Social media– blogging, Blog Catalog, Twitter, Facebook, blah blah– is fun, yep. It’s fun! And every one of those social media thingies ALWAYS said that their service was a way to “keep in touch with friends and family.” Harmless. Fun.
Then I watched as these social media organizations were monetized, some in as quick as a WEEK. First it was blogging. And then Blog Catalog and My Blog Log and Technorati became ways to generate interest in your product/service; then Facebook got “commercial” so that businesses have a “presence” and are interacting. And then, there was Twitter, which was RAPIDLY monetized. Ooook… I can live with that. If people want to earn some bucks and if they have a good thing: sure, sell it. I don’t care. At least I can tune you out if I don’t like it.
Ah, but social media is starting to go a liiiiittle bit too far, my friends.
One word: Blippy.
WHO the HECK ever thought this idea up?
Blippy is a “new” social media idea– allow everyone, everywhere to see all your financial transactions! Heck, yeah! And of course Blippy is being touted as a way to “keep in touch with your friends and family!” Rrrrrright. Well, Big Brother, he’s family, isn’t he? He’s got the big guns; yeah, I guess he IS family! It’s like that dumb joke: What do you give a gorilla for breakfast?
ANYTHING HE WANTS. 
I can’t believe TechCrunch gives the idea a thumbs up!
As the Internet matures, slowly but surely everything we do in the real world is going social. But there’s a limit to how much information we can explicitly share on all the various services. A new service, Blippy, launching today in private beta, has an interesting way to take something you do everyday, buy things with your credit card, and automatically push those transactions online for others to see and interact with.
Yes, I know this is a controversial idea — that’s part of what makes it potentially a great one. Imagine being able to see everything your friends buy with a credit card as they do it. This not only tells you what kind of things they’re actually into (rather than someone just saying they like something), but also other information like how cheap they are, as well as where they actually are at a given time. There is actually a lot of data tied into the transactions we make, and Blippy takes that and makes it social.
So do you think the stampeding masses will turn to Blippy? You bet your blippy they will. 
You know, I read in the Bible, in the book of Revelation, where it says, “He also forced everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead, so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name.” I used to wonder, “How can they do that?? How is it possible to get everyone to sign up for something like that, or even to force them to do that?” But now I know. And it will be as easy as telling people it’s all just a way to “keep in touch with family and friends!”
December 12th, 2009 at 9:07 pm
I don’t know anyone who would even think of signing up for this. Maybe it is for rich people wanting to show off?
December 12th, 2009 at 10:05 pm
Technology is getting a bit scary isn’t it.
December 12th, 2009 at 10:14 pm
Idiocy. Plain and simple.
December 12th, 2009 at 10:58 pm
tax man will love it.
December 13th, 2009 at 12:25 pm
Thanks for warning me–I’ll avoid Blippy. It sounds horrible!
December 13th, 2009 at 12:31 pm
I can actually see some uses for this, but … it’s not for me.
December 14th, 2009 at 12:06 pm
That is truly the worst idea I have seen in some time. I can’t believe anyone would do this!
December 14th, 2009 at 3:37 pm
What a TERRIBLE idea. I can’t think of anything positive or redeeming about it. Now just because who doesn’t like to fudge just a little on how much they spent shopping. I just can’t imagine who would sign up for it. And what a God send for stalkers. They could track their prey in real time, SCARY.
December 14th, 2009 at 9:37 pm
I can’t believe people would even consider signing up. Why would you ever want people to know what you spent and on what? It’s one thing to tell people on Twitter that you just got back from Walmart. It’s another to tell people on Blippy that you went there and bought Monistat or a gigantic box of condoms. Or what if you went shopping at an online adult toy store? Hello, your mother could subscribe to the feed.
It also seems like a good way to set yourself up for identity or account fraud. I could see criminals following the big spenders and then somehow tracing those people back to their bank accounts. Just seems dumb all around.
December 16th, 2009 at 12:51 pm
I don’t know about others but I think it is pretty embarrassing to let everyone know what I buy using my credit card to the last little panty I get for myself. Isn’t that like, too much? It’s funny, come to think of it. Celebrities complains that they have no privacy in their lives because everybody wants to know everything that they do, even like picking something out of their teeth but the normal people who have all the freedom in the world prefers to be subjected to something like this and allow others who don’t really know you to scrutinize and laugh at the ridiculous things you purchase for your own fun. I think it’s stupid and so unnecessary.
December 17th, 2009 at 12:01 pm
wow, people are really crazy to join something that gives out their most recent purchase info. talk about wanting to be robbed by a stranger. whew. this “social-nutworking” has really gone too far. You are so right CBL.
Happy Holidays
December 17th, 2009 at 2:11 pm
Why in the world would they come up with something like this? Unbelievable and I doubt many would ever sign up for it. All this info online can be dangerous.