Eyes everywhere

Domino’s Pizza has a “two-for-Tuesday” buy one, get one free deal, so I’ve gotten in the habit of picking up a couple medium pizzas on Tuesday nights. It’s relatively cheap, especially when I can often stretch those two pizzas out for two or three days. What with things like caller ID on the phone systems and computer databases, I’ve gotten very used to whoever takes the order already having my name and address based on my phone number.

Last night when I called, slightly later than usual, the person who answered the phone told me that they were closed. “Already? I thought you guys were open until midnight.” “Well, we’re actually kind of backed up right now, so I’m just taking carry out orders.” “Oh, well, alright….”

Then came the kicker. “Actually, I’ll go ahead and take the order. It looks like you’re a regular customer, and we’d hate to drive you away.” I was only mildly surprised by this — tracking how often a given customer orders is simple enough these days — and it meant that I got my munchies for the night, but it was a little amusing.

Depending on where the various data collection and sharing initiatives and technologies go, though, in the future my little experience could be just the tip of the iceberg…

The government and corporations are aggressively collecting information about your personal life and your habits. They want to track your purchases, your medical records, and even your relationships. The Bush Administration’s policies, coupled with invasive new technologies, could eliminate your right to privacy completely. Please help us protect our privacy rights and prevent the Total Surveillance Society.

(via Tom Negrino)

iTunes: “Higher and Higher (DJ Skribble and Anthony Acid)” by DJ Jurgen from the album Essential Dance 2000 (2000, 7:19).