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Re: [microsound] the last.fm panopticon
The internet is not the only place where you are profiled in regards
to your economic viability, spending habits, demographic. Any time
you swipe a credit card/debit/cash card you are adding to an enormous
database. Get a home loan, car loan, business loan. same thing.
Look at the mail you get, you think its really that pot luck? I dont
remember signing any privacy policies at the register of the local
mart, whatever it may be. I have a choice on the internet, true.
But im afraid i do not in day to day life. Sure i can go all cash
but its not really a feasible option for a lot of people. Especially
if you have a family and building credit or equity really helps in
the big picture of things. Im sure you are aware of most of this but
i thought it worthwhile to point out. It can be a scary proposition
in many ways, but it can also help when you are responsible for others
(like kids or any dependents)
Just how much privacy do we really have? How much of a right to
privacy do we really have? I once did an experiment a few years ago
after i bought my first home. Any mail/offers/adverts i got, i made
it a point to go out of my way and notify the sender that i no longer
wished to receive offers from them. You know who stopped? The small
guys, like local mortgage brokers, coupon book distributers,
basically small business's. The corporate entities like Capital One,
Visa, AM-ex, Insurance companies, blah, blah just kept on sending. I
would call the provided automated numbers to be taken off of their
list and still they kept coming. Called talked to their
representatives and with a smile they basically tell me to call their
automated number. I hate the fact that i get so much mail with
sensitive information in it and always feel thats its just a matter
of time before it falls into the wrong hands. Maybe i could get a
lawyer but man that is going to some expensive extremes to keep my
self out of the loop and i would rather spend that money at the local
record shop/bookstore/art supply shop. I do feel helpless that i
cant do anything about it but i guess in my case what have they
really gained with my purchasing patterns.
Consumer 83283AHE9382-323's Purchasing Patterns
gas - milk - Guinness -bread - snickers bar - way too many records -
way way too many books - DVD's of what would be considered boring
content by most peoples standards - cat food - dog food - computer
related nerdery - Eddie and Sams pizza - underwear(rarely) Blah blah...
Crap. What started off as a muse turns into something scary. Those
purchases can be dissected even further. How often i will purchase
certain items a year, when i purchase said items. Where i usually
shop within proximity of my home, how much do i spend compared to how
much i earn. Product preferences. How often i travel. Purchasing
habits when i travel. I am sure they could assemble one heck of a
list over time, but in the end all it means is that i get more mail.
Could it turn into something more nefarious. Sure i believe so, but
i dont think it will really happen in my life time for the most
part. If it does and im an old fart who cares any way. Its the
future generations that should be attentive to what could quickly
spin out of control. I feel we are in a prison of sorts, its just
that the cage isnt really constrictive just yet. Doesn't mean that
the bars wont slowly close in on us. The aspect of our Governments
keeping tabs on us to this degree is what really scares me, now.
alEKs
On Jan 30, 2008, at 9:18 PM, Gary R. Weisberg wrote:
but the sad state of the world is that our data are already heavily
tracked/spied upon/warehoused in the marketplace by corporate
interests
Kim,
While I always find your comments on market economics and the
politics of culture insightful,
and sometimes enlightening, I feel it necessary to play a bit of
devil's advocate regarding this
last post...
There you have it - my 2 cents.
Gary
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