Is Amazon reading EIP? I only say this because of yesterday's last post, wherein we said our Happy Hour soundtrack was gonna be country blues... and not 12 hours later this note appears in my in-box. Weird.
This is just another case of Our Brave New World at work, I suppose. That said, I don't delete these e-mails; on the contrary: they work. You'd be surprised at the crap I buy as a result of these things. There are times when Amazon knows I need something and I don't. Ain't that sumthin'?
What is truly scary is the amount of information about you and your buying habits these companies already have. Data mining is far more pervasive than you might think.
ReplyDeleteThey can even track what stores you go near. Credit cards put out electronic signals that can be picked up from a distance.
These things do work.
Big brother is far more informed about everyone of us than we really would care to know. And these are only companies that buy data mining services. Imagine what the government can and does do with such information about us.
Yes Buck, Big Brother is watching. Just wait 'til you get a solicitation for some new kind of beer. Srsly.
ReplyDeleteBTW If I recall correctly, I read a review of that Gregg Allman disc that said it was pretty good. Might be worth a test-drive.
ReplyDeleteAnon: I'm quite aware of the extent of data mining. Don't forget: I'm a retired IT guy, as well as a retired sergeant. This stuff was going on back in my day, even though I'm eight years removed from the biz.
ReplyDeleteDeb: I only WISH Amazon sold beer, LOL! I've pissed and moaned about our lack of beer-choice here on The High Plains of New Mexico... early and often. That new Gregg Allman album is on my wish-list, btw. I usually wait until I have three or four titles on my list before ordering, tho. We're getting close.
Amazon is omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent. It's almost god. But not quite. It knows, it can deliver, and it's everywhere, but if you want amazon stuff you gotta pay for it.
ReplyDeleteI think at some point it's gonna bust a circuit card on me though. One day I'm buying Thomas the Tank Engine DVDs or Viola sheet music (for my grandkids) and the next I'm trying to find a book on how to totally annihilate chipmunks.
PS I put a youTube link on my comment below about the Greg Allman album; the youTube piece is Allman himself talking about everything that went into that CD. Long, but interesting.
I loves me some Amazon, Dan. They're a godsend for us folks who are shopping-options deprived.
ReplyDeleteScary.
ReplyDeleteTry some Tab Benoit.
LOL,Buck. Several marketing studies have shown that not only is "junk-mail" (be it the electronic or paper version) looked favorably upon by retirees as it gives them more options--the majority of ret. people prefer to get it as not--as it helps keep them from being lonely!
ReplyDeleteAbout your critters post. Sorry I missed it. You ain't seen nuttin' 'til you've seen the flying cockroaches the size of a small rodent we have in New Orleans! ABSOLUTELY must be seen to be believed!
Little black helicopters don't scare me.
ReplyDeleteI'll second Virgil on the behemoth cockroaches. And one should really wear a hazmat suit whilst stomping on them for all the roach juice they spew.
ReplyDeleteI used Amazon to purchase a knitting book the wife had been wanting. How much you wanna bet I'll get blitzed with knitting and yarn ads on my web site! Some one out there in cyberland knows our every move.
ReplyDeletejust another case of Our Brave New World at work, I suppose.
ReplyDeleteIndeed! Spooky...but not so much really. Just the natural progression of things I suppose.
Thanks for the Terri vid. Country Music often makes me smile.
Moogie: Thanks for the Benoit suggestion. I was off to YouTube to check him out... and he's good. Well liked, too, judging by the amount of his stuff on YouTube.
ReplyDeleteVirgil: I find Amazon's love notes genuinely useful. And it's always nice to get mail, innit? ;-)
As for N'Awlins bugs... don't forget I spent over a year at Keesler. I KNOW Gulf Coast bugs.
Lou: Heh. But what about BIG black choppers?
Moogie, again: Now think about my rice bug story in that same context.
Ed: Amazon won't spam you; they're too smart for that. You won't see anything on your blog comments, but you prolly WILL get e-mail. You can opt out of their mailings, if you so choose.
Andy: I think that was coincidence, actually. The WHOLE truth is I was doing some music shopping and read the reviews of Allman's latest. Amazon notices stuff like that, thus the e-mail. I think.