Hacker News: hermitcrab

New comment by hermitcrab in "216M Spy TVs – The LG Smart TV Problem [video]"

hermitcrab — Mon, 07 Sep 2026 22:54:10 +0000

George Orwell imagined a 'Telescreen' that also spies on you in '1984':

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telescreen

New comment by hermitcrab in "ChatGPT ad targeting is garbage"

hermitcrab — Wed, 02 Sep 2026 20:49:53 +0000

>I feel like if a product name matches exactly what I searched for, no ad should ever be ABOVE that match.

It must be lovely to be that innocent. ;0)

New comment by hermitcrab in "ChatGPT ad targeting is garbage"

hermitcrab — Wed, 02 Sep 2026 19:24:43 +0000

The fact that there is a commercial relationship between OpenAi and YCombinator is surely a coincidence.

New comment by hermitcrab in "ChatGPT ad targeting is garbage"

hermitcrab — Wed, 02 Sep 2026 19:13:34 +0000

As someone who has been doing marketing and buying ads for 20 years, I find your optimism touching. ;0)

New comment by hermitcrab in "ChatGPT ad targeting is garbage"

hermitcrab — Wed, 02 Sep 2026 19:12:00 +0000

Strange how this went straight from front page to position 157.

New comment by hermitcrab in "ChatGPT ad targeting is garbage"

hermitcrab — Wed, 02 Sep 2026 18:41:27 +0000

Its marketing all the way down. ;0)

New comment by hermitcrab in "ChatGPT ad targeting is garbage"

hermitcrab — Wed, 02 Sep 2026 18:39:54 +0000

Would be interested to see if the data, if you are prepared to share.

New comment by hermitcrab in "ChatGPT ad targeting is garbage"

hermitcrab — Wed, 02 Sep 2026 18:38:49 +0000

Do they though? It is often very hard to know with ads. My experience is that most people spending money on ads have no idea if they are getting any sort of return. Are there any studies that show billboard ads work?

BTW That why money off vouchers are so common with ads. Because this is an actual way you can check if the ad is working. Although there are confounding factors - maybe they were going to buy from you before they saw the voucher?

New comment by hermitcrab in "ChatGPT ad targeting is garbage"

hermitcrab — Wed, 02 Sep 2026 18:34:45 +0000

The cost of clicks tends to rise over time with advertising platforms (Google 'the law of shitty clickthrus'). This effect is very noticeable with Google Adwords, for example. So it makes sense to get in early with a new platform and try and get some traffic, before the big corporates push the prices up.

New comment by hermitcrab in "ChatGPT ad targeting is garbage"

hermitcrab — Wed, 02 Sep 2026 18:32:00 +0000

I have bid in Google Adwords on my own product name. If you don't, then a competitor else might, and then they will appear above you in search. It isn't nice, but that is the way it is.

New comment by hermitcrab in "ChatGPT ad targeting is garbage"

hermitcrab — Wed, 02 Sep 2026 18:26:00 +0000

Advertisers getting hosed is pretty much standard with digital ads. Platforms and agencies tell you how amazing their adtech is, but various forms of fraud and dodgy practises seem to be rampant.

New comment by hermitcrab in "ChatGPT ad targeting is garbage"

hermitcrab — Wed, 02 Sep 2026 18:18:45 +0000

Not if you were aiming for the center.

New comment by hermitcrab in "ChatGPT ad targeting is garbage"

hermitcrab — Wed, 02 Sep 2026 18:13:21 +0000

>isn't it expected that you will get junk clicks with a bid like that?

No. Bidding low means less or no clicks, but should not affect traffic quality.

New comment by hermitcrab in "ChatGPT ad targeting is garbage"

hermitcrab — Wed, 02 Sep 2026 18:10:52 +0000

>Did they try bidding more?

OP here. No. The cheapest version of my PerfectTablePlan software is £19.95 + VAT, one time fee. So I would be insane to bid £2 per click.

>It's possible they are just only getting the dregs.

Bidding higher generally means more clicks, but the quality could be worse due to winning bids when your content is less relevant.

ChatGPT ad targeting is garbage

hermitcrab — Wed, 02 Sep 2026 17:04:58 +0000

Article URL: https://successfulsoftware.net/2026/09/02/chatgpt-ad-targeting-is-garbage/

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49539233

Points: 38

# Comments: 82

New comment by hermitcrab in "Evidence of Fraud in an Influential Study About Procrastination"

hermitcrab — Tue, 01 Sep 2026 11:50:05 +0000

Kudos to Data Colada for sticking to their guns and not being cowed by that law suit. More power to them.

New comment by hermitcrab in "Six people injured after sign falls at Christian festival"

hermitcrab — Fri, 28 Aug 2026 20:15:43 +0000

It was a sign from God.

Six people injured after sign falls at Christian festival

hermitcrab — Fri, 28 Aug 2026 20:15:43 +0000

Article URL: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cwyz52x45jxo

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49483666

Points: 2

# Comments: 1

New comment by hermitcrab in "Building a backyard office, the build and cost breakdown"

hermitcrab — Wed, 26 Aug 2026 20:47:07 +0000

Home offices haven't changed that much, have they?

New comment by hermitcrab in "Building a backyard office, the build and cost breakdown"

hermitcrab — Wed, 26 Aug 2026 12:32:56 +0000

This post from 2009 shows the offices of lots of indie software developers:

https://successfulsoftware.net/2009/07/27/where-i-program/

Might have some ideas for people thinking of setting up a home office.

When I moved house I renovated an old summer house in the garden now and use that as my office. It is great. I just wish that I had put in an air source heat pump, rather than an electric radiator.