A few years ago, before Facebook had really been exploited for marketing purposes, I received a box that contained, among other things, a pair of swim trunks that had been torn, and my own printed obituary from my own local newspaper. Reading your own obituary is a strange thing, particularly given the fact that YOU’RE STILL ALIVE. It was spooky, and very well done. There was also a web address given, where I could watch a video memorial of my own life. It contained pictures of me and my friends and loved ones, and said that my cause of death was by shark bite. It knew a lot about me. It also provided an address, where a memorial would take place.
It was bizarre, and it took me a full hour before I realized that it was a promotion from Discovery for Shark Week, and that all the information, images, addresses, etc., were pulled from the Internet, mostly from Facebook. It was funny, but also kind of violating, not unlike last night’s Coca Cola commercial featuring footage from hidden security cameras, which was amazing, but for the fact that none of these people knew they were being filmed. This is where we are now, I suppose, and it’s no wonder I’ve read a book and seen two shows within the last month about a future which in which the government is bailed out by private companies, with whom we have fewer constitutional protections. In the future, our Facebook friends will be pitching products to us and police departments will be outsourced to private security firms. GOOD GOD, LEMON.
Likewise, CBS aired a 15-second teaser promo for Stephen King’s Under the Dome during the Super Bowl last night. It wasn’t anything special, which makes sense because Under the Dome still hasn’t started filming. The 13-episode series is not slated to begin for some time. However, if you visit the website mentioned in the promo — Under the Dome — it will ask you to enter your home address. Go ahead, why not! It’s just a website. What could they possibly do with your home address (besides SPAM you with junk mail, which they’re probably already doing anyway, or show up and turn your dial to CBS while Under the Dome is airing). Cleverly, using Google Maps, the website will then put a dome over your house. Your actual house.
Nope. Nothing creepy about that, folks. Don’t mind me. I’m just going to be living in a yurt at an unknown address in the backwoods of New Hampshire.
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