Much Ado About Wal-Mart

Posted on | January 6, 2006

This may be a little controversial, but I think one of the reasons that racism is still alive and well is because people are still overly sensitive about race. For example the blogosphere has lit up recently about some supposedly racist recommendations made on Wal-Mart’s site. A blogger spotted Wal-Mart recommending African-American themed DVDs for those looking at Planet of the Apes.

Firedoglake first posted this in an entry entitled “So Wrong” and has attacked Wal-Mart in several successive posts. Wal-Mart is claiming this is an error which is highly possible. Back in 2002, Slashdot had a story entitled “When Profiling Goes Wrong” which had a link to a Wall Street Journal story about how the software that drives profiling like Amazon.Com and TiVo’s can go wrong. One the people mentioned talks about how his TiVo thought he was gay.

These systems work on a bunch of variables. TiVo’s works by looking at what you watch, what you record, and what you rate using the 1-3 thumbs up/down and makes recommendations on things it thinks you would like. Amazon’s works by looking at what you have looked at recently, what you have bought, and what others have done as well. There is some manual linking possible as well.

We can go into conspiracy theories and what not but really, it is just making a mountain out of a mole hill. Wal-Mart is aware of the problem and has corrected it.

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Comments

5 Responses to “Much Ado About Wal-Mart”

Julie Cater
January 6th, 2006 @ 7:26 pm

I think we need to be vigilant. If that means being wrong on occasion, that’s fine.

I don’t think racism will go away on its own. It exists, and it has to be shoved out the door, kicking and screaming.

Julie
ariadneK
January 6th, 2006 @ 7:35 pm

Hey there, I totally dig your blog (I found it via Blog Explosion). Would you mind if I put a link to it on my group blog, “With Sticks and Stones” (http://with-sticks-and-stones.blogspot.com/)?

Thanks a bunch!
ariK
The Angry Fag
January 6th, 2006 @ 8:58 pm

ariadneK:

Thanks for the compliment. And add away
ariadneK
January 6th, 2006 @ 9:49 pm

Cool! Will do.
Ginnie
January 7th, 2006 @ 10:02 am

Just a language comment. I guess we all have small rhetorical tics, but twice in one day on differing issues you used some variation of “panties in a twist” or “knickers in a twist.” Once, cute: twice, tired.