I've discussed before how much Beacon, Facebook's targeted-ad initiative, drives me nuts, but I assumed that after Mark Zuckerberg's speech that things were going to change for the better.
by POPSUGAR Tech
I've discussed before how much Beacon, Facebook's targeted-ad initiative, drives me nuts, but I assumed that after Mark Zuckerberg's speech that things were going to change for the better. Maybe not: When the associate editor of Valleywag.com recently changed his profile to "engaged," he had no idea that Facebook would start spamming him with ads. He quickly did the math and realized that his fiancée had registered them on The Knot.com, which just so happens to be a Beacon partner.
Although she opted not to have ads sent to their Facebook friends, Beacon is still tracking their every move on the site (see exhibit A above). Here's his hilarious summary about the situation: "Facebook, you might want to know I'm not an American Express cardholder. And also, I'm not going to buy that dress. Oh, and one more thing? How hard could it have been for American Express, your partner in advertising bliss, to check off "female" on this order form? Answer: Not very. Next time, try a coupon for discount tux rentals at Men's Wearhouse." On that note, have another look at the entire list of corporations partnered with Facebook's Beacon.
