So, I found a pair of sunglasses on the footpath last week while walking back from lunch. Picked them up, because I'm a cheap bastard. Figured they were probably broken, but no - they were in good nick, and they fit nicely. Score!
Get back to the office, and I have a closer look. They're labelled "Emporio Armani", so I google "emporio armani sunglasses" (as you do), and found out these are pretty nice - buying a similar pair in the UK would run me over 100 pounds.
So, I tell the ladies at the reception desk what I'd found, and asked them to let me know, if anyone comes looking for them - but if nobody claims them, I'm keeping them (again, as you do). Nobody did.
There is a point to all this, and I'm coming to it now. Today, I'm browsing on facebook, and there, on the left, is a great big fancy Emporio Armani ad.
Yeah google, that shit's not creepy at all ...
Facebook isn't getting it from google, a third party ad exchange is using it to serve you ads all over the internet. Turn cookies off and install an ad blocker and you won't see any of that.
If you want to tweak a friend google something seriously weird, like "adult incontinence" a bunch of times on their computer. They'll get odd ads for weeks.
-XC