How strongly I recommend it: 9/10
(See my list of book notes, for more.)
Go to the Amazon page for details and reviews.
Tim paints a dreary picture for advertisers and businesses who advertise. Rampant with fraud and deceit, online advertising is the last wild-wild west.
Tim references some starling stats that jolt you awake especially if you work in media buying.
My notes
Tim writes, “the online attention marketplace that underwrites the internet might have inherited not only the structure of modern financial markets but the pathologies of those markets…”
“By 2021, spending on PMPs [private marketplaces] is projected to exceed spending in open exchanges by more than $2 billion.” Source.
People ignore ads more than before and it’s increasing. Plus there are ad blockers (more popular amongst younger individuals).
“A study conducted by Adobe in 2018 concluded that about 28 percent of website traffic showed “non-human signals,” indicating that it originated in automated scripts or in click farms.” Source.
Tim makes a compelling argument that an “advertising-driven online economy relies on effectively invading the privacy of consumers” (aka “surveillance capitalism.”)
There is a popular saying, “if you don’t know what the product is, you are the product.” This is often used in conversations regarding Facebook.
Tim points out the lack of an independent institution to act as a counterweight. Maybe something similar to the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER).
“Opacity allows for bad behavior on the part of conflicted players and creates uncertainty about what information is reliable.”
Go to the Amazon page for details and reviews. See my list of book notes, for more.