Messing with the Algorithm

Today was Prime delivery day. It is funny how much I look forward to it. Having a stack of packages delivered does not happen every week. I am working on my self control and my budget in these inflation-aware times. Still, in all my little experiments with leading a satisfying existence there does come occasion more frequently than I care to admit where I do online shopping for things other than ridiculously expensive pens. 

Incidentally, I really do like the pen. I have written a surprising amount with it. I can even say that I like it more than that particular $59. If you don't know what I am talking back read in my archives. If you want to know more about that standby for a post at a later date. 

The interesting thing that I have found is that the shopping spyware built into our phones and internet browsers is smart but not that smart. Facebook sold me on both my expensive writing utensil and a Lochby brand of journal. I hate calling it a journal. Even though I purchased it with a dotted kraft notebook, what I was really buying there was the waxed canvas journal cover. That isn't the point. The point is that the same algorithm that was smart enough to know I was shopping for an alternative to my Moleskine planner and lead me to the Lochby solution, which I oddly appreciate, was not smart enough to stop advertising the same product to me after I purchased it last year. 

I still get regular adverts for the exact same Lochby journal cover. I bought that pen. The pen is still very much in my feed. Now, credit to the spymasters of social media. They have sold me a couple of things. Apparently they want me to buy a $100 device that allows me to create music. That is a huge fail. I am fairly boring when it comes to gadgetry. I also have sad, white-boy rhythm and am in now way musically inclined despite my love of music. 

All of that got me thinking about how simplistic the information gathering technology must be. They use tracking cookies to gather where I go and what I am browsing focusing particularly on things that relate to broad thematic interests in my shopping. Smart to be able to do that, I have to admit. It is not very nuanced. That makes me want to see how wild I can get my social media advertising to go. 

Now, I am stuck with some limits. I am sure if I ordered a 50 gallon drum of sex lubricant that the algorithm would go wild. There are two problems here. One, I lack the willingness to devote storage space to a 50 gallon drum of lubricant. Two, even an inexpensive 50 gallon drum of sex lubricant is quite costly. I don't know how dungeons turn a profit these days. I mean, really! I can buy quirky things and produce some limited result. 

While not quirky, an obvious example happened quickly on Instagram as a result of buying a small stack of 'self help' books. I really want to call them more 'personal growth,' as the genre. Having worked in various bookstores over the years I know where they would be shelved. I ordered a stack on Amazon, not an uncommon practice for me since I am an avid reader. When I logged in to Instagram, which is just a wasteland of egirls and onlyfans advertisements with the rare but valuable post from a friend I actually care about, there was a few follow suggestions for accounts which post suggested reads in the 'inspirational,' and 'self help,' categories. This was clever and a bit subtle. Probably much less so than how I started following a few dozen professional cosplayers, but then again I am a sucker for comic book and animated characters brought to life. I should relabel my Instagram name to LookingAtBooksandBoobs.

Anyway, I also need tires on my car. Last time I got them they were about $450 for a set all around. Shopping even at my go to inexpensive spot I am looking at about $900 for a good set of tires. That is a stupid increase. To screw with the algorithm I decided I would browse through new rims as well. I learned two things. I don't have a clue how to pick out nice rims if I were serious about buying them. I also was rewarded for the five minutes of clicking aimlessly by new adverts on Facebook for rims. Now we have a simple proof of concept. 

The rotation seems to be pretty simple. The more of a product that I have looked at the heavier it invades my feed. 5.11 tactical basically lives there because of my bag problem. They completely misfire the product offering typically showing me shoes or pants that 5.11 doesn't carry in my size. Not that I would spend that type of money on pants or that type of shoes in the first place. The journals and pens make sense based on my Amazon shopping for refills and Schneider pens. Now I have brought tires and rims into the game. 

Which is when I doubled down on experimentation with a purpose. I have been really frustrated with my blanket situation for quite a while. I am a strange sleeper. I don't really sleep under a comforter. Oh, I have a bunch of them. They live on the bed one or two at a time as dressing and padding for my mattress. I should have replaced the bed years ago. 

I like to sleep under a lightweight blanket in all but the coldest days of the year where I might burrow under a comforter as well. Last year as I was working on my camping gear I fell in love with woobie blankets. They are basically sized as for a one size fits all poncho liner, but can double as a blanket or sleeping bag. They pack up compact and are a wonderful addition to a camping trip. I liked them so much I have 4 of them. 

The problem with those blankets is that they tend to run short for me. Actually, I am the abnormally tall person. The blanket is perfectly sized for someone of 'normal' height and weight. Sadly, if I cover up my feet the blanket stops at my armpits. If I want to snuggle it up over my ears, my feet are exposed to the ankle. This is how I ended up with 4 varieties of this blanket. Two of them are identical. One is slightly taller, it meets my chin. The last one came when Walmart's algorithm picked up on my Amazon shopping habits and Google searches and gave me a deal I couldn't resist on a weatherproof blanket that can do duty as a poncho or a hammock. That is too cool not to buy. 

I decided that I would abandon the camping style blanket and get myself a nice light weight throw. While I was searching and researching, I also took my time to look at pillows, comforters, mattresses, bed frames, and under bed storage. I knew that making a purchase would reinforce my interests so I bought a rather inexpensive light weight blanket with 'cooling action." Believe it or not the blanket really does moderate body temperature without making me cold. Pretty neat. 

My social media is absolutely flooded with advertisements for every type of mattress and bedroom set you can imagine. I spent a little time on Ikea looking at nightstands just to mess with it. Sure enough, I have at least three or four articles just focusing on bedside tables. More proof of concept. 

I want to go further. I really want to see how specific the marketing can get. I know that it is preloaded with answers for me liking knives and axes. I have genuine plans of erecting an axe throwing range and after Christmas I bought a smattering of inexpensive hatchets from various big box stores to experiment. Since then I get intermittent links to official axe throwing axes. 

Buying a couple of packs of specialty playing cards for working on my magic tricks likewise brought out playing cards adverts. Cameras linked to more camera gear. Recording equipment sent me lots of microphone and podcasting package offers. 

Interesting that no matter how many rifles, shotguns, and pistols I look at the spyware doesn't introduce them to my feed. That might be something of the politics of their owners. It might be that the firearms industry isn't feeding advertising dollars to the machine. I wouldn't be upset if they would show me some fantastic deals on .357 and .9mm ammo. For that matter my .22lr stock is a bit low. Anyway, I don't see the social media sits picking up on that. 

I have to go really wild. Maybe I will spend time shopping for bondage gear. Maybe I will really dig into edible body paint. Perhaps it will be more fun to do some research into all the benefits of marijuana edibles. I could dig into DVD pirating and copying hardware. God knows I bought a laptop last year and Dell just haunts me. 

All I know is that I am 100% an asset to social media. Every click and keystroke I make on any device which connects to the internet is making someone else money via information tracking and informed advertising. Something about that feels very wrong to me. It is related to the rotten core values of corporate greed run wild. In case you didn't catch my meaning about guns and ammo, the people behind all of this pick and choose what they put in front of you and how often. They keep us distracted and addicted to their way of thinking. 

I am much more likely to be able to generate advertisements in my feed for sex toys than I am guns and ammo. This is not to protect me from harm. This is part of the effort to disarm the public. I cannot say that is right or wrong. 

I also think it is bizarre that I do not get many ads for educational books for kids. I spend a significant amount of time and money researching ways to help Teagan improve her reading and, more importantly, her critical thinking. I want her to be a difficult person who questions everything and asks, 'why,' to anything in life that doesn't make sense or feel right. My Mom, Taila, and I are genetically rebellious and questioning. I am old enough to intentionally stoke that fire in the youngest. 

To be honest, I know that my contrary and questioning nature make me a bit of an outsider. I recently heard my boss talk about how he surrounds himself with positive happy people. I appreciated the sentiment. It is smart. If you want to appreciate the life you have people who have a great, relentlessly positive outlook are the right company to keep. 

I am basically happy, but I do not put out that vibe very often. I question everything right down to the basic functions of life. It makes me come across as angry or unhappy. I am really not either thing. I am a questioner not getting satisfactory answers. I always want to know more. I don't care if it is people or the social media algorithm, if I don't get an answer that satisfies me, I am going to keep taking things apart until I am happy with my understanding of the way they work. I can be almost single-minded in the pursuit of seeing what makes things work. 

That makes people uncomfortable. I am pretty ok with that. I care enough to have developed a polite veneer having discarded my previous cocky exterior that was not working. The problem with the polite and positive façade is that it is fairly thin and gives way too easily when my gears are turning. If I am scowling or frowning I am probably not happy. I am working things out. 

Most of the time that comes down to figuring out who is profiting and how. There is little to no harm in that. I go right back to being happy once I understand. 

Now, I wonder if I can buy a live octopus or a anatomically correct stuffed penguin online. Let's see what I can get social media to suggest that I need tomorrow.