Facebook haters, look away now: BABY SNAP site's profit is up 138%

I'm surprised, too. What are people clicking on?

I do wonder whether some of this is driven by companies speculating that it's going to be effective allowing Facebook to keep rates high or whether it's simply selling the oodles of demographic data it has.

Targeted ads

Since Facebook knows a lot about the average user, who between the profile stuff like "interests", what they "like" and who their friends are and what their interests and likes are, Facebook can target the ads pretty well. I don't have any interests listed and only a handful of likes.

There's nothing to tell them I play golf or bike a lot. But somehow I manage to get a lot of targeted ads related to golf and biking. It is creepy, but the average person probably doesn't think twice about it, and I suppose that's better than seeing ads for diapers and tampons.

But even though I'll never buy something I see advertised that way, because I don't want to encourage it, I'm sure enough do that they can justify paying for it. I think $6+ per user is way too high, but right now is gold rush time. Eventually a lot of advertisers will run the numbers and figure out ads on Facebook aren't worth what they're paying and those revenues will drop because the ones who find out it is worth it and double down on the advertising won't make up the difference.