Gifford, Nate F wrote:
>...Its another sign of
>the general public's innumeracy...
>
>...all corporations are worried about their image. The thing I object to is
>when a corporation finds it more profitable to manipulate memes than to
>deliver a decent product.
>
>Comments?
Memetics as part of the core school curriculum?"
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------
I'd say most corporations pursue a mixed strategy, like most people and
most animals. Condeming them is scapegoating.
This problem may solve itself. Faster and more ubiquitous communication
means that feedback is more direct. If you don't like the product you can
tell and awful lot more people these days
As an example, I met I guy a the Bus stop in Harvard Square who was passing
out a half sheet of paper telling people not to purchace cars from a local
dealer. He listed a set of greviances and during our conversation seemed
pretty calm about the whole thing. He felt he had been taken adavantage of
by the dealership and wanted to warn people about it. Civic action.
Of course, if consumers don't know what they want, or what "quality" means
in substance...you can't expect much. The beauty and the tradgedy of capitalism
is that people (more or less) get what they ask for, if not always what they
"want".
Reed
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Reed Konsler konsler@ascat.harvard.edu
---------------------------------------------------------------------