4 thoughts on “Data Mining for Fun and Profit”

  1. The article states that the information is stored in a guest account that is linked to a credit card or debit card. I find this interesting because here in Canada, or at least in BC (I don’t think Fortinos in Ont. does this), Safeway and Save on Foods require that you register for a club card to receive full savings. This leaves me to wonder how policy or the laws might differ between regions where one might be a little more actively aware of their being monitored. Every purchase I make is openly registered on my club card. But, at the same time, I would never receive coupons in the mail–a common flyer sure, but nothing specific. Every time I hear about how things are done in the States I get this icky feeling like I’m next!

  3. Homeland Severity is avidly “evaluating” a “prototype screening facility” to “detect cues indicative of mal-intent.” “Future Attribute Screening Technology,” FAST. Parameters include ethnicity, gender, body movements, voice pitch and prosody changes (William Shatner is a gonner), occupation, age; blink rate, pupil diameter variation, and eye movements; breathing pattern, and skin temperature variation.

    Pre-crime lives! Just a second… there is somebody at the door.

  4. I wonder if anyone paused to think about the impact something like this could have on their bottom line when the info goes “viral” and begins to morph hysterically into something urban legend-like?

    For a company that has spent a tremendous amount of money marketing to teens, this could quite easily be fatal.

    On the lighter side:

    What I really would like to see, is a video clip of the teen daughter’s face as she stands in the background whilst her father screams into the phone about his daughter not being some kind of loose woman of ill repute…

    “… um, uh Dad?”

    Glad I discovered you when I did. You have a new reader from here on out.

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