What's the rational, reasonable explanation for this phenomenon?

[Left Coast]

RF gives me a constant stream of ads. Many of the ads are about products I have put into Google searches.

Tired of Google ads cluttering your screen? Become a RF Premium Member today!

 

[Terry Sampson]

The more friends you have ... the more time you will properly spent on Facebook and the more advertisements you see. That is how the company "Facebook" make money.

Excellent! Thanks! I still hate the list but now I feel like I understand its raison d'être. Nothing I hate worse than hating something I don't understand.

 

[Terrywoodenpic]

most targeted Ads seem to follow a purchase not before one, which seems somewhat pointless to me.
I have never yet bought anything as a result of an online ad.

 

[A Vestigial Mote]

I use Facebook Messenger daily for quick communications to and from a small circle of folks and daily I find a list of "People You May Know." Invariably, I don't know them and/or don't want "to know" them, so I remove them. I've posted an inquiry to the FB folks asking them to cut it out, but I never get a response and everyday, there's a new list of "People You May Know." The daily appearance of the list continues to annoy me and has made me start to wonder if their appearance is a paranormal phenomenon.

Does anyone have a rational, reasonable explanation for it?

View attachment 41883

The algorithms they utilize to establish connection between you and these people likely spider-web out among your current contacts and friends, looking for commonalities between some number of friends, or perhaps even using last name matches or something along those lines. It likely just gets a little too fuzzy to be relevant once your entire core friend set is already your "friend" on FB. The system is just accomplishing the job that the designers and programmers told it to do, and it just does it on everyone's account, without discrimination.

Granted, the reasons behind the design most likely have something to do with some of the things others are mentioning like time you might spend on the site in order to expose you to advertising, and trying to get your roped further into Facebook, etc.

 

[Secret Chief]

RF gives me a constant stream of ads. Many of the ads are about products I have put into Google searches.

Want to stop it? See my post above. Probably the best thing is DuckDuckGo.
Search for it, open the webpage, install it off the webpage to be your search engine. DDG collects no data, stores no history.

Done.

 

[Terry Sampson]

The algorithms they utilize to establish connection between you and these people likely spider-web out among your current contacts and friends, looking for commonalities between some number of friends, or perhaps even using last name matches or something along those lines.

Which reminds me of a concern that I've had when Eastern European names, in English and in Cyrillic letters, have shown up in the "People You May Know" lists that I get. Given public U.S. stories of "Russian-associated" efforts to manipulate or steer American elections, I can't help but wonder who among my FB contacts' Friends of Friends of Friends is or is becoming unwittingly manipulated/steered.

 

[Twilight Hue]

RF gives me a constant stream of ads. Many of the ads are about products I have put into Google searches.

Same here.

 

[Brian2]

I use Facebook Messenger daily for quick communications to and from a small circle of folks and daily I find a list of "People You May Know." Invariably, I don't know them and/or don't want "to know" them, so I remove them. I've posted an inquiry to the FB folks asking them to cut it out, but I never get a response and everyday, there's a new list of "People You May Know." The daily appearance of the list continues to annoy me and has made me start to wonder if their appearance is a paranormal phenomenon.

Does anyone have a rational, reasonable explanation for it?

View attachment 41883

It's mathematics and similar to the spread of the Corona Virus.

 

[George-ananda]

Does anyone have a rational, reasonable explanation for it?

I find it rather odd you would put this in the Paranormal directory. Facebook likes to grow itself so it has computer algorithms to find people you may know because of shared interests and other friends.

I am not understanding why this should cause any consternation on your part.

 

[Polymath257]

If you don't see what a business is selling, then *you* are the product.

How do you think FB makes money?

 

[Terry Sampson]

I find it rather odd you would put this in the Paranormal directory.

Back at'cha. I find it rather odd that you would find it rather odd where I put this thread. But what the hell, ... I put this thread in the Paranormal directory specifically because:

• I didn't know where else to put it;
  
• I didn't understand "Why" the lists continued to show up, given the fact that I never, ever add any of the names on them to my Friends; and
• I considered Facebook's persistence in repeating a daily procedure, ignoring my requests for an explanation of the daily procedure, and ignoring my request for a method to stop it, beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding.
  
• I had a rudimentary understanding of where many of the names on the lists came from: i.e. from Friends of Friends of Friends of ... etc. But what I didn't have was the rationale and reasoning that went into FB's new daily list in spite of my numerous posts to management asking "Why" and asking them how to stop the lists from showing up on my FB. mikkel_the_dane has answered that question to my satisfaction. I'm still annoyed by the lists, but less so now that I understand "why" they keep coming: FB ain't giving up hope that some day I'll click on some of the names and visit more pages and add to FB's revenue.

I am not understanding why this should cause any consternation on your part.

Consternation? What consternation? mikkel_the_dane dispelled my consternation back in Post #4.

.

 

[George-ananda]

Back at'cha. I find it rather odd that you would find it rather odd where I put this thread. But what the hell, ... I put this thread in the Paranormal directory specifically because:

• I didn't know where else to put it;
  
• I didn't understand "Why" the lists continued to show up, given the fact that I never, ever add any of the names on them to my Friends; and
• I considered Facebook's persistence in repeating a daily procedure, ignoring my requests for an explanation of the daily procedure, and ignoring my request for a method to stop it, beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding.
  
• I had a rudimentary understanding of where many of the names on the lists came from: i.e. from Friends of Friends of Friends of ... etc. But what I didn't have was the rationale and reasoning that went into FB's new daily list in spite of my numerous posts to management asking "Why" and asking them how to stop the lists from showing up on my FB. mikkel_the_dane has answered that question to my satisfaction. I'm still annoyed by the lists, but less so now that I understand "why" they keep coming: FB ain't giving up hope that some day I'll click on some of the names and visit more pages and add to FB's revenue.

Consternation? What consternation? mikkel_the_dane dispelled my consternation back in Post #4.

.

Never mind then but I am not sure you understand what 'paranormal' is intended to mean here but it's no biggie to me,

 

[Quagmire]

@Terry Sampson . Most people don't know this but FB now has access to the Multiverse, and in several alternative realites you actually do know those people, and you owe most of them money.

 

[Augustus]

Same here.

Same with everyone because the ads are from Google not RF

 

[Brickjectivity]

I use Facebook Messenger daily for quick communications to and from a small circle of folks and daily I find a list of "People You May Know." Invariably, I don't know them and/or don't want "to know" them, so I remove them. I've posted an inquiry to the FB folks asking them to cut it out, but I never get a response and everyday, there's a new list of "People You May Know." The daily appearance of the list continues to annoy me and has made me start to wonder if their appearance is a paranormal phenomenon.

Does anyone have a rational, reasonable explanation for it?

View attachment 41883

Same here! Its so rare, and someone I know comes up almost never. It reminds me about when I type in a search on Amazon hoping to find something specific but always get other things.

 

[ecco]

Want to stop it? See my post above. Probably the best thing is DuckDuckGo.
Search for it, open the webpage, install it off the webpage to be your search engine. DDG collects no data, stores no history.

Done.

I take a look at it. Thanks.