In the clutches of the algorithm

[Wood and Wire]

Often, my house mate (ex-girlfriend) will get ads for stuff I have been looking at, or talking about, on her phone. Also happens the other way around. For some reason it often ends up on the wrong device.

The tracking software just looks at your IP address, and targets that.

Having two separate lines, with two separate routers, and two separate contracts, would be an expensive solution.

Alternatively, look at a VPN, and additionally, suck up the massive PITA that is clearing all your browsers cookies, and then setting browser permissions, and objecting to advertising / tracking cookies on every website you visit.

This is the cost of "free" services, like Facebook, Amazon, Reverb, forums etc.

 

[VoodooJazz]

I bought an HX Stomp for around $475 last year, which I used to play two months of church services at $150 per service. I paid myself back for it in four weeks.

Wait — You guys get PAID to play at church services? (I truly had no idea.). I’m now rethinking my retirement scenario…

 

[VoodooJazz]

The hunting gear seems to be part of the game. If I wasted all that time spent on the prowl with practice, I'd be way too good for the bands I'm in and that would make everyone unhappy.

THAT, my friend, is a TB quote for the ages.

 

[red_bassist]

Synth pop or prog epic?

Technical deathcore or jazz

 

[mapadofu]

Why choose?

Epic progressive pop seems like a cool idea to me

 

[ClusterFlux]

And oh, do they have me down. It’s getting cleverer and cleverer… basically everything they show me triggers some sort of “want”. The music gear marketing skynet knows exactly what I like.

Ehh, seems a bit clumsy to me. It isn't exactly rocket science for Google to put ads for music equipment in front of someone who is searching Google for music equipment, posts to a bass web forum, and sends emails from his Gmail account discussing music equipment.

 

[mapadofu]

I just got served an ad in Spanish; I don’t speak Spanish.


However, I have noticed times that advertisements for food will affect me; I see an ad in the afternoon for tacos, I’ll have a hankering for tacos for dinner. I suspect that there are other motivations being triggered that I’m less aware of.

 

[NewKid1011]

tl;dr - As marketing improves, and various algorithms learn more about me and what will attract me, I am losing my mind with desire for things and stuff. It didn't used to be like this.

Ads for shiny musical things are constantly paraded before me, wherever I go.

And oh, do they have me down. It’s getting cleverer and cleverer… basically everything they show me triggers some sort of “want”. The music gear marketing skynet knows exactly what I like.

I further feed it by hovering over things too long. By clicking things. Occasionally buying the thing.

It didn’t used to be like this!

I was happy with what I had. I was most concerned with playing and composing, not gear.

I very rarely looked into getting something new.

This morning, I woke up and looked at my web browser. I had 20 tabs of octave fuzzes teed-up.

20. Tabs. Of octave fuzzes.

I don’t need an octave fuzz.

10 years ago, I had maybe 5 pedals. And I was perfectly happy.

I now have somewhere in the neighborhood of 45 pedals. How did this even happen?

I think about it and realize something is off. It feels like the behavior of a brainless bird attracted to collecting shiny things.

It also makes me feel like a prey animal. To marketers, I sort of am. The digital hunter/predators have learned my habits. They know what works. They lay the right shiny bait out just when and where I’ll find it.

I feel like I need to consciously work to reverse this. To bust myself out of the music gear marketing matrix.

Anyone else feeling a bit like this?

It sounds like you’re caught in a bad habit and not really the algorithm. Your only hope is to replace it with a better habit - like learning to sight read or learn a new song.

This is what I tell myself every day. Also, coming here doesn’t help but it is satisfying.