The Beauty of a Book...Disconnecting 2.0

I have decided that most of the stuff coming over my phone is advertisements. In fact corporations have figured out and are figuring out that we now carry billboards in our pockets. And it is getting worse. Lets talk impressions. Every time information is presented to us even if we dismiss it there is an impression. It hits us and then we move on. Now once these impressions hit critical mass then we buy. This is why we are dunned at the gas pump now and every time we turn on Pandora. They know we  ignore it but the info is stored anyway

And what better way to capture us than to attack our devices. Like most people I have several email accounts and they hit my phone at different times. Now ninety percent of what I received is absolute garbage. It is services that hit my Google  profile for my buying habits. And I enable them to get to me by carrying my device with my all the time.  The phone boops and I answer and read the ad. An advertisers dream.

And our virtual world is being invaded daily. Contextual advertising or those annoying pop ups ignited by keywords are only getting more sophisticated. GPS positioning will track us we go past Portillos and suggest we have a hot dog because we had one before and wouldn't a hot dog taste great now. That is  already here. And what defense do we have? A simple one.

Turn the phone off and read a book.. Not a kindle, a book. They can't get you then.

www.williamhazelgrove.com
The Pitcher...Junior Library Guild Selection

I Got UVERSED!

Tech for the modern family is the great hemorrhage now. It is as essential as gas. Cellphones, landlines, cable, Internet. The modern family needs it all but the cost...the cost. So I was coasting along when I got telemarketed by a dude who told me he could solve all my problems. One bill. Less Cost. And he would give me a three hundred dollar Visa card for just signing up! Wow. One bill. All the headaches in one central point. And the channels, the speed, the service. Sign me up bro.

He did. And I got UVERSE. And I coasted along and my first bill was just seventy three dollars. Wow. You mean for my cellphones (3) my Internet and my basic tv and Internet just seventy three bucks? Something is wrong here. Hey, don't worry about it. You are good  my salesman told me. Your next bill will be more but you will have all the savings. Alright. Meanwhile I'm on the VERSE. DVRing from my phone. Watching shows on my phone. Styling.

And then I got my second billl....seven hundred and eighty three buckos! Wow. I got UVERSED! So I called up my now non existent saleman and was handed off to the call center. Hours on the phone and guess what I found out? It was all perfectly correct. You see I was prorated, serviced charged, over the topped, moved over, combined, double rated, adjusted, added onto, special serviced, upgraded, downgraded, new contracted, started up, signed on, subtracted, and finally specially considered and at the end I owed SEVEN HUNDRED AND EIGHTY THREE DOLLARS. Man... I get UVERSED!

And so I checked around. Yeah man. I had UVERSE. Past tense all of my friends. Nobody STILL had UVERSE. Everybody tried it and got the UVERSE Shaft and ended up back with their original carriers. So I asked for a payment plan. Oh yeah we have a plan...you pay now or you pay a week from now buy you are paying or we cut off your service...ALL OF IT. And so I knew they had me .

What about the three hundred dollar visa card? Oh  well. You have to stay with us for ninety days and then it takes six to eight weeks to get it. Wow...did I get UVERSED. So I am in my extraction mode, but it's going to take some time. So when they call you and tell you they are going to stick it all on one bill and that you are going to save a bunch of money...HANG UP THE PHONE.

Lest you get...UVERSED!

http://www.billhazelgrove.com/