19 Comments

It's fucking creepy but also revealing. Signed, wannabe anarchist hacker hiding in hollow log deep in the forest

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Ha ha. Hollow logs are underrated. Enjoy

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Brett, this is another spotlight on the reality of our lives that lurks in the shadows of today's world. Excellent! Let us always remember that mega-corporations in every sphere have one overarching motive: to control us and exploit us for the benefit of a few.

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Really glad you like it Tom! Thanks for the support

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Applauding every word, Brett. Hope it gets the attention it deserves.

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Thanks JT!

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Honestly, the stuff from your phone provider creeps me out so much more. At least I can (and do) choose not to use Spotify. As much as I like to hate on Canadian telecoms for so many other reasons, I'm not aware of them doing anything like this (yet?).

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In a meta sense: Having received the email notification for this article (which is great btw), I clicked to read, like, and now comment; and participated by sharing its link on Bluesky.

Am I part of the machine? 🤔😎✌️

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You're actually featured in my latest podcast, on this exact topic! https://www.asomo.co/p/asomoco-unplugged-episode-2 Around15 minutes in

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Oh my - thank you, Brett, for the shout-out! Amazed. As more a content consumer than a devoted creator, I'll give Mastodon a try. My extremely random writings are more of a place to whisper (not shout) into the Void.

I've seen a lot of cross-linking from Bluesky to several of the Substacks that I follow. It seems to be serving as a low-effort way to tap into that growing audience, as well as being the escape pod from the anger that has taken over Xitter.

Peace! 😎✌️

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Yes. We all are whether we like it or not.

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Keep doing good work, Brett, more people need to be awakened.

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Before there was such a thing called "Surveillance Capitalism," there was the State surveilling us all with the ARPA / DARPA-net.

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Well, surveillance capitalism is a collaboration between states and corporates, like all capitalism really

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This brings to mind the Nick Hornby line from High Fidelity, I paraphrase,

It’s not what you’re like, it’s what you like.

This rang true to me in my twenties, outward expressions of preference gave me clues to a person’s inner life. It was a filtering effect to be able to know who I should spend time getting to know.

Now that I have gotten to know a lot of people, it rings false. Everyone is worth to know, everyone has something to offer.

I think preference signalling has some value, the fact that our corporate lords found a way to profit off that is nasty.

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How do you display your preferences effectively. I want to make friends with people who like reading Dostoyevsky and growing David Austin roses. But I don't think carrying around a large size copy of The Brothers Karamazov and a Garden Space will do it somehow. Maybe that's why, lol,I don't have any Russian literature rose growing pals. Some cultural preferences are so much easier to advertise I mean if you're wearing a Deep Purple tee-shirt and smoking a spliff,that's so much less cumbersome!!

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What a fantastic article, brilliantly written Brett.

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I know. I know. Yet I passively just go along with trying to keep minimal but knowing I'm not. It's like we've all been drugged. And I dont use any substances. It must be something in the water! I ignore all that. I do occasionally watch a photo compilation that Google has done with music,they're so clever but not often .The fact is,those people ,(who?) have studied History. They know about all that escape routes whether physical or cerebral people used all through History. They are constructing an escape proof system but seling it to us as reliable convenience.I know,but I'm still in it

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This surveillance depends on the consumerist, profit-driven model of modern capitalism. Consumerism is the ugly step-child of capitalism, not quite so ugly as warmongering imperialism, but still ugly.

China is often faulted for its kind of pervasive surveillance, but this is done in the interest of the state, not for corporate profit. The People's Republic of China has been under covert and overt attack by the imperialist West ever since its inception in 1949, so her surveillance is not casual, but necessary. As well, the Party sincerely wants to know how its policies are performing in real life and real time, so surveillance has a secondary function. Data gathered is in the people's interest, not in corporate interest.

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