43 things
Maybe it's time for each of us to set some goals in our life and be brave enough to follow them through. It's one of those "open" secrets (speaking of secrets) that this site is funded by amazon, but I don't think that necessarily means that a conspiracy is afoot.
posted by soap at 10:28 am
9 Comments:
Hurray for Salon? Are we seeing conspiracies everywhere? Are we becoming paranoid? So what if I say that my greatest wish is to climb Everest? Is Amazon going to send me book suggestions about climbing and Everest? Good. Nobody forces me to buy them, right?
Marketing did demographics and profiling since its conception. What of it? Maybe we should just quit nagging and be more consumption - smart instead of blaming it all on the corporate boogie men.
This is "bullshit marketing", things taught and studied all over the business world, no need for conspiracy theories -- consumers are perceived as a brainless herd. I don't believe any 1-to-1 marketing project could come out of this (although it's not difficult to track personal preferences, it would just not be worth it), but the general fuss could easily be used to 'guide' unsuspecting buyers. Of course each one of us is responsible for what we choose to consume; this is only portrays part of the indirect pressures each one's decision-making processes is subject to.
I think we are underestimating consumers. I doubt that this "herd" phenomenon really exists in a large scale. Raised in an environment like ours and bombarded by marketing messages all the time - don't you think we develop as sort of "immunity" to most things?
Sofia, I want to agree with you and I believe your statement holds true for "us" (yes, I can manage belonging to an elite of educated few and I have no problem whatsoever "confessing" this). But herds of idiots do exist and their position in world history is unquestionable.
Can we ignore the Islam-terror marketing effect of the Media in securing that crucial yet substantial percentage of market share for the product "President of the United States" to deliver junior? Or, think Greek: Antichrist-terror is a reality the Church has consistently been using upon a good percentage of the populace, the ones who rallied against new ID-cards...do you believe these same people ever had a choice in selecting their ballot?
Tips of icebergs? Sure, but I trust we can feel the invisible part.
Sadly I agree. Manipulation is ever present. I hate to admit it but 9 out of 10 I refuse to join the debate it seems like a lost battle.
I agree with Sissoula. Hype aside, tagging is about mapping and navigating a chaotic information space - sounds too random to work, but apparently it kinda does. And why would Amazon be interested in that? Who wouldn't? Google is building an empire on this kind of thing. That the empire is fueled by adwords is just a fact of life - and innovation on this front can even make it a good thing (there's a firefox extension, which allows you to add google ads to your surfing experience!). Whether Amazon will use 43 to enter the social networking business, integrate it into their A9 engine, or somehow use it to further refine product recommendations (D. why do you think that would not be worth doing?), power to them. I don't see the connection between high SNR, smart advertising and the "herd" phenomenon. Now if only they could somehow untrain us from ignoring web ads =) And if only we latte-sipping, volvo-driving.. liberals would just let people mindlessly consume (and mindlessly vote..) =P
zzzz....
(yawn)
reeling
billing
bull
stool
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(yawn)
zzzz....
Well, before anyone (else) loses his breakfast, let’s remember that the brains behind amazon are only half American, and it’s one of the few institutions that has managed to retain its flock (herd, if you prefer) when other religions du jour have been contaminated by the cardinal sins of creative accounting, jury rigging, and sex scandals to beat the band, just to name a few. It’s got some worthy rivals (Powells.com has got signed first editions of Blink at the moment, if anybody wants it) but amazon has duly awarded my patronage over the years with good service, free stuff, and yes, relevant recommendations. (None of which is to say that 43 has any special merit because of its affiliation with amazon, but I wouldn’t dismiss it on that basis alone. It’s a feel-good thing. What’s wrong with feeling good from time to time? I know, I know, sometimes it's best just to leave it alone...)
Don't you get the feeling that there's this haunting technophobia out there? Reports of Big Brother's resurrection are greatly exaggerated.
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