Whilst scanning through the MSN Australia homepage each day in search of scam ads, I see numerous ads for highly questionable products which are claimed to be “taking Australia by storm” or “flying off the shelves”.
Wow. Breaking sales records in Aloomba which is a whistle stop south of Cairns which was once on the Bruce Goat Track until it was bypassed in the 1960’s, and had a population of some 529 persons at the 2016 Census.
One would think that these clowns would actually check some details regarding the localities before using them in their shonky spiels.
They get your location through your internet (the IT guys could explain how). As we are on satellite NBN, our location keeps changing, so I block requests for my location as it will be wrong. I get on to a shopping site (Bunnings, Ebay etc) and get constant messages that people in (suburb) just bought a (product), or recommending aged care etc in (suburb).
Nothing says “Shonky” like “Must-Have” or “One Weird Thing ..” “Doctors/Power Providers are angry ….” “Neurosurgeons say you must do this …” “Police tell all Seniors to get this …”
At times I can zero in on the “address” they think I am at, in Perth, Western Sydney, rural Victoria; anywhere but the State I am in.
Your location for various WEB sites comes from various sources.
Most smart phones and tablets have GPS receivers, and therefore your exact location is known, and if you allow it, shared with Internet apps.
Search activity is a remembered metric that indicates your general location. ie, in a particular city or town.
And one I had fun with, is the location you can set in applications. When Facebook started bombing me with targetted market place ads, I set my location in my profile to a small town, population around 100 people, in Iceland. No more ads!
My Satellite NBN is going VERY slow. Just checked my location (according to my internet) and it is Badgingarra WA (I am actually in Qld). Some days it is Western Sydney, or rural Vic. So I get adverts for Aged Care in (whatever suburb) and election adverts (when WA was going to the polls), legislation updates, etc. None applicable to me in remote Qld.
