<VV> Privacy, Big Brother, Onstar - NO Corvair

[Tim Verthein]

I don't worry that the Feds will use Onstar against me. They have other
things to diddle with, and no real cash incentive. 
However....corporate marketing DOES.

The Onstar system CAN track where you are, when you are there, how long
you were in the Wal-mart parking lot, listen in on your in car
conversations without your knowledge, and a lot more. If they do or not
I couldn't say.  I've read articles in well respected publications that
infer they do, or that they do make some sort of database information
available, perhaps not specifically who was where when, but how many
were where when.  I'm sure Onstar people don't sit and keep track of
specifically who is where.  But I'll bet you that for a price,
theyprovide information to retail and other marketing entities how many
cars are going where, and when. Sharing this sort of information is
just to profitable to not do it. 

Wal-mart, or any other big box store keeps track of exactly who buys
what.  Know why corporate America likes you to use those nifty plastic
cash-crerdit-check cards? Or those handy store gift cards? They know
who you are, what your age is, where you live, how far you drove to get
to which store, and exactly what you bought.  When the various
databases from all the various sources are combined, the information
known to everyone with a for profit interest is mind boggling.  It is
NOW, at this point in time,possible for "them" to determine: That John
Doe drove his 2004 Buick (Golden Fawn in color, with 26,700 miles on
it, and due for an oil change) to the West side Wal-Mart at 6:54 PM. 
He spent 2.4 hours in the store.  He purchased a Scooby Doo video,
three boxes of Cinnamon Pop-Tarts, 6 pairs of crew socks, Hanes brand,
and paid with his Visa check card. He also put a Sony 27" color TV on
layaway with a $67.50 downpayment.  After leaving the Wal-Mart he
stopped at the Dairy Queen (a mere 4.2 minutes away)  and bought a
large butterscotch milk shake and a box of Dilly Bars to go.  He gassed
up at the Super America station, bought Premium gas and a carton of
Winstons. 

Seriously. Sales, customer databases, etc.. are all compiled with very
sophisticated number crunching to determine who is buying what, when
and how. Big time retail is analyzing every move we make, so they can
best target their marketing efforts to maximize profits. When combined
with RFID tage on merchandise, chips in tires, Onstar and the like, I
don't worry about the government, I worry about being marketed to
death.  Not to mention the chances of this sort of information being
accessed by evil people.

Some will say they LIKE having stores cater to them, walking into a
store and finding that everythng has been  geared to meet their needs.
But that's not what REALLY happens...they figure out how to best sway
your decisions to what offers the greatest profit margin.  

Personally, I drive my Corvair to the Wal-Mart, and pay with Cash.

tim
getting off the soapbox now

===
Stupidity is like nuclear power, it can be used for good or evil. 
But you still don't want to get any on you.
===


		
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