AFAIK, ads on Gmail are targeted based exclusively on the content of the page (including the headers, left nav and email text). If the ads pertained to his hometown, chances are that there were triggers in the page that you were viewing - these could just be keywords that have sufficient correlation for the purpose of targeting. Ads can only be served based on keywords associated with them, but that doesn't really mean anything, one way or another.
Can ads reveal anything about the source of the email? Absolutely not. I have a feeling you just missed a cue in the email's content that could have triggered the ad. Disclosure: I used to work in Google's AdWords program until 2007. On Wed, Jul 9, 2008 at 9:16 PM, ashok _ <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > I have an acquaintance who recently sent me an email from a google > account, its an anonymous account (in the sense that the name cannot > be connected to place of origin...). > > This guy resides a particular town, and the funny thing was when i > opened his email, the text ads on the side were related to the town > where the guy lives... in none of his correspondence with me has this > person mentioned the name of the town or even the country where the > town is... > > Isnt this a dangerous way to present text-ads...? in the sense that > someone could be using a gmail account for anonymous correspondence > purposes.. and the person receiving the email could deduce where the > anonymous corrspondent could be from based on the ads presented ? > > (many online guides e.g. > http://advocacy.globalvoicesonline.org/projects/guide/ recommend > gmail as sufficiently anonymous...) > > > ashok > > -- Sumant Srivathsan sumants.blogspot.com
