Market Intrusiveness: Radio Tags

So my mailbox is stuffed with unsolicited advertising, as is my e-mail account. I have to tell Kroger, CVS, Blockbuster precisely what I buy via their club-cards every time I frequent their establishment or I'll either be refused service or subjected to a higher pricing scheme - a pricing scheme that, I might add, has been pre-determined based on my zip-code (perhaps this will bring bargain-shoppers back to the inner-cities. No that won't work -those locations have been closed down). But I digress...

Now, I hear on the news, that Wall•Mart is planning on using a product tracking device that uses radio waves to transmit where that item is located - in their store and at your home. I'm not making this up. Listen to the RealAudio program Wall Mart Takes Lead On Radio Tags on NPR. Now, the products you buy at Wall Mart will be broadcasting their location "...to better serve you."

I don't know about you, but Wall Mart can better serve me by keeping their radio-tags and paying their employees a living wage instead, stop subjecting them to those embarrassing cheerleading sessions (have you every seen one of these?), and stay the hell out of my house. When I leave a store, I don't want it following me home.

In less than a decade, your personal shopping habits have become your most coveted asset. I think somebody should have to pay for that information. -Sudrakarma

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