It's not any of the little individual facts. It's the bigger picture that they
eventually provide.
It's also not the information they're collecting, it's the amount of it.
Eventually the feeling is that your every move is being tracked.
Thus said Lizard ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) on Thu, Feb 10, 2000 at 10:23:41PM -0800:
> Can anyone tell me, precisely, why it is so very scary to imagine that
> somewhere in a corporate database is a notation that you like to buy Coca
> Cola? Corporations don't scare me -- they want me to be alive, free, and
> earning money so that I can buy their products. Corpses and prisoners make
> lousy consumers.
>
> I'm just curious as to the source of this fear of corporate 'spying', at
> least as regards public habits like what you buy. If they were tracking
> union membership or the like, I'd be more scared -- that's information that
> they could use to wreck your life. But who gives a smeg if they know what
> soda you drink or your favorite brand of shampoo? The WORST that will
> happen is you'll end up on some mailing lists. The best? You'll get a
> coupon and save 50 cents.
>
> Can anyone who finds the concept of corporate databases keeping them awake
> nights explain to me precisely WHY this bothers them? Obviously, it IS a
> major concern for a lot of people -- but, as with genetic engineering or
> nuclear power, I cannot understand the CAUSE of the fear. I need to know.
