Maybe they do more than "sells future predictions" - but I think what you are quoting is still basically true.
Sure some ad sales are simply general feel good branding, some ads may be to get more data for use years later, however many of the ads I have run with both fbk and big G were in fact using their predictions of the future.
search term "dentist open saturday" - predicting a future dental visit.
realtor Portland - predicting future buying or selling of property.
yes their customers in which they can take money from are advertisers, and the product they are selling is the fbook user and google user, often predicting a future choice, and offering us a chance to influence for the right price.
The more they know about their product (the end user) like zip code, the more valuable sometimes.
There are sometimes issues when ads on a web site are illegal, and many more times when an advertisement is right or wrong is not so black and white but depends on many other factors.
Sure some ad sales are simply general feel good branding, some ads may be to get more data for use years later, however many of the ads I have run with both fbk and big G were in fact using their predictions of the future.
search term "dentist open saturday" - predicting a future dental visit.
realtor Portland - predicting future buying or selling of property.
yes their customers in which they can take money from are advertisers, and the product they are selling is the fbook user and google user, often predicting a future choice, and offering us a chance to influence for the right price.
The more they know about their product (the end user) like zip code, the more valuable sometimes.
There are sometimes issues when ads on a web site are illegal, and many more times when an advertisement is right or wrong is not so black and white but depends on many other factors.