This is, really, a pretty obvious fact. Pretty much all personal information on Facebook is volunteered by users who, to a certain point, get a little bit more value the more they put in: they get to share with friends.
People put in photos to share them. People update their status to share it with friends. People add contact information, create events, and share links because it’s easier than sending out three hundred emails or trying to stay in touch about every little thing over the phone. They get the value of easy information sharing.
But that value doesn’t really apply to the data that is most valuable for ad targeting: interests. (Incidentally, FB should consider tapping into the data from apps like Visual Bookshelf, in exchange for sharing the ad revenue). I don’t think I’ve updated my interests in ages.
I threw them up there when I first signed up for Facebook, and pretty much haven’t touched them since. Why should I? It’s definitely an incomplete list, but I don’t really care.
This is a problem for Facebook. How can they encourage people to share good targeting data? (hint: the answer isn’t “promise better ads if you post more interests”)
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