Has anyone heard of efforts to corrode the utility of marketing databases? Particularly the point-of-purchase "value club card" model. Is there any research or opinion on how much it wastes the time of Vons to write my name as "piyupifyuyfu jouuio[iu7r" on their little forms? thank you for caring.

jb

-- brown (jbrown@calarts.edu), February 02, 1999

Answers

Giving a fake name doesn't bother them much - I've never had trouble being John Doe at Safeway, and they get to track that the same person buying Generic Brand Beer is buying Frozen Crunchy Frog or whatever.

Whenever you get together with friends, exchange Safeway cards - that does more to anonymize the data.

-- J. Random Cypherpunk (disposable2000@hotmail.com), November 15, 2000.