large corporations

Book review: Life Inc.

Posted July 7, 2009 - 14:24 by Philip Brewer

Consumer Affairs, General Tips

Cover of Life Inc

Corporations were invented a few hundred years ago--created to increase the wealth and power of favored businessmen (and the governments that favored them). They have become such a universal feature of our economy that few people give much thought to their origins--or how our economies are structured to suit them. But exactly that is the topic of Douglas Rushkoff's new book.

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Don't treat businesses like people

Posted November 18, 2008 - 11:29 by Philip Brewer

Consumer Affairs

An empty alley

When you fall short of meeting your obligations, it's natural to feel bad. In fact, it's natural to want to not only meet the letter of your obligation, but also the spirit: to do what it takes to make the other person feel fairly treated. These feelings are very human, and they work well when you're interacting with humans acting as individuals. When you're dealing with businesses, though, they work against you--and businesses will take advantage of that.

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The student who created a PR nightmare via Wikipedia.

Posted August 22, 2007 - 08:31 by Paul Michael

Consumer Affairs

Wikipedia Globe Keychain

Virgil Griffith is someone I am proud to look up to. In a moment of inspiration, he created a program called Wikipedia Scanner that lets you know who has been editing articles on Wikipedia and what they've been removing. Not surprisingly, the revelations have left many giant corporations and even the Whitehouse staff in a tailspin. For those of you that know me and my "power to the people" philosophy, this is defintely 1-0 to the little guys.

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