Rating Facebook ads

Have you noticed the little ‘thumbs up’ and ‘thumbs down’ icons underneath those ads that appear (in new-look Facebook) along the right hand side of your screen?
Facebook allows you to rate these adverts, as shown in the text of the popup displayed below:

Tell us what you think

Why didn’t you like this ad?

Choose reason:
Misleading
Offensive
Pornographic
Uninteresting
Irrelevant
Repetitive
Other

Thanks for your feedback. Over time, this information helps us deliver more relevant ads to our users.

I have been studiously grading the adverts I get over the past few days, marking almost all of them as either ‘uninteresting’ or ‘irrelevant’, and actually, the amount of ads I’m now seeing for ‘miracle diets’ (wow, there’s an incredible range of insane diets out there!) , debt management companies, ‘free’ stuff, ways to live like a celebrity, fundraising as a mother (why that one for me? I don’t have kids, unless I’ve got really impressive amnesia), local foods in Birmingham, floristry courses at Bournville College, ways to fix bad credit ratings, credit card offers, accident compensation claims companies, and teeth whitening gels seems to be dropping off slightly.

But only slightly. I’m still seeing the same ads that I’ve graded as either ‘uninteresting’ or ‘irrelevant’ reappearing in the ad area. So what exactly are Facebook doing with my feedback?

Oh, wait, I’ve just noticed…now I have an advert for an “all natural loss product”…with no thumbs to rate it. I think Facebook has made a decision for me on what I really find irrelevant and uninteresting….

Author: Jennie

Law, libraries, books, crafts, and general geekery. View all posts by Jennie