Hi all,

I'm really hesitant to bring this up. However, last time I asked the community about how facebook tracks its users I got some insightful answers. I don't want this to go to PWEC or degenerate into something nasty. If ever it does I trust the moderators to quickly delete the thread.

How often do you have the "U.S. Secret Service Recruitment" ad on your facebook page? What I'm worried about is if Facebook is using an intelligent selection for displaying ads, why did it think that I would be interested in such?

Personally as someone who values privacy, I loathe any government secret service. That's why I was really offended when the ad was constantly displayed whenever I logged on Facebook.

If the majority of you frequently sees the same ad then I would feel a lot better. If not then I'm a bit worried on why Facebook thinks that the ad is appropriate for me.

Just hit the down arrow in the upper right corner of the add and hit hide add.
Then check you don`t want to see any more from them.

There new adds are annoying but manageable.

I think it's funny that they're advertising for jobs in the first place. You know high end security guards are just sitting around on FB looking for employment opportunities.

will do that JimK, didn't know about that (I'm a FB noob and rarely log in).

Peally, same question crossed my mind ("Wha?... they're posting ads for recruitment??). My first though was that it's fake and probably "hijacked" a .gov site or something. Didn't even know about the U.S.S.S. before the ad.

Okay, just logged in and there it is. The ad is as constant as the northern star. Clicked it and was sent to

www.secretservice.gov/join/careers/

Wait, it's a sponsored ad. Everyone should be seeing it right?

Update:
As JimK suggested I opted to hide the ad and there's a feedback and clicked "It's offensive".

I'm no Facebook expert. but two very obvious ways are your 'likes' that you list on your profile, and internet searches. Have you searched for anything that could be related, or have you 'liked' anything that could be related?

That's what's bothering me DBond. I never searched anything related to that. The Facebook profile is my art page. All my friends are artists and my likes are all pictures of paintings posted by my friends.

Just logged in again and it's gone. JimK's suggestion worked like a charm, hoping it stays that way. Honestly, part of my hope in posting this here is that some will say, "Hey, I saw that ad. It's pretty common." Otherwise, I honestly don't know.

http://www.fbpurity.com/

use this for FB allows you to get rid of all the #%&*$# on the site you dont want to see

Ads on Facebook are targeted by profile.

Where do you live?
What is your age/gender?
Are you married?
Do you own a home?
What are your interests?

Those types of things.

If the gov't said "we want to send a recruitment ad to unmarried males between the ages of 15 and 35 who live in X areas of the country who are interested in Y"...THAT is how you got the ad.

It's not because of anything you did, it's because their stats show people broadly like you who live where you do are either A) more likely or B) higher quality prospects.


Beyond that, I think you have a mistaken idea of what the US Secret Service is. It's a branch of the Treasury Dept for a reason. Presidential protection is a tiny part. It's not CIA or FBI or NSA or whatever. They spend more time going after things like counterfeit money.





The Jedi Master

Thanks for clarifying that Jedi Master. And your explanation makes a lot of sense. I reviewed my profile and probably two things triggered the ad.

Work History: Government plus something in finance (in the US)

Other fields are actually empty lol. And as said, I never knew anything about the US Secret Service and you clarifying what they did (not like the CIA or NSA) helped ease my mind.

Yes, I think that work history was likely a prime target for their ad.

If I was at the USSS looking for people on FB, I'd certainly send an ad your way.




The Jedi Master

Hey, be thankful they think so much of you.

I get Roto-Rooter recruitment ads (I guess I look like I suck sh--).

SimHQ's ads are currently trying to sell me property in the former BBC Television Centre.

Starting at �750k for a one bed, LOL.

Wow. That's like midtown Manhattan prices.

Dont you just love the pushed diversity... look.. I say hire the best qualified no matter what... you should see the Marine recruitment billboard by my house... the Marine (or model) in the ad looks like a mix between white black and asian.. and looks like it could be a male or female... OMFG what the F is going on with this BS PC world nowadays.

So oselisan...did you fill out the application we sent you?

I'm sure you will enjoy the benefits, wear a suit and tie.
The interview is set up for next Monday.
I have every confidence, you'll make a great agent.

Don't use Facebook. Problem solved.

lol Murphy, a career like that wouldn't be good for my health. Just imagine what that pesky little ad did to me in a month (yes, it's been there close to a month). I'm tempted to change the subject to being reminded of your Silent Hunter IV suggestion and installing the game but that would mean hijacking my own thread

p.s. including Dart and Jedi Master, thanks for giving me a good laugh guys.