Today, as a public service, a Consumer Alert
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Let me set the stage:
Brought home a new 55’ Samsung Smart TV … very excited.
Late afternoon … plugged it in … fired it it up.
Picture looked fine … facsimile below left.
After a couple of minutes, the picture began to get dimmer & dimmer … facsimile below right.
No problem, just fiddle with the picture settings, right?
Not that simple, my friends … much more to the story.
According to Business Week …
“Disney has launched a $1 billion experiment in crowd control, data collection, and wearable technology that could change the way people play—and spend—at the Most Magical Place on Earth. “
The innovation – called MyMagic – let’s Mickey track every move you make around the old Magic Kingdom.
In class this week, I was noting that for many (most ?) retailers, the difference between low (on no) profits and extraordinary profits is getting people to throw just one more item into the shopping cart.
Well, Business Insider must have been listening in …
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Specifically, BI offered up 18 ways that retail stores get us to buy more stuff.
Here’s the list …
According to Business Week …
“Disney has launched a $1 billion experiment in crowd control, data collection, and wearable technology that could change the way people play—and spend—at the Most Magical Place on Earth. “
The innovation – called MyMagic – let’s Mickey track every move you make around the old Magic Kingdom.
In class this week, I was noting that for many (most ?) retailers, the difference between low (on no) profits and extraordinary profits is getting people to throw just one more item into the shopping cart.
Well, Business Insider must have been listening in …
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Specifically, BI offered up 18 ways that retail stores get us to buy more stuff.
Here’s the list …
Might not be your imagination.
In some locales, city-fathers are shortening the duration of yellow caution lights – you know, going from green to red.
Why?
Simple. To increase the odds that you get ticketed by a red light “safety” camera.
According to a News 10 TV report, in Tampa, the yellow light duration was reduced by a fraction of a second at intersections with red light cameras.
The result: red light tickets and their accompanying revenue more than doubled.
Red light cameras generated more than $100 million in revenue last year in approximately 70 Florida communities,
What’s the impact on traffic safety?
Might not be your imagination.
In some locales, city-fathers are shortening the duration of yellow caution lights – you know, going from green to red.
Why?
Simple. To increase the odds that you get ticketed by a red light “safety” camera.
According to a News 10 TV report, in Tampa, the yellow light duration was reduced by a fraction of a second at intersections with red light cameras.
The result: red light tickets and their accompanying revenue more than doubled.
Red light cameras generated more than $100 million in revenue last year in approximately 70 Florida communities,
What’s the impact on traffic safety?
Speed cams are bad … AAA has done audits revealing that 1 in 10 tickets issued by them are in error … with drivers having little recourse since only the cameras are are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Yep, they’re bad, but …
Imagine all speed limits being tightly enforced … 24 X 7.
Scary thought, right?
Here’s what will replace the speed cam … and disrupt our lives.
In class this week, I was noting that for many (most ?) retailers, the difference between low (on no) profits and extraordinary profits is getting people to throw just one more item into the shopping cart.
Well, Business Insider must have been listening in …
=====
Specifically, BI offered up 18 ways that retail stores get us to buy more stuff.
Here’s the list …
No, that’s not me in the picture … at least not the top one.
I was interviewed by Adweek … asked to comment on 2 ads for Craftsman tools … one ad from the 1970s, another from current day.
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A clip from the current ad is above … below is a snap from the old ad.
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Among my classic Homa-isms nailed in the article were…
Speed cams are bad but …
Imagine all speed limits being tightly enforced … 24 X 7.
Scary thought, right?
Here’s what will replace the speed cam … and disrupt our lives.
Might not be your imagination.
In some locales, city-fathers are shortening the duration of yellow caution lights – you know, going from green to red.
Why?
Simple. To increase the odds that you get ticketed by a red light “safety” camera.
According to a News 10 TV report, in Tampa, the yellow light duration was reduced by a fraction of a second at intersections with red light cameras.
The result: red light tickets and their accompanying revenue more than doubled.
Red light cameras generated more than $100 million in revenue last year in approximately 70 Florida communities,
What’s the impact on traffic safety?
Some highlights from an HBR article: The Hidden Biases in Big Data
These days the business and management science worlds are focused on how large datasets can decode consumers’ behavior patterns … enabling marketers to laser-target high potential prospects with finely-honed messages, offers, and “attention”.
“Big data” … becomes problematic when it adheres to “data fundamentalism” … the notion that correlation always indicates causation, and that massive data sets and predictive analytics always reflect objective truth … that “with enough data, the numbers speak for themselves.”
Big data has hidden biases in both collection methods and analysis …
The Homa Files 