February 1, 2024 • 29 mins
Indulge your sweet tooth as the Cookie Monster takes a delightful detour to BullCast in this week's episode! Get ready for a sugary sweet escapade as we crumble into the world of internet cookies. But before we dive into the digital dough, it's Girl Scout Cookie season – so we'll start with a tasty lineup of the best-selling treats! We'll then do-si-do our way to the ooey gooey center of the cookie jar, breaking down the different types of internet cookies. Discover the delectable details of what happens when you press "Accept All," exploring the sweet benefits for both users and businesses alike. We'll also sprinkle in insights on the future of cookies, especially with the news of Google Chrome planning to phase them out. So, preheat your podcast-listening experience, pop your favorite cookies in the oven, and join us for a truly scrumptious and informative episode that's sure to leave you with a batch of knowledge!
The List: The Best-Selling Girl Scout Cookies
Hashtags: #internetcookies #cookies #girlscoutcookies #TeamThinMints #TeamSamoas
Visit us online: www.bullcastpodcast.com
Produced by Cameron Spann | Powered by Pickler Wealth Advisors
Sound effects obtained from https://www.zapsplat.com
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Music.
(00:10):
Hello, and welcome to the BullCast Podcast. I'm Katie Pickler,
and with me today is not Court Winsett.
He got taken by the Cookie Monster.
But today I do have Cameron Spann. I could really go for a snickerdoodle right
about now. And Nicole Ellis. I think I want a chocolate chip.
Oh, yeah. So it's like Crumble Cookie. They come out with their different menus
(00:32):
every week, and it's just, it's crazy. Although I looked at a couple of days
ago and they had like a Wonka inspired one and I really wanted that, but they were sold out.
And so I'm like, well, then I'm not going to eat any of them.
Okay. So this episode, the reason why I mentioned that Court was taken off by
the cookie monster is we're going to talk about internet cookies. cookies.
You're going, okay, why are you talking about internet cookies?
(00:54):
Well, this is kind of one of those things that, you know, we tell y'all we're
a financial podcast and finances isn't everything.
And so how many times have you logged on your computer and it's been the pop-up
of like accepting cookies or not and trying to decide what to do with that?
I know I didn't really understand what cookies were.
So on this episode, we're going to talk about cookies as far as what they show up on the internet.
(01:17):
But of course, to have fun, we're going to talk about real cookies Real cookies
that you can enjoy because those dealers are out.
Have you seen them? I haven't seen them. The little ones with the little dresses?
Cute little girls with their pigtails and they're coming at you.
They're in front of Kroger. They're at the church.
You know, now they're hitting you through social media because they've got these
digital links. Yes, we're talking about Girl Scouts.
(01:40):
And man, they've got the Boy Scouts beat when it comes to, you know, sales.
Because you can't beat the cookies. Don't Boy Scouts sell popcorn?
Popcorn. It's not near as good. It's just not the same. Although the popcorn's
pretty good. And now they hit you. It's like, oh, you don't have any cash.
They're like, oh, we accept Venmo. It's like, I can't use that excuse anymore.
The cookies are expensive. It's, you know, like six bucks a box,
(02:00):
I think, or something like that. Yeah, but they're very delicious.
They are, but they've gotten smaller with their quantities. They have.
Okay, so this is the best-selling Girl Scout cookies, which,
side note, did y'all know that some of them are a little bit different depending
on which factory they're coming from?
I did not know that. I knew that because I read that when I was researching.
I didn't put both of their names, but I feel like these, the ones that I have
(02:23):
listed are the famous names of them. But I could be wrong.
We know. And I've seen some of these with like what alcoholic drink to pair
with your cookies and things like that. You may have a problem if you decide to do that.
Well, dry January is almost over. It's almost over.
Okay. So let's go through the best selling Girl Scout cookies and then maybe
we can say our favorites at the end.
(02:46):
So number five do-si-do a crunchy oatmeal sandwich cookie with peanut butter
filling that just makes me want to grab my partner and spin them round and round,
that was so cheesy it's so stupid please go all right number four on the list
is adventure fools indulgent brownies inspired cookies topped with caramel flavored
(03:08):
cream with a hint of sea salt that just makes me want to hike up a mountain Mountain.
Adventure. Number three, tagalongs. Crispy cookies layered with peanut butter
and covered with a chocolatey coating. Like a Reese's. Yes, sir.
Okay. Samoas is number two. Crisp cookies with caramel, coconut, and chocolatey strips.
(03:28):
That sounds great. Yep. Number one on the list is a shock to no one.
Thin Mints. They are crisp chocolate cookies dipped in a delicious mint chocolatey coating.
Do you ever put your Thin Mints in the freezer? Yes. Oh, it's so good.
Okay, so game changer. I always put my Thin Mints in the freezer.
I've started putting my Tagalongs in the freezer as well.
I don't really like Thin Mints.
(03:49):
It is a polarizing flavor. Like you always hear people say that,
but mint is not for everybody. It makes me feel like I'm eating toothpaste.
I've heard people say that. Do you like cilantro?
Sometimes, yes. I like cilantro. You know, you hear people, the people that
don't like cilantro, it tastes like soap.
Yeah, there is a distinct group of people that it tastes like soap.
I like cilantro. I like my Thin Mints. Okay.
(04:11):
But I don't like them mints, and I like cilantro. What do you like?
I like cilantro-flavored cookies. Gross.
Nasty. Well, good news. I don't think I've told y'all yet, but we did hit one
of the dealers, and so the office is going to be getting a shipment of large amount of cookies.
A whole crate full. A whole crate full. Did you get Samoas?
That's my favorite. I think we got all the flavors.
(04:34):
You know what I actually really like, which is like the least favorite flavor,
is Toffee-tastic. I think it's the gluten-free one, and nobody likes it, but I like them.
Well, I know like Trayful's is one of David's favorites. I like those too.
The little like butter cookies. I was about to Google. I was like,
I can't remember what it's called, but it's just like the plain one.
It's the plain one. But Tagalongs and Thin Mints are definitely my favorites.
(04:56):
Okay, so now that we've got your mouth watering and now everybody wants to eat
cookies, let's talk about what are cookies?
I will give a very brief synopsis. just out of my mind here,
and it's probably in the outline too.
It's basically like little bits of data that websites use to store information
on your device that just tells them about you, like your preferences,
(05:18):
your font size, your personal information. And yeah, that sounds scary.
But from my experience, cookies aren't bad. A good example is,
you know how when you get on Facebook and it like knows you,
all the ads are based on you.
It's like, I just Googled that. How does it know that? It uses cookies.
And the whole point of cookies is not to like try to control you, I guess you could say.
It's just trying to cater to you, customize. It's trying to make your internet
(05:41):
experience better so that you hop on and it just knows what you like.
They're like little crumbs you left behind that keep following you everywhere.
On your digital plate. Yes. Okay. I have to tell a story.
So my big sister in sorority, she is very, very intelligent,
but sometimes you wonderful, really intelligent people lack a little bit of
(06:01):
common sense or street smart.
She's book smart, not street smart. Is that what you're saying?
Yes, that's what I'm saying.
I remember her vividly telling me this story. It was after college.
And she said, yeah, like I was having issues with my computer.
And so I was calling a person to get them to help me with tech support on it.
And they said, well, have you cleared your cookies?
And she goes, how did you know? How did you know I was eating cookies?
(06:25):
Because she's like, yeah, I mean, I had crumbs in my keyboard.
Did they know that? Is that what was causing the issues with my computer?
And I'm like, I just want to know what their response. I know.
I wish I was a fly on the wall. You know, it's probably like something they joke about to this day.
Yeah. Oh, yeah. And so she even took it further because she told all of us about this.
And there was another story that goes with it that she also had throw pillows
(06:49):
in the back of her car because she said it looked like a couch.
Oh. So one of my other friends heard this story live as she was telling it and
thought it was hilarious.
So she made both Daniel and I throw pillows with cookie fabric.
Break so we would never forget the throw pillow and
cookie crumb story this is like pet my ride
(07:10):
circa 2020 i mean
she just said it looks like a little couch does she listen to bullcast i don't
think so good i love i love you if you do listen like i'm just picking fun on
you it was hilarious we all like ditzy moments we can all appreciate it but
i mean in her theory so it's like okay she had cookie crumbs that were on her
keyboard that she and her mind thought was affecting what what was going on with her computer.
(07:33):
So, okay. So what you just said, Cam, is cookies are not bad.
So when I pop onto a new website or something like that, and it pops up at the
bottom, it's like, do you want to accept the cookies?
And I think a lot of us have this fear of like, ooh, no, I don't know what that is.
But you're telling me it's more of, maybe if it didn't say accept the cookies,
but it was like, would you like us to save this information about you to help
(07:57):
make your next experience better, more customized? And as a millennial, I always click yes.
And a lot of times you can't really click outside of it. It's like,
okay, you can't use this website if you don't accept cookies.
I appreciate how it tailors to me. I googled, are there any downsides to cookies?
And they're pretty minor. One is privacy, which I think a lot of people are.
I mean, it's good to be careful about privacy, but it says cookies can track
(08:20):
your online activities and build a profile of your interests and preferences,
which I already discussed. I don't see a downside to that.
Security. Cookies are stored on the client's device and can be vulnerable to
security threats, such as theft or tampering. I have not experienced that yet.
Fingers crossed. Yeah. The third downside is limited size. cookies have a limited
size, typically four kilobytes, which can make them unsuitable for storing large
(08:42):
amounts of data. That's stupid.
Not fully secured. Cookies are not fully secured and can interfere with any
external party. And lastly, cookie-based authentication.
Cookie-based authentication does not work well with all native applications.
So you see the threats are pretty low. Yeah. To me, it sounds like it's more of a positive.
Now, what's going to be annoying is if you're searching for,
(09:03):
you know, somebody starts talking about Golden Goose and then you start looking
on your browser on your phone for Golden Goose Shoes, then now it's going to
be talking to your Facebook. It's going to be talking to your Instagram.
And now you're going to start seeing influencers with Golden Gooses and ads with it.
So on their perspective, it is helping them cater to you, sending you to then
(09:25):
future websites to purchase things.
It's helping them make money. It's marketing 101.
It's like, we'll keep pushing this because they were interested in it.
And the thought behind it is they'll click on it and buy it.
And I'll keep it in the back of their mind, too.
So anytime it's like, oh, I did see that and I wanted to Google it and now I'm
going to buy it. And thank you for bringing us back around.
Our listeners are probably like, why are they discussing cookies on Bullcats?
(09:46):
Well, online shopping. Yeah, it's online shopping.
And so here, let me throw a little nugget in here with this because I know I've said it before.
But as you're going on these websites, because let's face it,
a lot of shopping now is pretty much done online.
And I mean, there's so many great opportunities.
And the thing is, you need to be safe with it. Obviously, Cam talked about some
(10:06):
of the issues that can come into the equation with having cookies,
but you're vulnerable anytime you sign onto your phone, anytime you click on an article.
And sometimes they're so secretive, like these hacker emails are ridiculous.
But how can you protect yourself?
Well, anytime you're purchasing something, you know, obviously,
let's break it down. Your name, your birthday, stuff like that is out there.
(10:29):
Whether you like Bombas socks or something like that, like that's out there.
People know if you've purchased it, you've searched it, things like that.
That's kind of yes. So your privacy is stripped from that. What you can do is
protect your bank accounts.
You can protect your financial information, your social security number.
Like anytime somebody needs your social security number on an online thing,
really strongly question it and even verify, call the company that's asking for it.
(10:56):
On websites, when you're purchasing something, best thing to do is if you can
go through and do it with Apple Pay or do it with PayPal or Venmo or things
like that, that's then adding an extra layer because then on PayPal,
you think about it, hey, I'm gonna buy through PayPal,
but I've got a credit card stored in PayPal.
But now it's gotta go through two layers and to get your credit card information.
(11:20):
And then if there's a fraudulent charge, something like that,
you can call PayPal, you can talk to Apple Pay.
Or if you don't have any of those, and there are some websites that don't have
the interface to have PayPal or Apple, use a credit card.
Even if you are like, I'm not a credit card person, for online things, use a credit card.
Because then that way, if you charge, so, you know, we've got these ads popping
(11:44):
up of, you know, Bombas socks. I'm like, I really want those.
Use your credit card. Because then if it was a fake website and they try and
then have a $300 charge instead of a $30 charge, you can then call your credit
card company and say, that was a fake charge. I never received the products.
They triple charged me, blah, blah, blah. And it's removed.
(12:04):
Versus if you use your bank account, use your debit card, they're coming after your money.
And that, while yes, you can talk to your banks, you can try and get your money
back. It is a much lengthier process.
And then you're dealing with out all this money instead of on a credit card.
It's just, hey, there's a charge. That wasn't me. And you get it removed.
(12:25):
That's right. And I'm such a snob. If there is ever the option to do Apple Pay,
I do it. It's convenient. It's easy.
It's my best friend. I love Apple Pay. It's dangerous. It takes two little clicks
on your side button and it is paid for.
Yeah, and your face. But see, then you think about it. So your Apple Pay,
your PayPal already has your shipping address linked in there.
It's already got your preferences.
(12:46):
And so it makes it easy. It makes it dangerous, but it makes it easy.
It's great for impulsive purchases. Yeah.
Let me tell our listeners the two types of cookies and then maybe we can round
robin how do cookies work.
Okay. Okay. So the two types of cookies are first party and third party.
First party are placed on your device by the website you are visiting.
So that website is doing the cookie baking.
(13:08):
For example, a first party cookie might remember your login information so that
you don't have to type it in every time you visit a website, which I love.
I love that. You don't have to remember your password.
Third party cookies. These are placed on your device by websites other than
the one you're visiting.
They track your browsing activity
across different websites and show you targeted ads. Hello, Facebook.
All right. How do cookies work? Katie, do you want to start with step one and
(13:31):
we'll just kind of go around? Okay, so we're going to bake some cookies. How do these work?
You visit a website. Step two, the website sends a cookie to your browser.
Step three, you eat the cookie. I'm just kidding. Your browser stores the cookie
on your device. Okay, hope it doesn't get stale. I know.
The next time you visit the same website, your browser sends the cookie back
(13:53):
to the website. Okay, so it's holding it. It's keeping it safe for you.
Now, oh, Nicole's popped on. She's on the website.
She's on Ticketmaster now, and they're like, oh, send the cookie.
She wants Taylor Swift. How did you know what I bought yesterday?
Okay, I'm not going to burn these cookies. So the website then uses the information
in the cookie to personalize your experience, like login for information,
(14:15):
targeted ads, suggested products, everything like that.
A cookie is kind of like a fortune cookie. It has like a little piece of paper
in there with some information. You just crack it open and then stick it back in there.
Well, the thing is, is that you think about it. We love that Netflix and Hulu
and Amazon Prime and stuff like that.
We love that it suggests things for us. And you know, it's in a way asking because
(14:35):
after you watch something, it's like, did you love this?
Did you like it? Was it not for you? Because it's trying to learn.
It's trying to figure out what you enjoy, what you don't, so then it can push things to you.
Now, in that sense, it's pushing movies, TV, things that you've already paid
for the subscription service.
So you're not paying anything extra, but then it's teaching them about you.
And then I'm sure Netflix, Hulu, they're probably telling, you know,
(14:58):
if you're watching and Emily in Paris, then I'm probably sending stuff to like
a fashion website of like, hey, buy an Emily in Paris inspired outfit.
Buy this, buy that. I think you can kind of divide it.
Netflix, they probably use machine learning and AI to do that.
But it's like you said, you've already paid for it. And so they're just like
a little butler, like, hey, how can we make this a little better?
Then websites using cookies, it's just like, we want to sell you something.
(15:19):
It's like the shady guy with a trench coat. He like opens it up and it's full
of watches. He's like, hey.
It's full of cookies. And it's, I think it's all perspective because it's like,
if you like, I get a lot of my makeup from Sephora and stuff.
And so I've got the app on my phone and it will like, I'll buy some of the same
stuff, but then I'll every once in a while pop up with suggestions, things like that.
So yes, they're trying to pitch products to me, but I'm sure it's probably,
(15:43):
I've researched some TikTok thing that I've seen.
And then Sephora is like, you know, this is a dupe of that, or this is, you know, something.
And what's nice about that is when you buy foundation, it's
hard to remember out of 50 shades what color so
it's like hey you bought porcelain last time cuz you're very pale
would you like to buy it again yes I would you look like
Twilight well and even like I love how like Amazon and then several other places
(16:07):
that you've bought from a lot may tell you like hey looking at this I think
you need to order this size mm-hmm based on your previous purchases this is
what you need to get so it really can turn into a.
Some of the websites you use a lot can end up being like a personal shopper.
They know you, they know your body.
Now, of course, you have to be somebody who actually like returns something
(16:28):
if it doesn't fit or has that feedback.
It's like your own personal shopper. It is. You want to talk about the benefits
of cookies? Let's talk about them.
A, or number one, I don't know why I said A, personalized website experiences.
We've talked about that a lot already, such as saved logins and recommendations.
It just makes your life easier.
Streamline user journey. Remember shopping carts. that's what gets you in trouble.
(16:52):
It's like, oh, you still, and they'll send you an email. Hey,
you left this in your cart.
I will tell you, I had an experience, kind of caught me off guard.
I had bought a baby shower gift for somebody and I got an email yesterday that
was like, somebody you bought a baby shower gift, their due date is today.
And I'm like, oh, that's extreme.
And so then I was able to text the girl and say, hey, how are things going?
(17:13):
And I didn't say like, I got a creepy email that said it's your due date,
but like found out. She doesn't have to know that.
Yeah. Yeah. But I mean, that's it. It was like it was kind of was a cool way
to then like personalize and like bring it back. Like, hey, you bought something for somebody.
Their due dates today. Do you want to reach back out to them?
Probably wanted me to buy more stuff. But, you know. Yeah. Okay.
I built a website recently for
somebody who wrote a book, somebody that's close to me. It may be my boss.
(17:34):
It's a book coming out. Whatever. We'll pitch that later once it's officially launched.
But on that website, I guess a few months ago, I was testing it out and I put
the stuff in my shopping cart.
Yesterday I went and it was still in the shopping cart. So that website uses cookies. cookies.
Yeah, I just experienced that yesterday as well. That's kind of weird.
Do we know what's going on? I don't know.
Okay, what's the third benefit? It's content relevant to interest in online activities.
(17:58):
Facebook. Yeah, like I've been doing, I'm going to New York next month,
so I've been doing a lot of research on that.
So now I just keep getting ads for tickets for things going on that it's like,
hey, come to this show that's $200 a ticket.
Like, okay, I can afford that. Sure. How much of your Facebook content is Taylor
Swift? I'm curious. I'm actually curious.
I mean, I'm a part of a few groups that are Taylor Swift. But like,
(18:21):
are the ads that pop up? Not really. Really? Yeah. See, I have a ton.
I don't know what my most popular ads are now that I think about it.
I see a ton of Taylor Swift, Travis Kelsey stuff. I mean, she is everywhere. She's everywhere.
And there's a lot of backlash about something going on with AI with her right now.
So you probably are seeing a lot of it. Well, and it probably doesn't help that
(18:42):
every so often I go on to like StubHub or Ticketmaster and keep looking at the
tickets. That definitely.
And if you find any, just, you know. I find them.
If you find some good price ones, just shout my name and I'll come run.
So you can get a suite in New Orleans for 25 people for $64,000.
I think we can make a pick. So if we can find investors for $2,500 a pop,
(19:05):
25 people, Commonwealth compliance.
I'm not asking for investors of this. Totally a joke. But yeah.
There is a rumor that she is going to be releasing more USA dates.
So maybe I'll hear it from me. Maybe I'll hold off. You never know.
All right. That was the benefits of cookies for users. Now let's talk about
the benefits of cookies for businesses.
(19:25):
Improved website analytics and user insights. That is nerdy talk.
Yes, very good for businesses. Analytics.
Basically, analytics is the people that come to your website.
You know what they're all about, their demographics, their age,
their gender, their interests.
Yeah, but I mean, that helps for a business of knowing, like,
who are you reaching out to?
What's the area you're missing or playing to that demographic?
(19:47):
Graphic. It's kind of like when we've talked about with BullCast.
I mean, we really thought we were gearing much towards the younger generation.
And then we found that we're hitting all generations for sure.
And at the beginning, we were really hitting a lot of our existing clients and
some of our older clients that were wanting to get some more knowledge.
And it wasn't so much the younger generation.
(20:07):
So yeah, like if you're a California brewery, for example, and you see through
analytics that a lot of the visitors are from Tennessee, see,
maybe you could make like a Tennessee or Dolly Parton themed beer and that will
help them pull the trigger because you know,
you already have a lot of eyes from Tennessee on you. Yeah, exactly.
Play to it. So also increased efficiency and conversion rates, targeted ads.
(20:28):
Obviously they're just pushing it. Conversion rates, meaning they actually pull
the trigger and purchase.
Yep. Yep. And revenue is also generated through ad sales and personalized marketing
goes hand in hand with those targeted ads.
Well, they get the feedback because I know I know there's so many times I've
clicked on something, looked at it and then have put it in my cart and I'm like,
eh, but then they'll find you. They always find you. It's the cookie monster.
(20:51):
Right now, my feed is a lot of Mardi Gras apparel and stuff like that.
And that's an old coworker of ours tagged me in a like TikTok video of this store.
So this is up your alley. I went to the store, I put some stuff in my cart.
And now I just keep getting ads and ads and ads of this store.
Like, do you want to buy this? Do you want to buy that? Do you want to buy this?
And I'm like, no, I don't. I do, but I don't.
(21:12):
It's funny. I feel like as soon as you add something to your cart,
it just like breaks the walls down and all your information like goes to all these companies.
I picture, do y'all remember that movie Inside Out? Like the Pixar one where
they've got all the people in the head.
I almost feel like that's kind of like the store and it's like,
oh, oh, oh, they're putting the cart. That's in the cart.
We're good to go. Keep going. Go. Boom. Oh, they left.
(21:34):
Push, push, push. And like you're walking out of this digital like mall and
all these businesses are holding like these for sale signs.
Yeah. Yeah. I love it. We should make a Pixar movie about it.
Nicole, do you want to tell us
about the future of cookies? The future of cookies. That sounds daunting.
Please don't tell me cookies are going away. They're peanut butter and lemon and cilantro.
(21:54):
The whole reason that I came up with the idea of this episode is because I read
an interesting article the other day that Google Chrome is going to phase out cookies.
Cookies after we've talked about cookies google is
now trying to phase them out why are they phasing them out so it
says they're going to do a limited test to restrict cookies for one percent
of the people using google chrome which is a very little percent of people because
(22:17):
google chrome is the most popular browser i don't really know why they're wanting
to do this but it just says that chrome users account for 65 of worldwide traffic
are they trying to go with the whole like
Privacy, because that's a big thing is everybody's worried about their privacy.
Of course, you know, you think about, I know, I think I've told on this website,
I've talked about on this podcast before, like Alexa and stuff like that.
(22:41):
Like I got in a fight with my Alexa because she was suggesting books that I
did not agree that I needed, but she thought I needed.
And so I feel like everywhere we go, there's bits and pieces of your privacy being taken.
That's exactly right. Right. Internet says Internet, not the Internet, just Internet.
Just Google. Google is phasing out third party cookies and Chrome as part of
(23:04):
a larger strategy to protect user privacy.
The move is also intended to appease consumers who are increasingly aware of
the use of their personal data. I feel like this is going to backfire.
It's going to really hurt businesses. I feel like most importantly,
if they actually get rid of all the cookies, because you won't see those targeted ads anymore.
You don't see that. Yeah, it's annoying seeing some of this stuff.
(23:25):
It's like you search, like if Cam said something and I like search something
up, well, that's really Cam said something. It's not really me.
And so then now I'm going to start seeing ads about it. But I also think for
the annoying parts of it, there's also a lot of positive too,
because you are finding out about different places, different things.
And I don't know, your information's out there already. It really is.
(23:46):
Like there's ways to still stay private. But if you have a computer,
if you have a phone, if you have Alexa devices, things like like that,
your information is out there.
And as a marketer, I speak with authority when I say marketers will find a way.
They remove this, they'll find another way to get to you. That's just how we do it.
You think about it that way of like, okay, it's helping to stimulate the economy,
(24:07):
which is good. We want to stimulate the economy.
And so these ads, these things like that are not the bad guys because that's
somebody's job to try and push these products.
And also to make sure you find out about this cute mom and pop brewery in California
that's got a Dolly Parton beer I love that idea It's a good one What would it be called?
(24:30):
I will always love brew. Oh, I love it. That's amazing.
I have a shirt. I almost wore it today, but it's a, it looks like a queen,
queen of hearts card, but it's actually Dolly. I love that. Yeah, it's pretty cool.
But thing is, is, okay, so if we're not able to see this cute little brewery
with his Dolly part and beer, then all these small little companies are just
(24:51):
going to get gobbled up by these bigger companies and it's going to turn into, you have a choice.
Do you pick company A, B, C, or D? That's it. And so, yeah, I mean. Yeah, here it is.
Consumers perceive third-party cookies as a form of privacy-invading technology.
That sounds scary. But see, they perceive it. It doesn't mean it is it, but.
(25:11):
I feel like they probably read like a Facebook article that was not true and
just trying to anger people when they, you know what I mean?
It's kind of like the misconception of everybody thinking, oh,
my gosh, AI is going to be so scary.
And, yes, there are elements of it that if it's in the wrong hands,
it could be taken too far. But we've been using AI technology for a long time
with predictive text, with, you know, spell check, popping up and telling you you misspelled a word.
(25:36):
So this stuff has been happening for a while. And it's so much of,
I think, same thing with the cookies.
If we don't have that anymore, then you're going to be like,
oh, man, I left that in my cart.
Or what shade of shampoo, what shade of foundation did I use?
Porcelain. I think keep the cookies coming kind of to wrap this up.
(25:59):
Is it bullseye time? I think it's bullseye time.
So cookies are not harmful for your device. They can't delete files or spread viruses.
Now, obviously, let's put that if it seems like a sketchy website, then get off of it.
Don't accept the cookies because they could be rotten cookies made with bad
ingredients. They could be burnt.
Could be burnt cookies. So you don't need that. And you can delete cookies anytime you want.
(26:21):
Like if you want to opt out, you can. Yeah. And while restrictions will disrupt
like traditional advertising models, they also present opportunities for innovation
and ethical practices. I sound like Court there.
Well court is still with the cookie monster right now
and so hopefully we can save him now that we fully
understand that cookie monster we accept your cookies
(26:42):
it's fine we we get we get what
you're doing we get that a lot of this is behind the customer experience and
it's to be helpful and yes there's always going to be some of those bad things
out there that are going to try and steal your identity but protect yourself
with using like paypal apple pay using a credit And again, if it looks sketchy,
(27:04):
Then report it. Don't click on it. In a room full of chocolate chip cookies,
don't click on the nasty oatmeal raisin one.
I love the puns. I love it. And don't crumble by being scared of cookies.
Accept them. Eat them.
Oh, and boy, am I not ready for this. I always forget that when court's not
(27:24):
here... We have to do the closing. Yes, yes.
Thank you for joining us for another episode of Bullcast the Podcast.
This one was our bake sale edition. and a nice little fun-sized, bite-sized episode.
If you like what you heard and you'd like to hear more, please feel free to
go to our website. That is bullcastpodcast.com.
When you're there, you can read about all of us, including Nicole,
(27:46):
because we just got a facelift on the website.
Woo-hoo! I'm officially baked on the website.
And on the website, you can also subscribe on any of the podcast platforms. We're on everything.
And if you do that, our episodes will be delivered every Thursday at noon to
your favorite listening device.
Also, we have socials. We've got Instagram, Facebook, Twitter slash X.
(28:07):
Go find us, BullCast Podcast.
Lastly, I don't know if we've mentioned it on this episode, but we all work
for a place called Pickler Wealth Advisors.
And if you'd like to find out more about our professional lives,
our fancy bios, you can go to that website.
You can also learn about our boss, David Pickler. That website is PicklerWealthAdvisors.com.
That's advisors with an L, not an E.
(28:29):
Ladies, I think we have wrapped up. Are y'all hungry now for cookies?
I'm ready. Ready for those Girl Scout cookies to get here. Me too.
Me too. All right. Well, I'm Cameron. I'm Katie. And I'm Nicole.
And that's how the cookie crumbles.
Music.
Music.
(00:10):
Hello, and welcome to the BullCast Podcast. I'm Katie Pickler,
and with me today is not Court Winsett.
He got taken by the Cookie Monster.
But today I do have Cameron Spann. I could really go for a snickerdoodle right
about now. And Nicole Ellis. I think I want a chocolate chip.
Oh, yeah. So it's like Crumble Cookie. They come out with their different menus
(00:32):
every week, and it's just, it's crazy. Although I looked at a couple of days
ago and they had like a Wonka inspired one and I really wanted that, but they were sold out.
And so I'm like, well, then I'm not going to eat any of them.
Okay. So this episode, the reason why I mentioned that Court was taken off by
the cookie monster is we're going to talk about internet cookies. cookies.
You're going, okay, why are you talking about internet cookies?
(00:54):
Well, this is kind of one of those things that, you know, we tell y'all we're
a financial podcast and finances isn't everything.
And so how many times have you logged on your computer and it's been the pop-up
of like accepting cookies or not and trying to decide what to do with that?
I know I didn't really understand what cookies were.
So on this episode, we're going to talk about cookies as far as what they show up on the internet.
(01:17):
But of course, to have fun, we're going to talk about real cookies Real cookies
that you can enjoy because those dealers are out.
Have you seen them? I haven't seen them. The little ones with the little dresses?
Cute little girls with their pigtails and they're coming at you.
They're in front of Kroger. They're at the church.
You know, now they're hitting you through social media because they've got these
digital links. Yes, we're talking about Girl Scouts.
(01:40):
And man, they've got the Boy Scouts beat when it comes to, you know, sales.
Because you can't beat the cookies. Don't Boy Scouts sell popcorn?
Popcorn. It's not near as good. It's just not the same. Although the popcorn's
pretty good. And now they hit you. It's like, oh, you don't have any cash.
They're like, oh, we accept Venmo. It's like, I can't use that excuse anymore.
The cookies are expensive. It's, you know, like six bucks a box,
(02:00):
I think, or something like that. Yeah, but they're very delicious.
They are, but they've gotten smaller with their quantities. They have.
Okay, so this is the best-selling Girl Scout cookies, which,
side note, did y'all know that some of them are a little bit different depending
on which factory they're coming from?
I did not know that. I knew that because I read that when I was researching.
I didn't put both of their names, but I feel like these, the ones that I have
(02:23):
listed are the famous names of them. But I could be wrong.
We know. And I've seen some of these with like what alcoholic drink to pair
with your cookies and things like that. You may have a problem if you decide to do that.
Well, dry January is almost over. It's almost over.
Okay. So let's go through the best selling Girl Scout cookies and then maybe
we can say our favorites at the end.
(02:46):
So number five do-si-do a crunchy oatmeal sandwich cookie with peanut butter
filling that just makes me want to grab my partner and spin them round and round,
that was so cheesy it's so stupid please go all right number four on the list
is adventure fools indulgent brownies inspired cookies topped with caramel flavored
(03:08):
cream with a hint of sea salt that just makes me want to hike up a mountain Mountain.
Adventure. Number three, tagalongs. Crispy cookies layered with peanut butter
and covered with a chocolatey coating. Like a Reese's. Yes, sir.
Okay. Samoas is number two. Crisp cookies with caramel, coconut, and chocolatey strips.
(03:28):
That sounds great. Yep. Number one on the list is a shock to no one.
Thin Mints. They are crisp chocolate cookies dipped in a delicious mint chocolatey coating.
Do you ever put your Thin Mints in the freezer? Yes. Oh, it's so good.
Okay, so game changer. I always put my Thin Mints in the freezer.
I've started putting my Tagalongs in the freezer as well.
I don't really like Thin Mints.
(03:49):
It is a polarizing flavor. Like you always hear people say that,
but mint is not for everybody. It makes me feel like I'm eating toothpaste.
I've heard people say that. Do you like cilantro?
Sometimes, yes. I like cilantro. You know, you hear people, the people that
don't like cilantro, it tastes like soap.
Yeah, there is a distinct group of people that it tastes like soap.
I like cilantro. I like my Thin Mints. Okay.
(04:11):
But I don't like them mints, and I like cilantro. What do you like?
I like cilantro-flavored cookies. Gross.
Nasty. Well, good news. I don't think I've told y'all yet, but we did hit one
of the dealers, and so the office is going to be getting a shipment of large amount of cookies.
A whole crate full. A whole crate full. Did you get Samoas?
That's my favorite. I think we got all the flavors.
(04:34):
You know what I actually really like, which is like the least favorite flavor,
is Toffee-tastic. I think it's the gluten-free one, and nobody likes it, but I like them.
Well, I know like Trayful's is one of David's favorites. I like those too.
The little like butter cookies. I was about to Google. I was like,
I can't remember what it's called, but it's just like the plain one.
It's the plain one. But Tagalongs and Thin Mints are definitely my favorites.
(04:56):
Okay, so now that we've got your mouth watering and now everybody wants to eat
cookies, let's talk about what are cookies?
I will give a very brief synopsis. just out of my mind here,
and it's probably in the outline too.
It's basically like little bits of data that websites use to store information
on your device that just tells them about you, like your preferences,
(05:18):
your font size, your personal information. And yeah, that sounds scary.
But from my experience, cookies aren't bad. A good example is,
you know how when you get on Facebook and it like knows you,
all the ads are based on you.
It's like, I just Googled that. How does it know that? It uses cookies.
And the whole point of cookies is not to like try to control you, I guess you could say.
It's just trying to cater to you, customize. It's trying to make your internet
(05:41):
experience better so that you hop on and it just knows what you like.
They're like little crumbs you left behind that keep following you everywhere.
On your digital plate. Yes. Okay. I have to tell a story.
So my big sister in sorority, she is very, very intelligent,
but sometimes you wonderful, really intelligent people lack a little bit of
(06:01):
common sense or street smart.
She's book smart, not street smart. Is that what you're saying?
Yes, that's what I'm saying.
I remember her vividly telling me this story. It was after college.
And she said, yeah, like I was having issues with my computer.
And so I was calling a person to get them to help me with tech support on it.
And they said, well, have you cleared your cookies?
And she goes, how did you know? How did you know I was eating cookies?
(06:25):
Because she's like, yeah, I mean, I had crumbs in my keyboard.
Did they know that? Is that what was causing the issues with my computer?
And I'm like, I just want to know what their response. I know.
I wish I was a fly on the wall. You know, it's probably like something they joke about to this day.
Yeah. Oh, yeah. And so she even took it further because she told all of us about this.
And there was another story that goes with it that she also had throw pillows
(06:49):
in the back of her car because she said it looked like a couch.
Oh. So one of my other friends heard this story live as she was telling it and
thought it was hilarious.
So she made both Daniel and I throw pillows with cookie fabric.
Break so we would never forget the throw pillow and
cookie crumb story this is like pet my ride
(07:10):
circa 2020 i mean
she just said it looks like a little couch does she listen to bullcast i don't
think so good i love i love you if you do listen like i'm just picking fun on
you it was hilarious we all like ditzy moments we can all appreciate it but
i mean in her theory so it's like okay she had cookie crumbs that were on her
keyboard that she and her mind thought was affecting what what was going on with her computer.
(07:33):
So, okay. So what you just said, Cam, is cookies are not bad.
So when I pop onto a new website or something like that, and it pops up at the
bottom, it's like, do you want to accept the cookies?
And I think a lot of us have this fear of like, ooh, no, I don't know what that is.
But you're telling me it's more of, maybe if it didn't say accept the cookies,
but it was like, would you like us to save this information about you to help
(07:57):
make your next experience better, more customized? And as a millennial, I always click yes.
And a lot of times you can't really click outside of it. It's like,
okay, you can't use this website if you don't accept cookies.
I appreciate how it tailors to me. I googled, are there any downsides to cookies?
And they're pretty minor. One is privacy, which I think a lot of people are.
I mean, it's good to be careful about privacy, but it says cookies can track
(08:20):
your online activities and build a profile of your interests and preferences,
which I already discussed. I don't see a downside to that.
Security. Cookies are stored on the client's device and can be vulnerable to
security threats, such as theft or tampering. I have not experienced that yet.
Fingers crossed. Yeah. The third downside is limited size. cookies have a limited
size, typically four kilobytes, which can make them unsuitable for storing large
(08:42):
amounts of data. That's stupid.
Not fully secured. Cookies are not fully secured and can interfere with any
external party. And lastly, cookie-based authentication.
Cookie-based authentication does not work well with all native applications.
So you see the threats are pretty low. Yeah. To me, it sounds like it's more of a positive.
Now, what's going to be annoying is if you're searching for,
(09:03):
you know, somebody starts talking about Golden Goose and then you start looking
on your browser on your phone for Golden Goose Shoes, then now it's going to
be talking to your Facebook. It's going to be talking to your Instagram.
And now you're going to start seeing influencers with Golden Gooses and ads with it.
So on their perspective, it is helping them cater to you, sending you to then
(09:25):
future websites to purchase things.
It's helping them make money. It's marketing 101.
It's like, we'll keep pushing this because they were interested in it.
And the thought behind it is they'll click on it and buy it.
And I'll keep it in the back of their mind, too.
So anytime it's like, oh, I did see that and I wanted to Google it and now I'm
going to buy it. And thank you for bringing us back around.
Our listeners are probably like, why are they discussing cookies on Bullcats?
(09:46):
Well, online shopping. Yeah, it's online shopping.
And so here, let me throw a little nugget in here with this because I know I've said it before.
But as you're going on these websites, because let's face it,
a lot of shopping now is pretty much done online.
And I mean, there's so many great opportunities.
And the thing is, you need to be safe with it. Obviously, Cam talked about some
(10:06):
of the issues that can come into the equation with having cookies,
but you're vulnerable anytime you sign onto your phone, anytime you click on an article.
And sometimes they're so secretive, like these hacker emails are ridiculous.
But how can you protect yourself?
Well, anytime you're purchasing something, you know, obviously,
let's break it down. Your name, your birthday, stuff like that is out there.
(10:29):
Whether you like Bombas socks or something like that, like that's out there.
People know if you've purchased it, you've searched it, things like that.
That's kind of yes. So your privacy is stripped from that. What you can do is
protect your bank accounts.
You can protect your financial information, your social security number.
Like anytime somebody needs your social security number on an online thing,
really strongly question it and even verify, call the company that's asking for it.
(10:56):
On websites, when you're purchasing something, best thing to do is if you can
go through and do it with Apple Pay or do it with PayPal or Venmo or things
like that, that's then adding an extra layer because then on PayPal,
you think about it, hey, I'm gonna buy through PayPal,
but I've got a credit card stored in PayPal.
But now it's gotta go through two layers and to get your credit card information.
(11:20):
And then if there's a fraudulent charge, something like that,
you can call PayPal, you can talk to Apple Pay.
Or if you don't have any of those, and there are some websites that don't have
the interface to have PayPal or Apple, use a credit card.
Even if you are like, I'm not a credit card person, for online things, use a credit card.
Because then that way, if you charge, so, you know, we've got these ads popping
(11:44):
up of, you know, Bombas socks. I'm like, I really want those.
Use your credit card. Because then if it was a fake website and they try and
then have a $300 charge instead of a $30 charge, you can then call your credit
card company and say, that was a fake charge. I never received the products.
They triple charged me, blah, blah, blah. And it's removed.
(12:04):
Versus if you use your bank account, use your debit card, they're coming after your money.
And that, while yes, you can talk to your banks, you can try and get your money
back. It is a much lengthier process.
And then you're dealing with out all this money instead of on a credit card.
It's just, hey, there's a charge. That wasn't me. And you get it removed.
(12:25):
That's right. And I'm such a snob. If there is ever the option to do Apple Pay,
I do it. It's convenient. It's easy.
It's my best friend. I love Apple Pay. It's dangerous. It takes two little clicks
on your side button and it is paid for.
Yeah, and your face. But see, then you think about it. So your Apple Pay,
your PayPal already has your shipping address linked in there.
It's already got your preferences.
(12:46):
And so it makes it easy. It makes it dangerous, but it makes it easy.
It's great for impulsive purchases. Yeah.
Let me tell our listeners the two types of cookies and then maybe we can round
robin how do cookies work.
Okay. Okay. So the two types of cookies are first party and third party.
First party are placed on your device by the website you are visiting.
So that website is doing the cookie baking.
(13:08):
For example, a first party cookie might remember your login information so that
you don't have to type it in every time you visit a website, which I love.
I love that. You don't have to remember your password.
Third party cookies. These are placed on your device by websites other than
the one you're visiting.
They track your browsing activity
across different websites and show you targeted ads. Hello, Facebook.
All right. How do cookies work? Katie, do you want to start with step one and
(13:31):
we'll just kind of go around? Okay, so we're going to bake some cookies. How do these work?
You visit a website. Step two, the website sends a cookie to your browser.
Step three, you eat the cookie. I'm just kidding. Your browser stores the cookie
on your device. Okay, hope it doesn't get stale. I know.
The next time you visit the same website, your browser sends the cookie back
(13:53):
to the website. Okay, so it's holding it. It's keeping it safe for you.
Now, oh, Nicole's popped on. She's on the website.
She's on Ticketmaster now, and they're like, oh, send the cookie.
She wants Taylor Swift. How did you know what I bought yesterday?
Okay, I'm not going to burn these cookies. So the website then uses the information
in the cookie to personalize your experience, like login for information,
(14:15):
targeted ads, suggested products, everything like that.
A cookie is kind of like a fortune cookie. It has like a little piece of paper
in there with some information. You just crack it open and then stick it back in there.
Well, the thing is, is that you think about it. We love that Netflix and Hulu
and Amazon Prime and stuff like that.
We love that it suggests things for us. And you know, it's in a way asking because
(14:35):
after you watch something, it's like, did you love this?
Did you like it? Was it not for you? Because it's trying to learn.
It's trying to figure out what you enjoy, what you don't, so then it can push things to you.
Now, in that sense, it's pushing movies, TV, things that you've already paid
for the subscription service.
So you're not paying anything extra, but then it's teaching them about you.
And then I'm sure Netflix, Hulu, they're probably telling, you know,
(14:58):
if you're watching and Emily in Paris, then I'm probably sending stuff to like
a fashion website of like, hey, buy an Emily in Paris inspired outfit.
Buy this, buy that. I think you can kind of divide it.
Netflix, they probably use machine learning and AI to do that.
But it's like you said, you've already paid for it. And so they're just like
a little butler, like, hey, how can we make this a little better?
Then websites using cookies, it's just like, we want to sell you something.
(15:19):
It's like the shady guy with a trench coat. He like opens it up and it's full
of watches. He's like, hey.
It's full of cookies. And it's, I think it's all perspective because it's like,
if you like, I get a lot of my makeup from Sephora and stuff.
And so I've got the app on my phone and it will like, I'll buy some of the same
stuff, but then I'll every once in a while pop up with suggestions, things like that.
So yes, they're trying to pitch products to me, but I'm sure it's probably,
(15:43):
I've researched some TikTok thing that I've seen.
And then Sephora is like, you know, this is a dupe of that, or this is, you know, something.
And what's nice about that is when you buy foundation, it's
hard to remember out of 50 shades what color so
it's like hey you bought porcelain last time cuz you're very pale
would you like to buy it again yes I would you look like
Twilight well and even like I love how like Amazon and then several other places
(16:07):
that you've bought from a lot may tell you like hey looking at this I think
you need to order this size mm-hmm based on your previous purchases this is
what you need to get so it really can turn into a.
Some of the websites you use a lot can end up being like a personal shopper.
They know you, they know your body.
Now, of course, you have to be somebody who actually like returns something
(16:28):
if it doesn't fit or has that feedback.
It's like your own personal shopper. It is. You want to talk about the benefits
of cookies? Let's talk about them.
A, or number one, I don't know why I said A, personalized website experiences.
We've talked about that a lot already, such as saved logins and recommendations.
It just makes your life easier.
Streamline user journey. Remember shopping carts. that's what gets you in trouble.
(16:52):
It's like, oh, you still, and they'll send you an email. Hey,
you left this in your cart.
I will tell you, I had an experience, kind of caught me off guard.
I had bought a baby shower gift for somebody and I got an email yesterday that
was like, somebody you bought a baby shower gift, their due date is today.
And I'm like, oh, that's extreme.
And so then I was able to text the girl and say, hey, how are things going?
(17:13):
And I didn't say like, I got a creepy email that said it's your due date,
but like found out. She doesn't have to know that.
Yeah. Yeah. But I mean, that's it. It was like it was kind of was a cool way
to then like personalize and like bring it back. Like, hey, you bought something for somebody.
Their due dates today. Do you want to reach back out to them?
Probably wanted me to buy more stuff. But, you know. Yeah. Okay.
I built a website recently for
somebody who wrote a book, somebody that's close to me. It may be my boss.
(17:34):
It's a book coming out. Whatever. We'll pitch that later once it's officially launched.
But on that website, I guess a few months ago, I was testing it out and I put
the stuff in my shopping cart.
Yesterday I went and it was still in the shopping cart. So that website uses cookies. cookies.
Yeah, I just experienced that yesterday as well. That's kind of weird.
Do we know what's going on? I don't know.
Okay, what's the third benefit? It's content relevant to interest in online activities.
(17:58):
Facebook. Yeah, like I've been doing, I'm going to New York next month,
so I've been doing a lot of research on that.
So now I just keep getting ads for tickets for things going on that it's like,
hey, come to this show that's $200 a ticket.
Like, okay, I can afford that. Sure. How much of your Facebook content is Taylor
Swift? I'm curious. I'm actually curious.
I mean, I'm a part of a few groups that are Taylor Swift. But like,
(18:21):
are the ads that pop up? Not really. Really? Yeah. See, I have a ton.
I don't know what my most popular ads are now that I think about it.
I see a ton of Taylor Swift, Travis Kelsey stuff. I mean, she is everywhere. She's everywhere.
And there's a lot of backlash about something going on with AI with her right now.
So you probably are seeing a lot of it. Well, and it probably doesn't help that
(18:42):
every so often I go on to like StubHub or Ticketmaster and keep looking at the
tickets. That definitely.
And if you find any, just, you know. I find them.
If you find some good price ones, just shout my name and I'll come run.
So you can get a suite in New Orleans for 25 people for $64,000.
I think we can make a pick. So if we can find investors for $2,500 a pop,
(19:05):
25 people, Commonwealth compliance.
I'm not asking for investors of this. Totally a joke. But yeah.
There is a rumor that she is going to be releasing more USA dates.
So maybe I'll hear it from me. Maybe I'll hold off. You never know.
All right. That was the benefits of cookies for users. Now let's talk about
the benefits of cookies for businesses.
(19:25):
Improved website analytics and user insights. That is nerdy talk.
Yes, very good for businesses. Analytics.
Basically, analytics is the people that come to your website.
You know what they're all about, their demographics, their age,
their gender, their interests.
Yeah, but I mean, that helps for a business of knowing, like,
who are you reaching out to?
What's the area you're missing or playing to that demographic?
(19:47):
Graphic. It's kind of like when we've talked about with BullCast.
I mean, we really thought we were gearing much towards the younger generation.
And then we found that we're hitting all generations for sure.
And at the beginning, we were really hitting a lot of our existing clients and
some of our older clients that were wanting to get some more knowledge.
And it wasn't so much the younger generation.
(20:07):
So yeah, like if you're a California brewery, for example, and you see through
analytics that a lot of the visitors are from Tennessee, see,
maybe you could make like a Tennessee or Dolly Parton themed beer and that will
help them pull the trigger because you know,
you already have a lot of eyes from Tennessee on you. Yeah, exactly.
Play to it. So also increased efficiency and conversion rates, targeted ads.
(20:28):
Obviously they're just pushing it. Conversion rates, meaning they actually pull
the trigger and purchase.
Yep. Yep. And revenue is also generated through ad sales and personalized marketing
goes hand in hand with those targeted ads.
Well, they get the feedback because I know I know there's so many times I've
clicked on something, looked at it and then have put it in my cart and I'm like,
eh, but then they'll find you. They always find you. It's the cookie monster.
(20:51):
Right now, my feed is a lot of Mardi Gras apparel and stuff like that.
And that's an old coworker of ours tagged me in a like TikTok video of this store.
So this is up your alley. I went to the store, I put some stuff in my cart.
And now I just keep getting ads and ads and ads of this store.
Like, do you want to buy this? Do you want to buy that? Do you want to buy this?
And I'm like, no, I don't. I do, but I don't.
(21:12):
It's funny. I feel like as soon as you add something to your cart,
it just like breaks the walls down and all your information like goes to all these companies.
I picture, do y'all remember that movie Inside Out? Like the Pixar one where
they've got all the people in the head.
I almost feel like that's kind of like the store and it's like,
oh, oh, oh, they're putting the cart. That's in the cart.
We're good to go. Keep going. Go. Boom. Oh, they left.
(21:34):
Push, push, push. And like you're walking out of this digital like mall and
all these businesses are holding like these for sale signs.
Yeah. Yeah. I love it. We should make a Pixar movie about it.
Nicole, do you want to tell us
about the future of cookies? The future of cookies. That sounds daunting.
Please don't tell me cookies are going away. They're peanut butter and lemon and cilantro.
(21:54):
The whole reason that I came up with the idea of this episode is because I read
an interesting article the other day that Google Chrome is going to phase out cookies.
Cookies after we've talked about cookies google is
now trying to phase them out why are they phasing them out so it
says they're going to do a limited test to restrict cookies for one percent
of the people using google chrome which is a very little percent of people because
(22:17):
google chrome is the most popular browser i don't really know why they're wanting
to do this but it just says that chrome users account for 65 of worldwide traffic
are they trying to go with the whole like
Privacy, because that's a big thing is everybody's worried about their privacy.
Of course, you know, you think about, I know, I think I've told on this website,
I've talked about on this podcast before, like Alexa and stuff like that.
(22:41):
Like I got in a fight with my Alexa because she was suggesting books that I
did not agree that I needed, but she thought I needed.
And so I feel like everywhere we go, there's bits and pieces of your privacy being taken.
That's exactly right. Right. Internet says Internet, not the Internet, just Internet.
Just Google. Google is phasing out third party cookies and Chrome as part of
(23:04):
a larger strategy to protect user privacy.
The move is also intended to appease consumers who are increasingly aware of
the use of their personal data. I feel like this is going to backfire.
It's going to really hurt businesses. I feel like most importantly,
if they actually get rid of all the cookies, because you won't see those targeted ads anymore.
You don't see that. Yeah, it's annoying seeing some of this stuff.
(23:25):
It's like you search, like if Cam said something and I like search something
up, well, that's really Cam said something. It's not really me.
And so then now I'm going to start seeing ads about it. But I also think for
the annoying parts of it, there's also a lot of positive too,
because you are finding out about different places, different things.
And I don't know, your information's out there already. It really is.
(23:46):
Like there's ways to still stay private. But if you have a computer,
if you have a phone, if you have Alexa devices, things like like that,
your information is out there.
And as a marketer, I speak with authority when I say marketers will find a way.
They remove this, they'll find another way to get to you. That's just how we do it.
You think about it that way of like, okay, it's helping to stimulate the economy,
(24:07):
which is good. We want to stimulate the economy.
And so these ads, these things like that are not the bad guys because that's
somebody's job to try and push these products.
And also to make sure you find out about this cute mom and pop brewery in California
that's got a Dolly Parton beer I love that idea It's a good one What would it be called?
(24:30):
I will always love brew. Oh, I love it. That's amazing.
I have a shirt. I almost wore it today, but it's a, it looks like a queen,
queen of hearts card, but it's actually Dolly. I love that. Yeah, it's pretty cool.
But thing is, is, okay, so if we're not able to see this cute little brewery
with his Dolly part and beer, then all these small little companies are just
(24:51):
going to get gobbled up by these bigger companies and it's going to turn into, you have a choice.
Do you pick company A, B, C, or D? That's it. And so, yeah, I mean. Yeah, here it is.
Consumers perceive third-party cookies as a form of privacy-invading technology.
That sounds scary. But see, they perceive it. It doesn't mean it is it, but.
(25:11):
I feel like they probably read like a Facebook article that was not true and
just trying to anger people when they, you know what I mean?
It's kind of like the misconception of everybody thinking, oh,
my gosh, AI is going to be so scary.
And, yes, there are elements of it that if it's in the wrong hands,
it could be taken too far. But we've been using AI technology for a long time
with predictive text, with, you know, spell check, popping up and telling you you misspelled a word.
(25:36):
So this stuff has been happening for a while. And it's so much of,
I think, same thing with the cookies.
If we don't have that anymore, then you're going to be like,
oh, man, I left that in my cart.
Or what shade of shampoo, what shade of foundation did I use?
Porcelain. I think keep the cookies coming kind of to wrap this up.
(25:59):
Is it bullseye time? I think it's bullseye time.
So cookies are not harmful for your device. They can't delete files or spread viruses.
Now, obviously, let's put that if it seems like a sketchy website, then get off of it.
Don't accept the cookies because they could be rotten cookies made with bad
ingredients. They could be burnt.
Could be burnt cookies. So you don't need that. And you can delete cookies anytime you want.
(26:21):
Like if you want to opt out, you can. Yeah. And while restrictions will disrupt
like traditional advertising models, they also present opportunities for innovation
and ethical practices. I sound like Court there.
Well court is still with the cookie monster right now
and so hopefully we can save him now that we fully
understand that cookie monster we accept your cookies
(26:42):
it's fine we we get we get what
you're doing we get that a lot of this is behind the customer experience and
it's to be helpful and yes there's always going to be some of those bad things
out there that are going to try and steal your identity but protect yourself
with using like paypal apple pay using a credit And again, if it looks sketchy,
(27:04):
Then report it. Don't click on it. In a room full of chocolate chip cookies,
don't click on the nasty oatmeal raisin one.
I love the puns. I love it. And don't crumble by being scared of cookies.
Accept them. Eat them.
Oh, and boy, am I not ready for this. I always forget that when court's not
(27:24):
here... We have to do the closing. Yes, yes.
Thank you for joining us for another episode of Bullcast the Podcast.
This one was our bake sale edition. and a nice little fun-sized, bite-sized episode.
If you like what you heard and you'd like to hear more, please feel free to
go to our website. That is bullcastpodcast.com.
When you're there, you can read about all of us, including Nicole,
(27:46):
because we just got a facelift on the website.
Woo-hoo! I'm officially baked on the website.
And on the website, you can also subscribe on any of the podcast platforms. We're on everything.
And if you do that, our episodes will be delivered every Thursday at noon to
your favorite listening device.
Also, we have socials. We've got Instagram, Facebook, Twitter slash X.
(28:07):
Go find us, BullCast Podcast.
Lastly, I don't know if we've mentioned it on this episode, but we all work
for a place called Pickler Wealth Advisors.
And if you'd like to find out more about our professional lives,
our fancy bios, you can go to that website.
You can also learn about our boss, David Pickler. That website is PicklerWealthAdvisors.com.
That's advisors with an L, not an E.
(28:29):
Ladies, I think we have wrapped up. Are y'all hungry now for cookies?
I'm ready. Ready for those Girl Scout cookies to get here. Me too.
Me too. All right. Well, I'm Cameron. I'm Katie. And I'm Nicole.
And that's how the cookie crumbles.
Music.
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