Now that I’m retired, I’m on my
computer and on the Internet more than ever. I’m increasingly aware of the ads
that appear in the sidebars of browser windows and in some emails. I’ve also
noticed how the content of these ads changes over time.
In the beginning, we were all
getting offers for Viagra, or ones asking if we’d like to enlarge our penis to
improve our sex life. These were dumb on so many counts, the most enormous
being that more than half of the people seeing them don’t have penises. What a
colossal waste of advertising money! Over time, the software companies refined
their placement algorithms (or whatever tool they use) so that those promotions appear mostly for viewers who have an interest in augmenting their equipment.
It didn’t take long for me to
realize that the things I surfed about in researching my blog topics started showing
up in my sidebars and in the banners at the top of the window. They kept
appearing for weeks after I’d looked them up, even though I no longer had any
interest in them. What’s worse, my initial inquiries were solely for the purpose
of the post at hand. I never had any personal plans to wear or buy bow ties,
for instance. I just researched all the various styles for a blog entry about their renaissance.
When we moved into our condominium,
I purchased a MacBook Air, so I’m on my laptop much of the time. My husband
purchased an HP laptop, which turned out to be a lemon. He returned it and
decided to rethink what type of device made sense for him. In the meantime, I
let him use my desktop computer. He’s been spending hours each day searching the
Internet for products for his store.
About a week ago, Jagdish replaced
his defective laptop, so I’m now on my desktop Mac again much of the time. I can
tell which product categories he’s been researching by looking at the ads I’m
getting. While these are a step above Viagra, they’re still for products in
which I have no interest. I should probably consider wearing a Fitbit activity band,
so I know how lazy I am in my new cocoon. But the ads aren’t going to make me
buy one, much less become more active.
Likewise, I’m not excited about singing
bowls, essential oils and gemstones with “special properties.” I must admit,
those ads are a step up from the ones for basement storage shelves. They've
taken over my laptop ever since I looked up those offerings at Home Depot. But
none of these are of interest to me. It dawned on me that they’re not even
visually attractive.
I decided that I needed to take
control of my browser and email screens. I made a list of things that I would
enjoy looking at in those sidebars and banners. Things that were graphically exciting or
that made me feel all warm and fuzzy. Items like freshwater lakes and paisley
prints and perennial flowers of New England. And of course, cats. Then I
Googled them. Every time I found a website with photos I liked, I bookmarked
the page.
Now I’m fine-tuning the process.
For example, PaisleyPrintBoutique.com
seemed like it would have gorgeous photos, but their homepage is loaded with
earrings. Hence, no bookmark. The blog ThreadsofHistory
probably won’t help with my browser ads, but I bookmarked that one anyway.
“Musings and tidbits on textile design and creation, from prehistory to the
modern day” is SO in my wheelhouse. The author stopped posting in 2010, but
there are dozens of entries for me to read when we’re snowed in this winter.
Another site mentioned textile
print blocks, so I searched on that and turned up some interesting graphics on woodprintblocks.com worth bookmarking.
This in turn led to block printing, but that was a visual dead end. By now, I’m
sure you get the idea.
For the process to work
effectively, I need to visit each of the sites I’ve marked just before I shut
down my browser each day. That flags those sites as most recent and also as
frequently visited, which moves them up in the ad hierarchy. It also puts a smile on my face as I log off. I’m still figuring
out how many of my selected sites I need in order to shut out the ads I don’t
want to see. This plan is, after all, a work in progress.
But that’s one of the great things
about being retired. At this stage of my life, just about everything is a work
in progress. Especially me.
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