"Feed" ending

I turned on my computer, getting ready to write about "Feed" in this blog, and opened up iTunes in preparation to do the rest of my homework and this pops up in iTunes.

"iTunes 8 includes Genius, which makes playlists from songs in your library that go great together. Genius also includes Genius sidebar, which recommends music from the iTunes Store that you don't already have."

First off, who decides what songs go great together? Secondly, I really don't want iTunes constantly telling me, "oh you should buy this song." Just because I have a song on my computer does not mean I want more songs like it. I have a very eclectic collection of music and what's on my computer is even more so. I can't even imagine the type of profile iTunes would come up with based on what I have on my laptop, but I think it might look something like Violet's profile after her (non)shopping spree.

I downloaded iTunes for this class, but I really don't want iTunes/Apple knowing what music I listen too. Which leads into the main issue that stood out for me in "Feed". Privacy. In "Feed" no one has any privacy. When Titus first thinks something might happen between him and Violet this ad pops up with a web page of pick-up lines (for a small fee). At least now, if I don't want Amazon.com keeping track of my purchases, I can go to a bookstore and pay cash and avoid any electronic record that I bought a certain book. When I downloaded iTunes, it started going though and converting my music files. Having a program downloaded on your computer is more invasive then a web page that keeps track of what on its page you looked at. Moving the computer and all the profiling and tracking software into the human mind brings this to a level that makes my skin crawl. Any amount of privacy we have is utterly destroyed in the society of "Feed". And yet in some ways they are more alone then ever. When Violet fell, she was panicking. The feed knew this and gave her ads about deodorant. When Titus is feeling sad he gets ads for blue jeans.

While I can not say if we will ever have the feed implanted straight into our brains (I certainly hope not) many of the developments in technology are becoming more and more invasive in our lives all in the name of convenience. Slowly, we are losing our privacy and like many in "Feed" we are too distracted by all the new shinnies to notice just what we are losing.

As a non-tech related side note: At one point I wanted to throw the book down I was so disgusted with Titus.

Feed

Looking at a few of the points other people have posted about, it seems like most of us feel that world presented in "Feed" is not desirable. I agree, mostly. Having a computer inside your head bombarding you with ads and telling you what to buy or wear or be is not desirable (and not that far fetched).

However, I don't mind places like Amazon.com sending me recommendations based on my past purchases. For example I had been buying an anime TV show when the company who held the licence went out of business, leaving me hanging a few episodes before the climax of the show. Almost a year later Amazon tells me that the next volume of the show is coming out soon. I follow the link and see that a different company has bought the licence for the American release.

As all of these blog and news readers that we are talking about in class show, there is certain information we want to come to us. There are a lot of benefits to the technology we have today and the technology that is presented in "Feed". Having tried to talk to someone in loud, crowed places the M-chat does hold some appeal.

However, while advertising is all over computers, buildings, signs (in Shanghai I even saw small TV screens in the wall next to elevators) we can, whenever we want, turn off the computer, close the door and retreat to a book. That is an option the the people in "Feed" don't have.