Written by Wayne Grytting

Going Beyond Privacy

Ever wonder where all that information you give on questionnaires goes? It turns out much of it has been going to the Texas prison system, where inmates have been entering data on our personal lives for Metromail Corp., a seller of direct marketing information. This was exposed after an Ohio woman named Beverly Denis started receiving e-mail from a stranger who knew all about her from entering data into her consumer file at Metromail. That 25 page file even contained information on how often she used roo m deodorizers, sleeping aids, and hemorrhoid remedies. Thanks to scanners and bar codes, marketing companies can now track our purchasing history for individual products with precision. Defenders of surveillance, like Chet Dalzell of the Direct Marketing Association, point out: "It's benficial to the whole economy, it's beneficial to consumers. It's just the marketplace trying to be intelligent." It would appear to have a very high I.Q. Robert Posch, Jr., a VP for Doubleday, says privacy is just "some notion of the right to be left alone. Spare me." Let's all try to grow up and get with the 90's. (NYT 6/12)

Creeping Socialism in the Executive Suite

We've all heard about the mushrooming bonuses going to CEO's and top managers of successful corporations, but what about the people running companies that bomb? Is it fair that they should miss out on the stock option feeding frenzy? Of course not. Fortunately, progressive companies like K-Mart and RJR Nabisco have taken the lead in protecting their executives from plunging stock values. It's called "repricing." For example, when Mentor Graphics stock fell 66% last year, executives with stock bonuses were all protected from the results of their own management decisions. Their contract allowed them to turn in their old stock for an equivalent value (at the original price) of the new stock, now worth 66% less. It's a classic win-win situation, with such obvious benefits to the companies involved that they don't even bother going through the red tape of notifying stockholders. Defenders say stock repricing is necessary because of the competitive market for execs. You might want to notify your favorite right- wing group about trickle down socialism. (WSJ 6/11)

Protection for Divine Spirits

Trust our court system to solve knotty problems. The 9th U.S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco has issued a ruling on the age-old problem of whether divine spirits should have copyright protection. The case involved a group called the Urantia Foundation. In 1955 a group in Chicago began receiving transmissions from "planetary celestial supervisors" (note the managerial terminology). They put the teachings together in a volume called the "Urantia Book" and had it properly copyrighted. Then an Arizona follower named Kristen Maaherra began distributing an unauthorized computer study guide to the teachings which included a copy of the text. This, of course, went to court, where Judge Mary Scroeder ruled that copyright protection exists not for the gods, goddesses, or celestial supervisors, but to protect the "element of human creativity." The judge found that even though Urantia "may have received some guidance from celestial beings," it was the group's members who chose and formulated the questions, thus satisfying the creativity requirement. (AP 6/10)

Hey Kids, Turn in Your Parents

Commercial websites for children are providing great opportunities for kids to participate and feel a sense of accomplishment by contributing valuable information. At the Mr. Jelly Belly site, for example, kids can earn candy by supplying info on their age, gender, address, and shopping habits. To play many on-line games, companies show their interest in each and every child by asking the above questions plus inquiring about their parents and grandparents. Sort of creates a family-corporate bond. But the best site has to be that of Mars Candy, which has a fun game called "Impostor Search," where kids can help find fake M&M candy. Junior Detectives just need to supply the names and e-mail addresses of their little friends and Mars sends out wanted posters to them. They also build up a modest data base. M&M spokesperson Marilyn Machute counters criticism of "Impostor Search" by saying the alerting of friends is just "part of the fun." So let's all just join in and be happy. (WSJ 6/9)

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