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OT: my email...big brother?

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Posted 5/20/2008 12:38 PM (GMT 0)
Can anyone tell me why the advertisements on my email (which happens to be a gmail account) are always something related to IBD? I use that email exclusively to talk to folks with Crohn's, and just recently noticed all the advertisements are about diarrhea, constipation, and specific Crohn's medications. Anyone else notice this? I find it kind of creepy. Do they have software that reads my messages looking for key words.....or am I just paranoid? eyes
Posted 5/20/2008 1:37 PM (GMT 0)
E mom, your not paranoid. When you do searches you leave cookies that tell your interests. I'm not real computer savvy but I think you need a program to block unwanted mail. Hope someone more in the know can answer this ? better than I.
Posted 5/20/2008 2:08 PM (GMT 0)
I'm not actually receiving emails with advertisements, but rather there are advertisements along the page (sides and top), much like here on this forum. But I suppose it still could be related to searches as you said, Sniper.

Maybe it's simply because I have this email address here on the HW Crohn's forum.....?
Posted 5/20/2008 3:16 PM (GMT 0)
Actually gmail scans the contents of your messages and places targeted ads. This was a "big deal" a few years ago when gmail first started--some people felt it was an invasion of privacy. But it's an automatic filter and there is no actual person reading your e-mail.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/3602745.stm
Posted 5/20/2008 4:51 PM (GMT 0)
Yes, Illini is correct. I have a gmail account also, and it does the same thing. It told me about it when I signed up, but I can't remember if there is a way to turn it off....probably not, but you could try by going in under your profile, or contacting them.
Posted 5/20/2008 7:03 PM (GMT 0)
Interestingly, I have a Gmail account and I don't get any advertisements whatsoever. I do use Linux (and thus, no Internet Explorer) so perhaps that has something to do with it, but I'm not sure. I have several browsers, and with some of them I get a message saying that I'm using an "unsupported browser", but that may be a blessing since that automatically puts me into "HTML-only" mode which turns off some of Gmail's unneeded "features".

best regards,
Robert
Posted 5/20/2008 8:01 PM (GMT 0)
This happens to me on myspace too. Illini got it right. Someone did a paper about it in my class actually.
Posted 5/20/2008 10:19 PM (GMT 0)
yahoo does it too. all my banner ads are about health, yoga, or middle-aged women stuff!
Posted 5/20/2008 10:46 PM (GMT 0)
... Better than the e-mails I get.... Really, I think people just try to spam you with anything and everything...



I get emails about natural male enhancement pretty often...



*... I'm female. :P... It's funny... I have a male friend who gets emails about breast enhancements, too...*
Posted 5/20/2008 10:48 PM (GMT 0)
Wow....thanks everyone! ...I do feel a little violated... scool

I'm sure, as chroniemom said, there was something when I signed on that told me about it. I probably just forgot!
Posted 5/20/2008 11:17 PM (GMT 0)
I get something similar- all my pages have wedding related ads as I've recently registered with theknot and David's Bridal!
Posted 5/21/2008 5:13 AM (GMT 0)
EMom, I don't blame you for feeling violated.

I think it would also be hard, emotionally, to know that even an automatic web-reader has defined us by our illness, no matter how hard we've tried to be "normal".

:-/

I.
Posted 5/21/2008 12:43 PM (GMT 0)
Get them on Yahoo as well ...

LYN
Posted 5/21/2008 7:39 PM (GMT 0)
worry about it when the computer itself starts thinking on it's own....

for now, it's a computer reading your emails, not a person. besides, wouldn't you rather get demographically-targeted ads than ads that are destined for "everyone"
Posted 5/21/2008 8:43 PM (GMT 0)
I have a friend who said he figured I had Crohn's (he knew it was something) because when he'd view my MySpace page he'd get Crohn's ads.  Now that one freaked me out a bit!  I am not sure i get the logic, but I know he was not making that up!
Posted 5/22/2008 4:19 AM (GMT 0)
See EMom, now you know your not paranoid about Gmail,, you can find real things to be paranoid about. I think my doctors laugh at me while playing golf.
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