For Those of You Who are American and Use Facebook

[RickW]

Curiosity question. Do you get a lot of political ads in your feed? And if so, are you seeing more now? Again, I’m not talking about people posting, I’m talking about the ones that say “Sponsored.”

The reason I ask is that a lot of indie authors advertise on Facebook. It’s a big mover as far as book sales go. But there’s always waves of time when it doesn’t work, then it works. One of the reasons given is that during US elections, there’s so much advertising, it increases the cost (it’s basically a bidding system,) and just not enough ad space for small fry like authors to get any traction. Some folks have sworn this is so in previous elections, others say they saw no impact.

Right now, it’s really bad. There have been news stories about how badly screwed up Facebook ads are right now, which is pretty disastrous for not only authors but a lot of other small businesses.

Anyhow was wondering if anecdotally, you folks get a lot of political ads in your feeds, and if it’s increased.

[Dub]

I don’t see political ads but then I use FB very judiciously. I never use their app, only a secure browser. I don’t even keep their app on my devices. When I use FB it’s only to check on specific people, look at any messages and maybe announce a gig. I never use FB as recreation.

[drlj]

I see more ads.
I actually hate FB and I only stay on it for the musicians I follow.
My two sisters, 86 & 90, feel that “The Facebook” is the most important thing in the world and they live on it.
I think they believe those people actually are friends.
I guess they like Cambell’s Soup recipes.

[aquaduct]

I see ads, but then again, the entire modern universe is completely oriented around getting my attention. Fortunately I've got 63 years of not paying attention to much of anything, so it's largely wasted electrons.

And really the best feature of FB is Messenger. Easy way to have conversations with geographically diverse groups like my kids without having to inconvenience anyone by making them answer the phone.

[Cornflake]

I wouldn't say I get a lot of political ads. I get a fair number about our senate race but that's about it.

[Hobson]

My usage is like Dub's. I see ads for lots of things, but very few political ads.

[Marshall]

Ads, ads, and more ads.

Not necessarily political. But there are a bunch of those too. I’d say 40%+ of what’s on the feed is ads. My local musical friends and some family are on it, so I check in often. But it’s a fast scrolling exercise.

Similar I get a lot of news on my Google feed. I can pick and choose what I click on. But once I click on an article, it’s a game of “Whack-a-mole” beating down pop-up ads. Some times it’s a game. Mostly it’s a pain in the ass.

[drlj]

I have been getting lots of pictures of voluptuous young women who want to be my friend.

[Marshall]

Lucky you !

[John B]

I have two ad blockers running: Ad Blocker Plus and uBlock Origin. I must say I rarely see ads on Facebook. More on Instagram, but hardly any on FB. Absolutely no political ads this season, and I was getting 3-4 political texts a day, and our airwaves were flooded (3-4 per commercial break).

If any of you are using the internet without either Ad Blocker Plus or uBlock Origin, I don't know how you can stand it. I get no pop-ups and far fewer ads. None on Reddit, for example. I did give money to Ad Blocker Plus, but otherwise both have free options. I do pay Google $9.99 a month for ad-free YouTube (once again, I have no idea how you stand it otherwise) and it also gives me YouTube Music, which is a fine replacement for Spotify and Apple Music.

[millring]

I don't see political ads at all. What I do see increasingly is unbidden videos, cartoons, and other sponsored ads for things I'm not interested in. But none political.

[RickW]

Interesting. Thanks folks. Coming at it from the side of a seller, it’s tough to figure out what’s actually going on. There’s always someone crying that something’s broken, their ads stopped working. There does seem to be a problem right now, as most of the folks I follow who normally say, “just wait, nothing’s broken, it goes in waves for everyone,” are now saying, “yes, FB has screwed something up.”

I figured if anyone would get political ads, it would be Soundholians. But so much is dependant on what you do on FB, and how they interpret your interests.

[RickW]

May 9, 2024 9:18:32 GMT -5 aquaduct said:

And really the best feature of FB is Messenger. Easy way to have conversations with geographically diverse groups like my kids without having to inconvenience anyone by making them answer the phone.

100 percent. Finally got together a group for our jam, so the organizer can change times and days easily. I have chats with all my kids and wife, and then smaller groups for things like organizing birthdays/christmas, etc. So much easier.

[theevan]

Ads, yes, but none political I can recall. You don't want to know

[RickW]

May 9, 2024 9:56:20 GMT -5 drlj said:

I have been getting lots of pictures of voluptuous young women who want to be my friend.

Youl should check out Threads, Meta’s offering to replace Twitter. I got porn bots follow me every day, showing me voluptuous young ladies in very scanty lingerie.

I remarked to my wife, that if Meta can ban accounts as easily as they do over terms like “guns”, or other implied violence, why can’t they shut down random accounts that show me those kinds of pics? It’s not like they’re hard to spot.

[Cornflake]

Facebook has me pegged as someone who wants to know what John Lennon said in 1971 that irritated Paul Simon. I get incessant posts about rock musicians from the 60s and 70s. I don't know how to tell them that I don't look back on that era with nostalgia.

[millring]

Interesting that you folks even use messenger. It messed up everything when I even tried to use it (once) and sent messages to every one of my 500 friends asking them if they want to connect to me. I haven't touched it since. I can only use the message part of facebook on my PC. On my phone I cannot privately message anyone on facebook. I'm okay with that.

[John B]

May 9, 2024 11:27:05 GMT -5 RickW said:

May 9, 2024 9:56:20 GMT -5 drlj said:

I have been getting lots of pictures of voluptuous young women who want to be my friend.

Youl should check out Threads, Meta’s offering to replace Twitter. I got porn bots follow me every day, showing me voluptuous young ladies in very scanty lingerie.

I remarked to my wife, that if Meta can ban accounts as easily as they do over terms like “guns”, or other implied violence, why can’t they shut down random accounts that show me those kinds of pics? It’s not like they’re hard to spot.

I don't get those on Threads, either. Perhaps the bots are only interested in tall, distinguished-looking gentlemen.

[John B]

May 9, 2024 11:30:25 GMT -5 millring said:

Interesting that you folks even use messenger. It messed up everything when I even tried to use it (once) and sent messages to every one of my 500 friends asking them if they want to connect to me. I haven't touched it since. I can only use the message part of facebook on my PC. On my phone I cannot privately message anyone on facebook. I'm okay with that.

I use Messenger with some family members and some friend groups. I also use it when I've made purchases on FB Marketplace (a couple of guitar pedals). I haven't had any issues with it.

[millring]

May 9, 2024 11:27:55 GMT -5 Cornflake said:

Facebook has me pegged as someone who wants to know what John Lennon said in 1971 that irritated Paul Simon. I get incessant posts about rock musicians from the 60s and 70s. I don't know how to tell them that I don't look back on that era with nostalgia.

I've had the same trouble. Also, somehow facebook got the message that I wanted to watch every basketball video ever created...and every Calvin and Hobbes comic ever drawn. And the perverse thing (that it took me too long to catch on to) is that clicking the button that says "I don't want to see this" (or any other version of trying to delete it) only brings on more. Apparently even saying "no" is an invitation for more.

Somehow, I got on a list of people interested in landscape painting. Those I enjoy, even though I never asked for them. If I had complete control, I wouldn't mind the occasional thing that might interest me. But the way it's headed, it's soon going to be more unsolicited than solicited communication.