronics super stores that recently opened in Hawaii. I have to give them credit for tailoring the ads such that it is at least geographically relevant. In fact, the ad is also relevant to me because of my interest in electronics (though, I assume, they have no direct way of knowing that). So full marks for that.

But I'm troubled by the ad for two reasons. The first is the phrase "Experience a luau of the latest technology." Perhaps I'm overly sensitive, but I don't appreciate mainland chains coming here and acting as if they are kama'aiana (literally, child of the land or island). In my opinion, it is rather presumptuous to assume you fit in just because you throw a Hawaiian word into your ad. I mean, if I went to parts of Los Angeles and tried throwing out Spanish phrases I might have my head handed to me in pretty quick order.

The second problem I have is I think it's a little creepy to tailor ads. I like to think the Internet is a vast anonymous sea. While I realize this isn't necessarily true, and becoming less so everyday, nonetheless my privacy is something I take seriously. So I don't appreciate sites trying to figure out who I am so that they can sell more goods or services.

Oh well, as I said, maybe I'm just overly sensitive about these things.