Quote:
Originally Posted by GlenBarrington
As a retired Teradata DBA, I can assure you, every business on the planet collects information on its customers. Though sharing that information is rare, most businesses don't want their competitors to know about their customer base.
How do you think those tailored casino offers get made, or those coupons that spit out from the cash register in the supermarket get printed? What drives the oil change offers for your car that come in the mail?
CRM (Customer Relationship Management) is a vital component of a successful business operation and has been since the 1960s, at least.
To the original question, I don't see eBook readers changing all that much, at least not in any revolutionary manner. Minor things like a lower price, more memory and better battery life are evolutionary not revolutionary.
Tablets are beginning to morph into the hybrid PCs similar to that of the Microsoft Surface devices, and phones are getting ever more sophisticated. I see that while many WILL read on the hybrids and phones, I suspect there will always be a demand for some sort of reading appliance. The eBook devices are a pretty mature product category.
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Oh I know all businesses collect data. Within a month of buying our truck, we started getting phone calls and letters saying our warranty was about to expire.
I don't worry about it. Heck, I figure my internet posts are being tracked.
On the oil changes I find it amusing the dealership sends us coupons. We paid $400 or so for lifetime oil changes. Took less than 2 years for it to pay for itself.
I figure some poor tracker is either bored or hungry.
Oh and I never get usable coupons.
Now the one I find amusing is insurance companies (Flo and lizard specifically ), about every 2 to 3 years I get an offer wanting to insure me. Those are the only 2 that come in my name. I just call and ask them for a quote. They always tell me we can't insure you and let me get you off our mailing list. I don't drive.
As per the coupons on receipts, we always just get whatever restaurant is offering a deal that month. We don't buy brand name very often.