Now it's getting weird (lighthearted)

[iklboo]

I was thinking today (that's not the weird bit) of getting an expanding file to sort our paperwork like adults this year for a change. Never uttered a word, haven't spoken to DH or anyone - not even the cats.

I opened google, typed the letter 'E' and the first search suggestions were for expanding files!! They're watching me, aren't they? This isn't a cold I've got - it's a reaction to the chip they've implanted!

That is incredibly weird. Could your DH have thought the same and looked up on his phone recently?

Have you browsed in-person in any stationary shops recently?

Had you just been looking at your online bills on your phone?

I just did the same thing (typed “e” on google) and got “exchange rate for turkish lira” :S Me and DH were looking up package holidays the other night, but not specifically Turkey. Hmm.

I was at my parents and asked them what was in the box they had in their hallway , it was an air fryer for my niece. Low and behold I start to get adverts for air fryers.
They are watching 😵‍💫

When I type "e" I was offered a profile for an American actress I've never heard of or watched anything that she's in.

I get "targeted" ads about random trains. As in random bits of rolling stock, not functional train journeys.

Yeah those ones where its like they are reading your mind are creepy!

The other morning I woke up and it was raining. Opened google to search for the weather and the first suggested line that came up, without me even typing any letters at all yet, was 'weather x village'

Whoever does ads for MN apparently thinks I'm a buyer for a pharmaceutical manufacturer (and that I'm likely to be swayed in my procurement decisions by in-line ads on a conversation about <random shit> that I'm browsing in my spare time). I get ads for things like bulk specialist excipients or tailored liquid subcutaneous delivery mediums.

I mean, yeah, I do take a few meds, but I'm not quite at the stage where I'm looking to set up a niche drug development facility.

And for a while, MN was serving me Nicorette adverts written entirely in lorem ipsum.

No. DH wouldn't think of anything like that

Argh. Pressed send too soon. No looking at stationery shops, no on-line bills, nada. I literally woke up thinking 'we need a folder to organise the paperwork better'

The only think I can think of is that DH bought some glue & modelling paints. That's the nearest to stationery we've been.

I just tried and had type "expanding f" before it suggested expanding file folders! Lots of other expanding stuff after the first few letters

Someone at work was saying they thought they needed to re-do the sealant on their shower this morning (just thought it, didn't say it or search or anything) and then got adverts for shower sealant today!

Those Covid vaccine chips are really efficient!

I saw a lone slider at the beach car park the other day. Next time I went on my Facebook I had ads for this EXACT slider. Same colour, same style, everything. The only word I had said was slider. How it knew exactly which type … I do not know.

Ooh, I’ve had this. Spotted a really obscure plant in a shop, not for sale, just decoration, and it wasn’t that type of shop. I looked at it but didn’t utter a word about it. Opened Facebook later that day and there was an advert for the plant! I was so spooked!

oohh creepy
maybe google can remember all the random shit I think of then promptly forget... that'd be very helpful!

They are not watching you but they are listening. Turn the microphone off on your phones!!

Just noticed you never uttered a word, OP. Ok that’s creepy.

I get

e
ebay
etsy
english to Hindi

My DH and I were talking about a specific garden tile yesterday. Not for us, we aren't looking at the mo, so no internet searches. I mentioned it to a friend on WhatsApp which is supposed to be super encrypted. My FB was full of ads this morning for the specific tile company we mentioned. So either it was listening to our conversation, or trawling WhatsApp.

To an extent they ARE watching you! Not like literally with the cameras (I don't think!) but they do track your location and cross reference with other peoples locations/movements to find similarities in patterns to target ads more efficiently – it’s all much more in depth than most people realise

(a quick google will show this is true and they’re really quite open about it – I’m not some weird conspiracy nut!)

I want to know why I consistently get ads for earwax removal. I don't have a problem with earwax and the ads are disgusting

This happened to me yesterday!
I typed in di and got disco tiles which is what I was thinking about spooky music

As a computer programmer I wish my computer could read my mind. I often sit in front of screen of code and gently ask it "please, please just tell me what are you doing?" 😄

I do get these weird things. Like a FB friend suggestion from a old school friend.

I have never but in my school

I have one school friend who is not friends with this person

I have a made up name on FB so not possible they have searched for me.

No school friends in any if of my contacts

So I'm not convinced they are secretly cruching my big data across various platforms. But again not overly worried. It's terabytes of shite. Which I often feed incorrect data into

This is not targeted advertising based off listening to you, though. This is google organic search pre filling based off millions of data from lots of other people and google using that to make a random suggestion. That data is based off millions/ billions of organic search terms from anonymous users. If you were signed into your google account, it might use slightly more personalised suggestions but it’s still just ultimately using billions of searches to show the most popular searches using auto complete.

support.google.com/websearch/answer/7368877?hl=en

Targeted advertising IS using your phone, email, social media habits and other data to align search terms to adverts.

I got two things I'd searched before (escape rooms and elf memes, living on the wild side here) and the EBay and obvious 'e' sites

i recently saved an item in a wish list on a shopping site.

my work laptop which I never use for personal use had an advert for exactly that item come up.