Google really is watching your every move!

Cobra

Cobra

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So today, I decided that I fancied some fresh asparagus, I've not had any for years ( do you think I'm pregnant? )
Today I bought some from my local tescrot.( with other bits and pieces) and paid with a credit card.
I know how to cook it, in boiling water, but I thought I'd see what the alternatives were ...
Into Goggle I typed "how to cook" and top of the pile was asparagus!

Now, I've never googled "asparagus" in my life, why would I?
So how the hell did that come out top of the pile, when there is a myriad of possibilities?

Far too much of a coincidence eh?
Big brother is most certainly watching!
 
I get rice at the top and I had a squash risotto last night!!!
 
"how to coo" got me "how to cook holidays" followed by asparagus - and I always pay for shopping with cash rather than card and haven't bought asparagus from a supermarket for years!

Usually ping it with a teaspoonful of water and serve with butter and black pepper.
 
It was the GPS in your smartphone, tracking where you lingered in the aisles......
 
In a similar vein...

The other week we popped into carpet right... Came home, opened Facebook on my laptop having never googled or gone to the url for “carpet right” in my life... and voila Carpet Right advert right there on Facebook.

And about half hour ago... while watching the documentary about kids medicine... ended up on instagram checking a message, then ended up on the browse section and, yep, a meme about the doctor who said kids are addicted to calpol... from the very documentary on my tv screen.
 
Cobra said:
So today, I decided that I fancied some fresh asparagus, I've not had any for years ( do you think I'm pregnant? )
Today I bought some from my local tescrot.( with other bits and pieces) and paid with a credit card.
I know how to cook it, in boiling water, but I thought I'd see what the alternatives were ...
Into Goggle I typed "how to cook" and top of the pile was asparagus!

Now, I've never googled "asparagus" in my life, why would I?
So how the hell did that come out top of the pile, when there is a myriad of possibilities?

Far too much of a coincidence eh?
Big brother is most certainly watching!
Click to expand...

I just tried the same search and No. 1 answer was rice, then steak, then eggs. None of which I have bought recently.
So all I can deduce from that is yes, you must be pregnant. ;)
 
db247 said:
In a similar vein...

The other week we popped into carpet right... Came home, opened Facebook on my laptop having never googled or gone to the url for “carpet right” in my life... and voila Carpet Right advert right there on Facebook.

And about half hour ago... while watching the documentary about kids medicine... ended up on instagram checking a message, then ended up on the browse section and, yep, a meme about the doctor who said kids are addicted to calpol... from the very documentary on my tv screen.
Click to expand...
Crazy eh? :(
Is nothing sacred or private any more?
 
I don't do Facebook etc, but I still get the targeted ads.
 
The bit that gets me is when I buy something online and then I am bombarded for adverts for the very thing I have just bought. Why on earth do they think I am still in the market for what I have just bought?
 
john.margetts said:
The bit that gets me is when I buy something online and then I am bombarded for adverts for the very thing I have just bought. Why on earth do they think I am still in the market for what I have just bought?
Click to expand...

That always puzzles me too, doesn't seem very intuitive.

ps. I like (my homegrown) asparagus served with melted butter and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.
 
Have you got timelines enabled in your google maps? You can look back and see where you've been, distance etc, but google also pop up occaisionally and recognise when you've been somewhere like a restaurant and ask if you want to leave a review, or if you want to add a photo you've taken to google maps.

And asparagus is best griddled or barbecued as the charing really adds flavour yet you keep the crunch
 
yeah the amount of metadata collected now is massive, it could be a loyalty card you used, your name is extracted from the credit card and the contents of all the items on the recipt.
 
I get how to cook quinoa

I can't for the life of me think why it comes up with quinoa other than it must be random.. I don't even know (or didn't) what it is
 
I get rice, steak, quinoa, asparagus and salmon, in that order. I don't think anyone is tapping into your credit card usage history to determine whether or not you want to boil or griddle a vegetable. They are clearly just common search terms and google just suggests them back at you as an autocomplete tool. Maybe there are local variations in the popularity of each search term which would explain the variation of top suggestion for different people.

Or, the CIA are hiding in the pallet of potatoes in Tesco.


Edit. Just for giggle, I tried a few other searches, I quite like the results for 'why is my.......'

  • ...bush not growing
  • ...period late
  • ...poop black
  • ...dog shaking
  • ...internet so slow
I can assure you that I do not own a dog, and my bush is doing just fine thanks. No comment on the rest! :D
 
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It's also the peak of asparagus season in the UK which might have an effect on it rising up the rankings
 
Mag1cp2x said:
I like (my homegrown) asparagus served with melted butter and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.
Click to expand...
Thats pretty much how it ended up :thumbs:
Byker28i said:
Have you got timelines enabled in your google maps?
Click to expand...
If that was aimed at me, I don't have google maps on my phone, I don't use any aps come to that.

Well seems I need pancakes to go with my asparagus now,
Then lose some weight so I can talk to girls at parties.
Not quite sure how useful the slime will be though?
(Unless its one of those parties)

Untitled-1.jpg
 
Byker28i said:
It'll be an algorithm on most popular searches
Click to expand...
Yep, you can use google trends to see what is being searched for and other associated metrics.
As someone said earlier, it's asparagus season and it looks like the search term 'how to cook asparagus' has a spike in usages at about this time every year.

https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=today 5-y&geo=GB&q=how to cook asparagus
upload_2018-5-25_11-21-28.png

I recall it was rather interesting/scary to see the massive jump in people searching for 'what is brexit' the day AFTER the referendum!
 
Looks like its steak and rice for tea ( with left over asparagus) tonight. Thanks Google :thumbs:
I've not a clue what quinoa is so I'll give that a miss though


Untitled-1.jpg
 
Never underestimate the amount of institutions that will collect your data and sell it on to 3rd parties maybe after today with the new EU privacy rules (GDPR) this will cease
 
Cobra said:
So today, I decided that I fancied some fresh asparagus, I've not had any for years ( do you think I'm pregnant? )
Today I bought some from my local tescrot.( with other bits and pieces) and paid with a credit card.
I know how to cook it, in boiling water, but I thought I'd see what the alternatives were ...
Into Goggle I typed "how to cook" and top of the pile was asparagus!

Now, I've never googled "asparagus" in my life, why would I?
So how the hell did that come out top of the pile, when there is a myriad of possibilities?

Far too much of a coincidence eh?
Big brother is most certainly watching!
Click to expand...


Would be interesting to go back to Tesco and buy something else which you've never searched, mentioned etc but pay cash this time and try the same Google search.
 
gman said:
Would be interesting to go back to Tesco and buy something else which you've never searched, mentioned etc but pay cash this time and try the same Google search.
Click to expand...

I popped into the shop at lunch and bought a tub of petroleum jelly, a role of duct tape, cable ties and a pineapple. Now I keep hearing sirens, should I be worried?
 
A few years back, I was prescribed a new medication for my diabetes, it worked by expelling excess sugar through your urine. Before starting the new treatment, I searched the drug online to check for possible side effects. One of the side effects was excessive urination. The next time I went onto Facebook, I was literally bombarded with adverts for incontinence pads. Whenever I search the drug, now, I get the same adverts. So, not only are google watching your every move, they seem to be in cahoots with Facebook too.
 
jakeblu said:
they seem to be in cahoots with Facebook too.
Click to expand...
I "liked" that post, but I shouldn't really, as I've suspected for quite sometime, that there is some correlation between FB and Google :rolleyes:

(How's the pads working out BTW? :D )
 
I suspect cookies can share information, possibly even between browsers on the same machine. If I don't want data shared then I'll run a different OS from a different HDD.
 
When I type "how to cook" into Google it suggests rice, steak, quinoa, asparagus, salmon. No real surprise there and not linked to my search or other online history; I know how to cook four of them and I have no interest in cooking quinoa.

But surely the real asparagus question is: does it make your wee smell funny?
 
StewartR said:
But surely the real asparagus question is: does it make your wee smell funny?
Click to expand...


The answer is yes. If you have the right genes.

However, after a recent discussion with a plant geneticist it isn’t how you might think (or how I thought). The genetic aspect is whether or not you can smell it, not if you create the smell. So if after eating asparagus a ‘smeller’ smells the wee of someone who says they don’t get the smell they will still smell it. Should that situation ever arise...

Edit: on the google thing, I get rice, quinoa, salmon...
 
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Nawty said:
The answer is yes. If you have the right genes.

However, after a recent discussion with a plant geneticist it isn’t how you might think (or how I thought). The genetic aspect is whether or not you can smell it, not if it passes through so if after eating asparagus a ‘smeller’ smells the wee of someone who says they don’t get the smell they will still smell it. Should that situation ever arise...

Edit: on the google thing, I get rice, quinoa, salmon...
Click to expand...
You're just taking the p*** now

:p
 
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