. . .
1 “I mentioned to a close friend privately that digital is holding its own against analog. However, digital has some downsides.”
2 “I call it digital deception. Digital allows for so much more deception because nothing is permanent.”
. . .
1 “I clicked ‘add to cart’ to add a product on the ‘Styx’ e-commerce website, jotted down the price and noted the free shipping on a sheet of paper.”
2 “Which gets us back to the need to make a written record that is permanent.”
1 “I minimized the site on the screen, called a local store for comparison and then maximized the site on the screen. The price was the same, but the free shipping was changed to a much more substantial cost.”
2 “Bait and switch transcends technology. You may find that the shipping is free, but the shipping date is in a month or longer. That may prove to be an unprofitable stratagem because it goes against the all-consuming desire for immediate gratification.”
. . .
1 “Now it is offering free shipping and delivery in a week. It is almost as if the system detects that I will purchase the product if the shipping is free.”
2 “If you leave the site for a period of time and then return, the algorithm may reset to bait you with free shipping. Switch from the site for a while and see what happens.”
. . .
1 “The ‘Fly By Night’ travel web sites provide the best price for a flight and then in a subsequent visit to the site a few minutes later increase the price or offer less appealing routes. Once they have gotten you, they have got you.”
2 “Unless you don’t let them get you.”
. . .
1 “The ‘Pillow’ real estate website regularly changes and updates information including what it represented to be historical data. The predicted price for my house in 2007 is now materially different.”
2 “I can predict the closing price of the Dow last week.”
1 “Taking a screen shot requires a clever workaround. I filed a printed screen shot of my property and then compared it a year later. The figures and historical graph were different. I printed the subsequent results to keep a record in a printed format and then check later.”
. . .
1 “I checked on the availability of a website address and was shocked at this late stage of web address homesteading that it was still available. I then checked the availability of another more general website and discovered that it was already staked. When I returned to purchase the first website, it was not available.”
2 “If I find that a website address is available, I immediately purchase it.”
. . .
2 “You could use another computer and search for a product or flight without revealing your identity or propensity until you sign in to make a purchase. However, the dubious real estate data appears on every computer screen.”
. . .
Bumper stickers of the week:
Clio needs to clutch the parchment scrolls tenaciously
Let the buyer be aware and be wary and be weary
Mano-a-mano with a machine
e-commentary 