Facebook and its advertisers want to know everything about you, online and off. The latest push is around knowing where you grew up. If you’ve signed onto Facebook lately, you’ve probably seen it.
They’ve been asking for your hometown on your profile page for several weeks now, but they’ve gotten more aggressive lately: they’re putting it at the top of people’s news feeds and saying that your profile isn’t complete without it.
Why is Facebook pestering you to know where you grew up? It’s personal information that fills in another piece of the puzzle that makes you
you. Knowing your hometown makes it easier to target you, not someone with a similar name. Knowing where you grew up–and where you live now–gives Facebook and its advertisers are better sense of the stores you like, where your family and friends are located, where you’re most likely to travel, and more. Your real life and history translates to more advertising money to Facebook, a revenue source that made up
83% of Facebook’s income in 2012.
