the economic playground: exhibit A

The main principle of the economic playground is that the corporate parent offers the consumer-child autonomy, then evaluates how they utilise it. This is in contrast to both 'tough paternalism', in which autonomy is actively constrained, and 'morality' in which autonomy is respected in and of itself.

I've just come across a glorious example: Find Your Tribe. A fun and creative way to define your identity, share it with your friends, post it on your myspace site. Oh, and accidentally offer an unacknowledged market research company detailed information on your consumption patterns, controlling for age, geography, education and sexuality.

I just went through it clicking randomly, developing a profile of myself as a 13-year-old homosexual with nine children, who reads the Daily Telegraph while listening to Hot Chip in my Devonshire farmhouse. I guess I'm the equivalent of the kid in the playground who takes to smashing up the toys. May I invite any other kindergarten anarchists out there to join me.

Comments

[max]

Well I've got two kids, listen to Hercules and Love Affair, go to university, listen to 'podcasts', like social excursions (wearing flipflops), enjoy the Telegraph, smoke crystal meth, hate the iphone, love Tic Tacs and vote Respect.

Apparently this makes me a Rah (presumably the Telegraph swung it, not the crystal meth). What tribe were you?

[pete]

I ended up a Grunger. I wasn't paying attention to what I clicked. Being a caveman, I didn't understand much of it anyway.

PS: Didn't it display a bunch of subliminal adverts while your tribe was computed?

[Sven]

I am a 22 year old bisexual chav! Apparently.

[matlock]

I think that's us. As in Channel 4. its definitely our font, for sure, and we've had an ongoing 'tribes' research project for some years...

[Will Davies]

Interesting, Mat. Certainly a less commercial agenda than one might have thought.

[Kevin Harris]

I went for complete honesty. That should bring the system to its knees.