I have long said that data brokering is the second leading cause of identity theft problems. Most companies have no legitimate need to store your credit card numbers at all after the transaction is completed which may be why Minnesota is now banning the practice of storing credit card information. The only problem here is that they put an arbitrary date on it instead of having it be "after the transaction is complete". This is a problem for some retailers that may not be able to process the transactions in 2 days or less, but it's still a pretty good start. Tags: Good Stuff

Besides being annoying and costing you money, errors at RFID toll booths can get you into all kinds of interesting spots. One girl was refused a job for having 30 outstanding tickets for going through the pass in her jeep without paying. The problem is, she’s never owned or driven a jeep. Is anyone surprised by this?

Refusing to cancel someone's account is a very bad thing (and probably illegal). However, cancelling your account can be a fight that you're not prepared to handle. In case you didn't know this already, companies are structured to put enormous pressure their representatives to keep you from cancelling at all costs. The real villains here are the companies who aren't gusty enough to tell their call center people to do things illegally and immorally, but structure their centers in such a way to make it as likely as possible. Tags: Consequences, If You Only Knew

California did an audit on three of the major e-voting products and found them all to be seriously lacking. To keep a long story short, my view on this is simply: how does a company release products this bad for something this important and not expect it to blow up in their face? Every state that has used these machines should sue Diabold etc.

This is really bad. Attempting to rob a store, I understand, but attempting Copyright Infringement? What if you plan to use someone’s copyrighted work in a demonstration thinking that’s covered under fair use and order some posters, but the shop reports you for “attempted copyright infringement” and has you thrown in jail. Maybe it doesn’t really work this way and someone who’s read the bill in detail can add more data, but it seems to me that it would be too easy to qualify as an “attempted copyright infringer”. Tags: Congress

In case you haven’t been paying attention, kids are just as likely to be ID theft victims as adults, even more so. Because they don’t have any regular financial activity and no one would ever think to get a credit report for their kids (since they shouldn’t have one), the theft can go on for much longer without detection. Tags: Consequences, If You Only Knew, Kids

Someone suggested that Google could save a lot of energy around the world if they used black as their background color (because white is the most intense color that a monitor can produce where black is the absense of light). So some company created Blackle (which is powered by Google though not RUN by Google). Their “about” page says that they’re all about saving electricity and being green, but I’m wondering if they don’t modify the ads that you see thus making their focus about a completely different kind of green…

Here’s a great summary of both deep packet inspection and net neutrality and why they’re important. The short of it is that if a company can inspect your internet packets, they can figure out what you’re doing. This lets them charge more for certain types of traffic than others. The companies will be able to use their vast resources of technical and number crunching experts to find the best way to nickel and dime you while keeping you from getting just angry enough to do anything about it. If you can’t imagine what this would be like, think of how Internet service is charged on cell phones now (per minute, or by over-all download) or remember what it was like before AOL changed the landscape by going to unlimited access for a single monthly fee (which was a major reason many people started to use the Internet). History shows that people don’t like having to worry about how they use a service and what the charges will be. Who has the time? What if every cable channel was unlocked and you get charged by how long you stay on any station, but you don’t know what the fees are (sure they’re in an agreement or pricelist somewhere, but you don’t memorize these things). That’s pretty much what the Internet will be like if Net Neutrality doesn’t pass.

It's interesting how knowing the basic purpose behind the ad can help you prevent any manipulative attempts they make. It's a lot like watching a horror movie with the sound off. You completely destroy the maker's ability to control your response. Be sure to check the link for the commentary and sample ads, but here's the abbreviated version:

1. The "Demo" – The only purpose of this ad is to show you how a product is used.
2. The "Demonstrate the problem" – Shows you a problem or need and the solution (their product of course).
3. The "Problem Analogy" – An exagerated demonstration of the problem. Example: someone who has turned into a giant nose (alergies) who then becomes normal after taking medication.
4. The "Comparison" – Explaining why their product is better than a competitor's.
5. The "Exemplary Story" – Tells a story about a situation where you'd need their product. Think Onstar (who I hate for this reason)
6. The "Benefit Causes Story" – Because of a product feature, a funny or interesting story happens. Usually, the event happens and the product benefit is the punchline. Example: street is crowded, riot police show up, national guard comes in, but it's just because everyone is checking out the new Lexus parked there.
7. The "Testimonial" – A "friend" or demonstrator says why they use/recommend this product.
8. The "Ongoing Character/Celebrity" – Think Mr. Clean, The Kool Aid Man, and the author's favorite (one of mine too), the Geico Cavemen
9. The "Benefit Analogy" – Like the problem analogy, but the exaggerated picture or situation is related to the benefit this time. Example, mosquito repellant demonstrated by laser guided turrets protecting your lawn area by shooting down incoming insects.
10. The "Associated User Imagry" – Show people that you want to be like with your product. Sports sponsors generally fit this profile. "Be like Mike, just do it! Nike."
11. The "Unique Personality Property" – Demonstrates something unique about THIS particular product that makes it stand out from competitors. Now this one makes perfect sense. Entire marketing campaigns have been launched on a single feature that makes something stand out.
12. The "Parody or Borrowed Format" – Making fun of another ad, situation, TV or Movie.

I would add one to the list though:

1. The "Doesn't mean anything" – There's no point to this commercial other than to be comical and make you have positive feelings about the brand. Think, Taco Bell Chihuahua.

(H/T to The Consumerist for the link)

I was glad to see this Ars Technica article about how casual gaming is a huge thing especially in the arena of casual MMOs. This is what I’ve been saying all along with my City of Heroes webpage. Tags: Gaming