Spirited News and Observations and Opinions ...

[Lee]

Given that there was a release shortly after the Congressman's letter went public that answered most of the non-detail-specific questions raised in his letter, they won't target advertising at kids being the most salient, I'd say yes. Drafting a formal response to the remaining questions isn't likely to be difficult or something that would cause "chaos in Glendale".

Answering the questions isn't the point.
Having to answer them is the point.

They are now in a defensive position, one they REALLY don't like to be in.

I can say with certainty...it's not fun times in Burbank right now.

 

[flynnibus]

Given that there was a release shortly after the Congressman's letter went public that answered most of the non-detail-specific questions raised in his letter, they won't target advertising at kids being the most salient, I'd say yes. Drafting a formal response to the remaining questions isn't likely to be difficult or something that would cause "chaos in Glendale".

I think people are overblowing this big time. This is not the first time this congressman has reached out to companies on privacy concerns.

How many of you knew Markey and his "Congressional Bipartisan Privacy Caucus" sent similar letters of inquiry to 9 major data mining companies questioning what they collect and how they share it last July? Asking questions about

• A list of entities that have provided data from or about consumers to the company
• A list of data items collected from or about consumers, and the methods by which it is collected
• Products or services offered to third parties that utilize consumer data.
• The information consumers are given access to, if it is requested, and any policies around sharing or deletion of that data
• Encryption or other safety protocols used to protect data.

http://markey.house.gov/content/letters-major-data-brokers
Sound familiar at all?? Wait - the inquiry here and the responses didn't make your local news?? Was there no shakeup of the BoD (that one was funny) over this at the companies?
Markey did get the FTC involved which issued orders to help clarify the information.. because the companies (rightfully so) didn't give Markey everything he wanted.
All one needs is to see quotes like this from Markey to see exactly where he sits on these things.. Disney is just another opportunistic target for him

“I would like to applaud the FTC in their efforts to shine light on the data brokerage industry,” said Rep. Barton. “I strongly believe that consumers should have access to and control of their personal information on all fronts, especially with companies that collect and sell user data. It is appalling that these companies can still freely use personal information such as a user’s full name, home address, social security number, telephone number, and even birth date at their discretion. It is time that Congress carefully considers this industry and the potential dangers that exists. I look forward to the study and the recommendations to be given by the FTC and hope to use this information to work with my colleagues on how we should move forward in Congress.”

But those of you holding out for juicy responses are probably gonna pass out from being blue in the face. Markey couldn't get the answers he wanted directly from those data brokers, and even though the FTC has supenoaed information - the information provided is just for 'study' and "any report or analysis that results from the Special Reports will be reported on an aggregate or anonymous basis"
The Data Mining stuff from the FTC is still ongoing... but the major splash many here are predicting.. didn't happen then either.

 

[flynnibus]

Answering the questions isn't the point.
Having to answer them is the point.

They are now in a defensive position, one they REALLY don't like to be in.

I can say with certainty...it's not fun times in Burbank right now.

See my next post - this is more common than people here may have known previously...

Oh and here are the companies answering Mr Markey and his crew...


Did you not hear the earth shutter from this hearing? Or see those companies crap their pants?? Shocking

 

[Californian Elitist]

I dont care about people visiting Uni, doesnt bother me, why should it. My reason for posting is the annoying way they throw it out there like they are changing the rotation of the earth because they are doing it.

I can see you're new. You're going to have to get used to people sharing their opinions and love for Universal, if you decide to keep posting. I think you're exaggerating a little bit. What's annoying to many people here is people addicted to pixie dust who refuse to look at the bigger picture. The annoyance just doesn't end here, on both sides.

 

[lazyboy97o]

See my next post - this is more common than people here may have known previously...

This is what sort of baffles me. None of this is new or unusual for Congressman Markey. I'd almost say I'd be more surprised if we had never heard anything from him.

 

[WDW1974]

Just posted this in the other Ed Markey thread, but it seems to apply to the conversation here as well.

Al Lutz has an interesting comment about what's happening in Burbank and Orlando as of yesterday, from the front page of Miceage.com today....

Now, one can say that Al has been on top of the situation and that Georgie K filled him in on all the issues before packing his belongings to head home. ... Or one can say that Al is a regular reader of what the Spirit posts, who much like George, enjoys taking credit for things he wasn't really a part of ...

But at least I can head into the weekend knowing Disney's 'leadership' team isn't taking it off.

 

[WDW1974]

We have an advanced reservation system already in place at WDW though, and we know they don't save tables for day of at the most popular restaurants. So the fear that they will do the same thing for the most popular rides is, I think, grounded in reality.

You are right in that we just don't know how they will handle it, so based on what we DO know, I fear the worst.

And you're right to fear that ... as Disney hasn't said very much about the specifics of how things work.
You can't blame them really as they're not even sure themselves due to the operational nightmare this is being ... but Cisco/Accenture never did run a theme park let alone a resort either.

You can be sure that folks living in Golden Oak, staying at the Four Seasons and Disney deluxe and DVC props are going to be taken well care of above and beyond anyone.

And I know @Lee asked this, but there will be NO FP at all once this up. Disney has been clear on that. FP+ is it. You either OPT IN TO THE MAGIC or go visit UNI or SW. I wish people would grasp the fact that once fully implemented that you'll need to bring a lawyer with you to a Guest Relations window TO NOT be part of the datamining and tracking etc.

 

[WDW1974]

Well, Burbank seems to be s******g bricks over his letter.

Nah. That's all made up Internet hooey from folks wearing tinfoil hats and just ed because they may not be able to get a FP+ for Space Mountain on their next trip because they'd rather spend $43 a night for a deluxe hotel with Priceline instead of spending $430 for one with TWDC.

You get FP for Monsters Laugh Floor and special viewing for MSEP second performance instead!

 

[Cody5242]

They are.
The big Bob and Tom Orlando visit next week should be interesting.

If we see them walking around DHS and AK would it be safe to assume something is coming to those parks?

 

[Captain Chaos]

If we see them walking around DHS and AK would it be safe to assume something is coming to those parks?

No.

 

[briandoc]

I can see you're new. You're going to have to get used to people sharing their opinions and love for Universal, if you decide to keep posting. I think you're exaggerating a little bit. What's annoying to many people here is people addicted to pixie dust who refuse to look at the bigger picture. The annoyance just doesn't end here, on both sides.

Yea, I'm new here. But not to life. I'm annoyed, other people are annoyed. Everyone's annoyed by something. Waaaaaaa. They post their opinion, I post mine. Not going to lose sleep if someone else thinks I just don't get it or can't play well with others because I'm such a newb. Like I said, it wasn't about what they say, it was how they say it. I get annoyed, I rant. Not always, but having read enough to catch up on here, there's a persistent annoying tone to what some others post. They can add me to the things that annoy them.

 

[alphac2005]

Congressman Markey has repeatedly introduced bills proposing more stringent, federal regulation of fixed amusements. He gets a splash every so often then fades away when his proposals go nowhere.

His proposals generally go nowhere because he's in the minority party and his policies are generally not well received on the other side of the aisle. He's had far greater influence when in the majority and things have been accomplished by him.

 

[WDW1974]

Recognize - Cisco doesn't do deployments themselves, it's 100% a partner organization. They are very hands on due to the complexities of the product. They virtually dedicate Cisco people to support them and be onsite as part of the team.. (spend enough money.. and Cisco will just plant people onsite indefinitely) but at the end of the day it's a partner that has the contract. Just a tangent there...

Interesting the way you know so much about how Cisco operates, Flynn. ... Hell, you could be on that team yourself with such knowledge.

The point of my earlier comment was about the mentality of.. take today's hated piece of the puzzle today.. and blame spending 1.5 billion on it. Next time a new piece of the puzzle becomes visible.. repeat the process again, blaming spending full cost on that too.

Yes. You're a tech guy and this is a tech program and everytime someone bashes it ... or simply questions it ... you decide it needs defending for the obscene amount of money that is being spent.

I am not angry about a few billion being spent on everything from datamining to new door locks to FP+ ... I am angry about it being spent on ALL OF IT. ALL. The whole initiative has become a giant cancer cell on WDW. So, a patient that already was ill with one disease (neglect/staleness) gets treated for something else.

NextGen was a technology initiative early on.. and while it has has the personalized 'tag' at the core of many of the concepts.. there is so much more too it (especially when talking what cost money). Let's just list out some of things that had to happen to move the basic framework forward for Disney..

How many PoS terminals will Disney replace? Thousands I bet
How much will the PoS software changes will cost?
How much will changes to all the reservation systems will cost?
Development of new mobile device software that integrates with park ops, existing reservation systems, and new systems as well? (iPhone apps, etc)
Door locks on 30,000+ hotel rooms...
Hotel software at every property...
Changing the software and hardware at hundreds of ticketing/GR locations...
Changing the software and hardware at every park entrance...
Wifi infrastructure at literally 1,000+ locations...
Cast Member training...
Internal overhead on the project...

Oh, and all of that is before anyone thinks about storing data and doing business intelligence with the tag. All of the above would be necessary even if Disney didn't retain anything but a customer ID and credit card for billing. One could do all that and simply call it 'modernization'. But that's a huge chunk for ANYONE to do at once.

So I shake my head when people go on about spending a billion dollars on just datamining or personalization. All of the above was just foundation to build NEW applications and experiences on. And once they have it they can do new things.. like

FP+ reservation platform..
FP+ terminals through out the parks...
FP+ terminals for cast members..
integration to all customer facing Disney World websites
Numerous (unknown how many) Interactive Queues...
talking characters...
Install beacon detection at hundreds? thousands? of locations through the park
Build 'big data' platforms capable of handling and manipulating data that is probably on the level of 'unique in the world'
Build all the infrastructure and software to support interacting with that 'big data'
Build the business intelligence apps to draw meaningful references or conclusions from the data
and THEN spend again to figure out how to feed that new 'knowledge' back down into the systems.. like reservation.. sales.. direct marketing.. park ops..
Then figure out how to package the data to partners for value

Oh.. and do all of that on a property that hands millions of customers a year, operates 365/24/7, and is largely staffed by transient low-skilled labor.

You have a great list there. All examples of what didn't need to be done all at once and in such a pricey way. All with the big goal, the datamining aspect.

Yup - and that's a large part of my post above. So much of this is just flat out "infrastructure" for the business.. infrastructure that for a long time will be the foundation of many things. These initiatives now are finally the thing that pushed them from 'desires' to 'property wide implementation'. These things become a 'cost of business' that enable new things on top (like FP+, BI, personalization, etc).

So yeah, I grow tired of the '1.5 billion on FP+!!' or '1.5 billion on tracking me!' posts..

And I grow tired of people who know more than they care to admit defending this. ... When REAL infrastructure is crumbling, everything from roads to monorails to attractions, the idea that an IT project at billions is where Disney's focus should have been all the time.

You whining that people only see one aspect may well be true in some cases, but it is meaningless in the big picture. And you seem to be a big picture guy.

 

[Californian Elitist]

Yea, I'm new here. But not to life. I'm annoyed, other people are annoyed. Everyone's annoyed by something. Waaaaaaa. They post their opinion, I post mine. Not going to lose sleep if someone else thinks I just don't get it or can't play well with others because I'm such a newb. Like I said, it wasn't about what they say, it was how they say it. I get annoyed, I rant. Not always, but having read enough to catch up on here, there's a persistent annoying tone to what some others post. They can add me to the things that annoy them.

I hope you don't think I'm annoyed with you getting annoyed. I'm definitely not. I'm most likely the most annoyed person here. I'm annoyed with a whole bunch of people here, and my ignore list will only continue to grow. It can get irritating here, but at the same time, there are lots of great people here that can make your stay an enjoyable one. I'm just letting you know, lots and lots of people get annoyed with each other here. Like I said, I'm the most annoyed, LOL. Hopefully you won't be annoyed as I am.

 

[wm49rs]

Yea, I'm new here. But not to life. I'm annoyed, other people are annoyed. Everyone's annoyed by something. Waaaaaaa. They post their opinion, I post mine. Not going to lose sleep if someone else thinks I just don't get it or can't play well with others because I'm such a newb. Like I said, it wasn't about what they say, it was how they say it. I get annoyed, I rant. Not always, but having read enough to catch up on here, there's a persistent annoying tone to what some others post. They can add me to the things that annoy them.

Well, if they're so annoying, you have options....

 

[thehowiet]

Yea, I'm new here. But not to life. I'm annoyed, other people are annoyed. Everyone's annoyed by something. Waaaaaaa. They post their opinion, I post mine. Not going to lose sleep if someone else thinks I just don't get it or can't play well with others because I'm such a newb. Like I said, it wasn't about what they say, it was how they say it. I get annoyed, I rant. Not always, but having read enough to catch up on here, there's a persistent annoying tone to what some others post. They can add me to the things that annoy them.

Your ideas are intriguing to me and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter.

 

[flynnibus]

You whining that people only see one aspect may well be true in some cases, but it is meaningless in the big picture. And you seem to be a big picture guy.

The big picture is.. this isn't the last project TWDC will ever under take.. so I don't know why people act like this is the last thing they will ever see.

 

[briandoc]

Well, if they're so annoying, you have options....

Like mentioning I'm annoyed?

 

[WDW1974]

One of the reasons it doesn't bother me much is because when it comes to data mining they already do that by the KTTK card and, as far as that goes, any other payment method other than cash. Seeing where you are in the park? Can't think of any reason to care. If they were going to follow me out of the parks, then I might be able to conjure up some powerful righteous anger. Tracking kids (fear of pedophile), just exactly what do you think those cameras all over the park do. A pedophile isn't looking for a name they are looking for a victim. In fact the cameras are much more of a threat because they can see if they are alone without moving a muscle, with the bands, they have to compare electronic data to find that out. It is no more of a threat then there is already.

If Disney realizes there's a concern with CMs having access to children that they didn't have before, then I'd suggest you're flat out out of touch with the reality.

Disney doesn't have cameras everywhere and those cameras are only going to help if someone grabs a child in view of one.

Disney doesn't (or hasn't explained) how it will prevent someone from molesting Billy when he's all alone in his room at PO with the rest of his family taking the Wild Africa Trek and 'pinged' into the system.

Technology ALWAYS raises dangers that weren't there before. Parents today have to worry about a child being in the grip of a predator when they are sitting six feet away due to the Internet.

If you can track people, then you can use that tracking to harm them. It is simple common sense. You haven't heard Disney say that scenario is impossible, have you? That's because it isn't.

 

[Captain Chaos]

Like mentioning I'm annoyed?

It is called ignore... cause you sound just as ignorant whining about people who whine... Just a heads up...