E-PROJECT- Tracking the Trackers- Investigating HowThird-Party Cookies Steer the AdsYou See
This a-a will show how cookies read by a browser can shape the user's online browsing experience, particularly by targeting ads toward personal preferences.
To do this M, you will need to remove existing cookies so you can conduct the experiment with a clean slate, and then configure your browser to accept new third-party cookies. (If you prefer not to expose your usual browser to third-party cookies, you can download a different browser to do the experiment and then delete the browser when you are finished.)
To remove existing cookies in Firefox, click on Tools, then Options, and then choose the Privacy tab. Click on Show Cookies to see what cookies are there. Click on Remove All Cookies. Next configure the browser so that it accepts third-party cookies as well as cookies from the site you are visiting, and choose Keep until they expire." For browsers other than Firefox, check the Help file to see how to remove cookies and then accept third-party cookies.
You want to target yourself as someone who wants a pair of unusual shoes. Choose to study Zappos.com, or visit www.criteo. cam to identify a different client. Visit the site you choose, and look around the site for a product you would never actually buy. Examine the product, clicking on features, and then add to your cart. Find a couple of similar products and examine them as well.
The goal is to add cookies to your browser that will alert other sites that you have an Interest in the product, the more unusual, at least for you, the better. Don't buy anything, of course.
To compare retargeting with Google's interest-based targeting strategies, described in the short video at google.com/ads/pref-erences, enter two unusual preferences that you don't actually have, so if ads for relevant products appear, they will stand out. The preferences should be totally unrelated to the product you examined at the Criteo client. Browse normally for three days. Once you have finished, uninstall the browser or reconfigure it to the trust settings you prefer.
1. Count ads that match the product you almost purchased on Zappos.com (or another site), and note the site(s) on which they appeared.
Students will describe the frequency and location of ads that match the product they almost purchased on Zappos.com (or another site).
2. Also count ads that match your Google preferences, and note the site(s) on which they appeared. Students will describe the frequency and location of ads that match the preferences they set on Google.
3. How did the ad strategies compare?