Why won’t Google change the algorithm? — In July, I performed an experiment to see how easy it was to run ads on Google that made false claims about Joe Biden. First, in the Google Ads system, I bought the keyword “should I vote for Biden?” Then I told Google I wanted to run this ad:

Transcribing the search history of “Rachel” —

Google provides marketers with more than 1,000 flavors of your browsing behavior to target with ads — If you’ve been following this series so far, you know that Google tracks the websites you visit. Then it passes the data to marketers like me so we can target you with ads based on where you’ve been on the internet. Google lets us know whether you’ve browsed sites about…

What Google searches reveal that governments won’t — Anosmia — the inability to smell — is an indicator of Covid-19 infection. According to data from 2.5 …

There’s no ‘right’ way to quarantine — What will you do with your time in quarantine? Will you optimize your skill set? Will you maximize your time at home by fine-tuning the same professional skills you’ve been fine-tuning for years? If not, there are a spate of articles I can show you that might make you feel…

Buying ads in a pandemic — In 2019, I served ads to people in crisis to try to help them. This included people who told Google they were going to shoot up a school, commit suicide, use heroin, or join ISIS. …

It’s easy for anyone to disaggregate your data, and use it against you — In December 2018, I wrote that when you click an online ad, your data passes through to Google, and a third-party marketer. This data includes your location, your age, your income, your web browsing history, where you work, the words you type into Google, the size of the company you…

I use ad data to try to save their lives — A number of the kids I graduated high school with are dead, in jail, or in rehab from heroin. I’m friends on Facebook with those who stopped using. They post about sober anniversaries, featuring pics of Narcotics Anonymous coins in upturned palms. And I notice when they stop posting. …

And how you can, too — 2019 is all about the essay that explains how the writer made hundreds, or even thousands, of dollars through their writing online—seemingly overnight. The best of these essays reveal that you too can make a lot of money through your writing online by following a few formulaic tips, provided by…