I kept hearing that Facebook/Google stores all our information whenever we search something and show us ads based on that information but I never really knew how that worked until I came across this Twitter thread by Chris Yiu‏ who perfectly explained how these ads are tailored according to the choices we make on the internet.

Here’s an easy read for you if you are wondering how those adverts manage to keep on finding you – even when you go incognito, switch devices, or never actually searched for the product in the first place?

Re-marketing/re-targeting through cookies:

You visit a website and it stores a cookie in your web browser. You return later on, the cookie identifies you and the site shows you products you were looking at earlier. Old hat (unless you live in the 1990s), but important to understand for what’s coming next.

You visit a website and it stores a cookie from a third-party ad network. Later on you visit a different site that carries ads from the same network. They see the cookie and display ads based on what you were looking at earlier.

Through grouped audiences:

You open Google and search for a product or website, which helps Google build up a profile of you and your interests. Later on you use your Google account to sign in somewhere else, and you see ads based on this profile (not that you can turn ads personalisation off if you want to).

You’re logged in to Facebook. You visit a website and it has Facebook’s tracking pixel (or like button) installed, which lets Facebook know you’re there. Later on you visit Facebook, and your newsfeed contains adverts based on what you were looking at earlier.

Facebook doesn’t let website owners single you out for these adverts (nor does it sell your data to them). Ads are targeted at groups e.g. people who visited a site in the last 30 days. These groups are called “audiences”.

You visit a website and create an account with them. They upload a list of customer email addresses to Google / Facebook / Twitter etc. to target a campaign. Later on you visit one of these sites, and you see adverts based on what you were looking at earlier.

Through fingerprinting:

You turn on incognito mode (aka “private browsing”), which limits things like cookies. The ad network records other information about your system instead, e.g. web browser, IP address, operating system, screen size, time zone etc.

Later on you visit a site where this network displays ads. They recognise your browser fingerprint (albeit with varying degrees of accuracy) and you see adverts based on what you were looking at earlier, even though you were using incognito mode.

You log into the same online account on more than one browser or device. The provider of the account associates the different fingerprints with your account. Adverts targeted at your account can now follow you from one browser / device to another.

You carry more than one device and you never log into the same account on both, but you do connect them to the same WiFi networks at the same times, and you use both devices to visit sites that contain trackers from the same ad network. Boom, your devices are associated.

Through device ID: 

You install an app on your phone. Apps don’t use cookies, but your phone sends a unique device ID to the app creator instead. Later on you open a different app and see ads based on the app you were using earlier.

You install an app on your phone, and then sign in to it using one of your online accounts. You guessed it: your device ID is now associated with that account. Later on you see ads based on your apps when you’re using the account on your computer.

Lookalike Audience:

You never actually visited a particular site, but other people did. You go on Facebook and see ads for it, because your profile is similar to those other people, and the whole group is being targeted. The group you belong to is called a “lookalike audience”.

You never actually visited a particular site, but you share an IP address with people who did, e.g. you and your flatmates are all using the same broadband router. Later on you see ads from that site, because you are all being targeted at your (shared) IP address.

You never actually visited a particular site, but you were in close proximity to other people who did, and you were all signed in to a service with access to your location data. Later on you see ads from that site, because the whole group is being targeted.

After all this, it may surprise you to hear that personalised ads are anything like the problem they are sometimes made out to be.

“The banking hours for all working days will be 08:00 a.m. to 01:45 p.m. without break.”

“On Friday, the time will be 08:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. without break.”

“For all working days, except Friday, the office hours for SBP, Development Finance Institutions and MicroFinance Institutions will be 08:00 a.m. to 02:15 p.m. without break and for Fridays it will be 08:00 a.m. to 01:00 p.m. without break”

Alibaba Group has bought the entire share capital of Daraz Group, claimed by Rocket Internet without disclosing the amount of finances being involved.

Daraz was an online market founded in 2012. It operates in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Nepal. Daraz will continue to operate under the same brand.

“Daraz will be able to leverage Alibaba’s leadership and experience in technology, online commerce, mobile payment and logistics to drivefurther growth in the five South Asian markets that have a combinedpopulation of over 460 million, 60% of which are under the age of 35,” said the representative of Ali Baba.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Alibaba Group Daniel Zhang said the acquisition will empower entrepreneurs to better serve consumers in the region. The expertise would be transferred to the Daraz clients and vendors. This would create an extraordinary network of experience in local and international markets.

Back in March, Ant paid $184.5 million for a 45 percent stake in Telenor Microfinance Bank, a fintech division from Norwegian operator Telenor, which operates Pakistan’s second largest telecommunication company. This acquisition punch of e-commerce and fintech (particularly payments) is a common move from Alibaba-Ant, which has made similar deals in India and to several Southeast Asian states.

Beyond Pakistan, it looks like Alibaba is also nearby Bangladesh, which has a population of over 160 million and rising internet adoption.

The acquisition is seen by experts a step in the expansion plan Ma has set out in the over $330-billion economy with a young population and bulging middle class.

Several people are calling this an era of neo-colonialism, would you agree that it’s a move toward economic imperialism? Do you think the local authorities should monitor such extensive acquisition of local industries which may result in local industries suffering? Let’s wait and see how this move turns out to be for Pakistan’s economic sphere.

Fiza Farhan

Fiza Farhan, is a 28-year old entrepreneur and co-founder of the Buksh Foundation which has been operating in Pakistan since 2009. It is a microfinance institution that takes clean energy projects to the underprivileged and rural areas of Pakistan. The organization has brought solar-powered lights to around 6750 households all across Pakistan. It has also trained 135 women as energy entrepreneurs. The distinguished business magazine Forbes has included her name in its list of 30 under 30 social entrepreneurs for the year 2015.

Jehan Ara

Jehan Ara is the woman behind Pakistan Software Houses Associations (PASHA). The organization collaborates with other national and international institutions to provide its clients the best of software products. Jehan Ara also excels in the field of marketing, communications, and media. With an experience of over 30 years, she has worked in UAE, Hong Kong, and the Far East. Jehan Ara is an entrepreneur par excellence. She is also an excellent speaker, motivator, and writer.

Nabila Maqsood

Nabila Maqsood, opened her first salon in May 1986 in Karachi and through hard work, she is the gigantic name we all know today and is an integral part of the fashion industry of Pakistan. She has been associated with the fashion world for the past 20 years but does not let that get in the way of her business. Expanding her business, she has salons all over Pakistan and has recently opened a men’s saloon “N-Gents” as well as a Nail Salon. She has also launched a makeup line.

Sana Safinaz

Sana Safinaz is the brainchild of Sana Hashwani and Safinaz Muneer, two close friends of Karachi. From an initial investment of a few thousand rupees, it has blossomed into a successful Pakistani clothing and accessories retailer. From just bridal and light evening wear, it now sells ready-to-wear, unstitched and haute couture.

Seema Tahir Khan

Seema, co-founded one of Pakistan’s biggest advertising agencies “Interflow Communications”. She is currently heading the Interflow Group’s electronic television channels; TVONE, NewsOne, and WasebTV as the CEO, and is also the Group’s Public Services Division head.

A few days ago, I noticed a sale going on Pakistan’s most popular online store Daraz. Daraz as a brand has skyrocketed to popularity for providing lucrative sales and making everyday things a little more affordable for the average Pakistani. They also land in a yearly controversy about their “Black Friday” sales but that’s a story for another time. This is a story about my experience buying a Health Band during their Brand Fest sale.

Browsing through Facebook and having installed the daraz app as well, you get targeted quite often through ads and as well as updates about the sales and various offers going on. Sometimes, it just comes to the point where you start feeling bad about not being a part of the sale and you cave into the desire to get the card out and go “swish swish” and spend all that money.

Meanwhile, Daraz be like:

I was going through the same phase when I decided to go for a Health Band that was incredibly affordable. Before ordering, I research online and found out how Chinese knockoff companies are replicating products and selling them at an incredibly affordable rate. One of these companies is Bingo that makes Health Bands very similar to the Xiaomi makes. After watching several reviews, I was convinced enough to buy the band, give the advantages it provides. Calorie counter, heart rate, and sleep monitoring as well giving regular health updates about your day seem like a cool thing to keep yourself in check.

You have to know that I normally don’t splurge on things like these. Mostly because I am not an accessories type of a person and secondly there is just a general mistrust of buying things online that has seeped in from my parents’ caution. Especially my mother. As I arrived from office one day, I noticed the package sitting daintily on my bed and was excited. I unwrapped the package like a Christmas toy and set the device to charge all the while marveling at how small a piece of technology could provide so many answers just through Bluetooth.

Things started to go bad as I took it after charging it and started wearing it. The first thing I noticed was the difference in the printed manual that I saw in the review and the one I had. Something smelled fishy. I switched on my Bluetooth and tried pairing the device. Going to the Bluetooth menu, the moment I saw the device named “wristband” and not “Bingo M2” I knew it was a counterfeit. Sure enough, after downloading “Droihealth” I was unable to pair the device. Upon closer inspection, even though the box was designed the exact same way as the Bingo M2, the English on it gave the copy away. The instructions manual was different as well the band did not update the time to what my phone was showing.

Even though the purchase cost me only 1500 PKR, the experience of being misled has left a bad taste. When I went back to my order history to see the product again I was appalled to see the seller had rebranded everything. They had changed the picture as well as changed the brand to “FitBit” a popular health band company that first came out with a concept like this. For a minute, I thought I had maybe misread the product name wrong and downloaded the FitBit app to see if they had, in fact, a band named “FitBit M2”. But they didn’t. This blatant display of misleading advertising led to leave a one-star review on the product and also an email to Daraz customer care.

Although Daraz is a staple name in terms of online shopping and provides a very necessary platform in facilitating the needs of people, the fact that the company does not have a robust screening system to ensure maximum products are being sold under genuine circumstances was off-putting. Online shopping already carries a huge baggage of being mistrusting, misleading and the new way of embezzling peoples money and this incident does not lend itself well to the context. Although the customer care replied immediately and informed me that return of the package will be done free of cost and after inspection, if the product is found to be not functioning properly the funds will be returned, the overall experience of running into a fake seller has frayed the trust that Daraz is working so hard to build.

Guess what’s up in Pakistan today? The Orange Line Metro also is known as OLMT is almost ready to go operational. It was run on a trial basis on Monday.

According to the Advisor to Chief Minister of Punjab, Khawaja Ahmad Hassan, four more trains sets have recently reached Lahore. They government officials state that once the new metro is operational, it would be comparable to the finest across the world including Moscow’s Kaluzhsko-Rizhskaya.

Public transport has always been a major issue in our part of the world. It’s great to know that a new system would be facilitating over 250,000 people(PakistanToday.com).

Moreover, it is also going to lessen the burden on the insane traffic on the roads which entails numerous roadblocks, accidents, and most importantly pollution to our environment, every day.

Another important issue that OLMT is going to resolve is of employment. It has been a crucial point of our economy which has led to innumerable crimes and anarchy. People have already started to apply for vacancies at the new transport system.

Resources tell that the project has a 12 km long portion of the track, from Dera Gujran to Lakshmi Chowk. It would be completed within the ongoing week, according to Government officials.

If you’re thinking what makes the OLMT so hyped  on social and mainstream media, here’s what you need to know:

It’s not the first time that PML-N has provided a service like this one where it benefited hundreds and thousands of people but also went against the demands of thousands of citizens.

People are protesting and debating all over the country as to halt the project since the idea was proposed. The reason being: The Orange Line Metro

The areas through which the Orange Line Metro passes had been of great sentimental, cultural, and religious importance to many people. The Express Tribune stated this morning, “A retaining wall has also been constructed for the preservation of tomb of Baba Mouj Derya situated near the track and work for fixing stone on façade of Anarkali Station has been commenced.”

Hence the Orange Line Metro Train has been controversial since its inception. It’s also true to say that everything has its pros and cons. Hope this new venture can be more of a benefit than a loss to the population of Lahore. Let us know your opinions about the new public transport which has been the hot topic of our newsfeed.

While there are too way too many cardinal sins of social media, here are a few picks for this week.

1. Thou Shalt Not Use Excessive Hashtags 

For social media marketing, hashtags are essential and engage the audience at a massive level. However, overusing them puts off the reader at times.

Another SMM DON’T is tagging a large number of people which is considered to be bothersome because some people don’t like to be notified about posts that are irrelevant to them.

Death by hashtags #InstaDeath #BadImpression #Dont #Do #I

2. Thou Shalt Not Upload Irrelevant and Untimely Posts

Nothing bores a social media user than seeing bland posts in their newsfeed. As a social media marketer, an important consideration is to be careful about the timing of the posts. Moreover, don’t upload posts that have the same content or are off-topic.

Source:1911addicts.com

Pluto re-emerged in 2015… Get your hands on our newest deals… How do I run for president?!

3.Thou Shalt Not Pay for Fake Followers 

The concept of millions of likes on Facebook and Instagram pages sounds fascinating and grand. Some apps have been introduced recently that boost the number of likes or followers which are not genuine. A social media manager must realize that such shortcuts are not fruitful and they end up paying more for bogus followers.

Source: tumblr.com

Don’t let your imaginary friends fool you

4.Thou Shalt Not Use Inappropriate Captions and Descriptions

Being moderate is the key to success on social media. Having too many images, texts, and tags ruin a post. The trick is to sell your product by using minimal words yet attempting to convince the audience. Additionally, giving appropriate captions to photos enhances the message being put forward. Words are as important as images and they need a balance in between.

Remember the ABC’s of content writing: accuracy, brevity and clarity. Bingo!

5. Thou Shalt Not Use Stock Images

Research tells that visual information is more retainable than textual. Therefore, it’s better to update pictures along with text so that the user can comprehend the message easily.

Moreover, don’t use stock pictures as they give a very unprofessional image. Your brand is your identity, therefore value it and use original photos and content for the page. Make your posts valuable in the eyes of the user. Another notable consideration is to use your logo company name as the display picture.

Remember: Belle fell for the Beast because of who he was

6. Thou Shalt Have Uniformity in the Content

Often at times, the social media team members of an enterprise lack communication and end up posting either too much information or irrelevant material. One bad mistake can make the user abandon your brand forever. It is important for all the team members to discuss the content before posting so that every individual is on the same page.

Source:metro.co.uk

7. Thou Shalt Not Publish Without Proofreading 

Since your posts are representing your brand, it is crucial to check and recheck before publishing online. The digital media audience believes in credibility and tends to lose their trust with one single mistake. Hence, it is mandatory for the team to collectively participate in proofreading before it goes on board.

1 – The word “Rupiya” is a word of Sanskrit language. The meaning of this word is “a coin of silver”

2 – The concept of the coins that are being used in Pakistan and elsewhere in the world, began in India, thousands of years ago.

3 – Sher Shah Suri introduced the first coin with the name “Rupee” in the year 1545.

4 – The coins which were issued after the year 1840 had Queen Victoria’s portrait.

5 – It was the shortage of silver that resulted in the introduction of the paper currency notes of One Rupees. This shortage happened during First World War.

6 – During the 1940s, a new series of coins known as Anna were introduced.

7 – The State of Hyderabad used to issue its own currency notes of 1 Rupee, 2 Rupees, and 1,000 Rupees.

8 – The state of Bahawalpur used the gold coins as its currency in the year 1947.

9 – The coins of one rupee and half rupee were introduced in the year 1948.

10 – Coins of 1 paisa, 2 paisa, 5 paisa, and 10 paisa were issued in 1962.

11 – The coin of 1 Rupee was again introduced in the year 19719.

12 – The coins of 2 Paisa were ceased in the year 1976.

13 – The coins of 1 Paisa were also ceased in 1979

14 – The coins of 5, 10, 25, and 50 paisa were also ceased in the year 1996.

15 – The coin of  1 Rupee was reintroduced in the year 1998.

16 – The one Rupee coin has the portrait of Quaid-e-Azam on the front side and the Shrine of Shahbaz Qalandar at the back side.

17 – The coins of 2 Rupee were introduced in the year 1998.

18 – Crescent and Star is present on the front side of the 2 Rupee coin. And Badshahi Mosque is present on the back of this coin.

19 – There are 2 variations of 2 Rupee coin. One has clouds in it and the other one does not have any clouds.

20 – The coin of 5 Rupee was introduced in the year 2002.

21 – The coins of 1 Rupee and 2 Rupee were changed to the aluminium coins in 2007.

22 – In 1947, after the independence, the Indian Rupees having Pakistani stamps were used as currency in Pakistan.

23 – The currency notes of 2 Rupees, 5 Rupees, 10 Rupees, and 100 Rupees were introduced in the year 1953.

24 – The currency note of 50 Rupees was introduced in the year 1957.

25 – This 50 Rupee note had two languages, Urdu and Bengali on it.

26 – The currency note of 500 Rupees was introduced in the year 1964.

27 – The 500 Rupee not was reintroduced in the year 1986.

28 – The Pakistani currency notes of 2 Rupees were reintroduced in the year 1985.

29 – The notes of 2 Rupee were replaced by the coins in the year 1998.

30 – The currency notes of 20 Rupees were introduced in 2005.

31 – The Pakistani currency notes of 5 Rupees were once again introduced in the year 2008.

32 – The 5 Rupee notes were discontinued in the year 2012 and were replaced by the 5 Rupee coin.

33 – The currency note of 5,000 Rupee was introduced in the year 2006.

34 – There are some rumors that the Government might soon issue the Pakistani currency note of 10,000 Rupees in the coming months.

35 – Do you know that:

• 100 Lac Rupees = 1 Crore Rupees
• 100 Crore Rupees = 1 Arab Rupees
• 100 Arab Rupees = 1 Kharab Rupees

Don’t forget to share these amazing facts about Pakistani currency notes with your friends and family.

11 – Hazara Expressway is 180 kilometers long and its construction has been divided into 7 packages.

10 – This project is being financed by the Asian Development Bank.

9 – Check out this marvelous view of the newly completed part of Hazara Expressway.

8 – Recently, Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi inaugurated the Burhan to Shah Maqsood part of the project. This part is now open for traffic.

7 – Motorway police did the flag-march after the expressway was opened for traffic.

6 – The government of United Kingdom will also give grant for the Hazara Expressway.

5 – This expressway will link the Burhan Interchange near Hasan Abdal located in Punjab with different parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa including Haripur, Havelian, Abbottabad, Mansehra, Shinkiari, Battagra, and Thakot.

4 – Check out this wonderful sunset view of the Hazara Expressway.

3  The work is being carried out rapidly on the remaining parts of this 180 kilometers long expressway.

2 – Here’s a night view of the Hazara Expressway.

1 – Once completed, this expressway will make it much easier to travel between the connected districts.

Like this article? Don’t forget to share with your friends and family to let them know about this new transport project in Pakistan.