Posted on 11/08/2013 7:43:55 AM PST by upchuck
Google is beta-testing a program that tracks users’ purchasing habits by registering brick-and-mortar store visits via smartphones, according to a report from Digiday.
Google can access user data via Android apps or their Apple iOS apps, like Google search, Gmail, Chrome, or Google Maps.
If a customer is using these apps while he shops or has them still running in the background, Google’s new program pinpoints the origin of the user data and determines if the customer is in a place of business.
Google gets permission to do this kind of tracking when Android users opt in to the “location services” option in their smartphone’s options menu and when iOS users agree to allow “location services” for Google apps like Gmail and Google Maps.
The program was hinted at in an AdWords blog post from Oct. 1 regarding Google’s new “estimated total conversions” initiative. A “conversion” in this sense is a purchase, and Google is developing ways to track users across desktops, tablets, and smartphones. Google also mentioned that tracking conversions via phone calls is in the works, but has yet to release details.
Business Insider has reported on how Google is using cross-device conversion measurements in its war with Facebook for advertising supremacy. When advertisers are allowed to know as much as possible about users’ purchasing habits, they can target their ads more efficiently and reap the benefits. Measuring conversions is also important because it assures advertisers that their purchases are resulting in increased product sales.
Mobile users who search for products on their phones buy quickly after researching them, according to a Google/Nielsen report released on Tuesday. Consumers spend 15+ hours every week researching products, and more than half make their purchase within an hour after looking it up.
My phone,...was cheaper than the replacement battery for my previous phone.
Im always looking to spend money I dont have to spend...
Just make sure never to fill up at home using your home IP address. Do it on the phone.
I pay 32.00 for 3 months (120 minutes). Frugality is a big time virtue!
“Do it on the phone.”
I’ve used payphones (although they’re disappearing) or the “10 minutes free for anyone without signup” at public libraries.
I dropped my land line...which I sense may not have been the smartest idea.
Hubby has been after me to do just that but I won’t agree.
An excellent song from an excellent album.
Sail me away.......
there is no metering of time on landlines....and given that I havent opted for unlimited calls on my cell....it can on occasion get comparatively expensive..
I’m asking for your reasoning.
“Soon, you will have no choice. You will carry an ObamaPhone and you will pay for it whether you like it or not. John Roberts will ok it.”
I’ll get rid of the cell phone first.
I probably don’t get more than 5 calls or make 2 calls a week.
“10 minutes free for anyone without signup at public libraries.”
LOL, I do the same thing too. The L.A. public library has the same set up. The bad part is the homeless bums use the 10 minute for free,no signup kiosks too.
That will not be permitted. "Your phone, please" will replace "your papers, please".
99% of people haven't yet seen the ramifications of it and don't care (”who cares, I got nothing to hide”). By the time 50% see, it'll be too late to turn back...
Yes, there can be the stench of smoke, cheap booze and BO wafting thru the air, especially in the colder months...
I hold my breath hand use copious amounts of Purell.
If the S ever HTF and cell towers go dark, land lines may be the only phones working.
You missed a rather important part of my post in #30:
“I was asked if they could have access to my email address book for the purpose of helping me establish a friends list. I refused that request.”
I refused their request to access my email address book, I did not want them to establish a friends list based on my email addresses.
My point is, they did it anyway. I know of others that have had similar experiences, one with Linkedin.
Regarding my signing up for the service, because of privacy breaches I no longer want anything to do with this new social media.
there are so very many levels of s,,, to htf...I’d like to be covered for all possibiities
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