Amazon on the Bezos Hot Seat?

October 26, 2017

I read “Amazon Key Is Silicon Valley at Its Most Out of Touch.” The article appeared in a newspaper which I believe is owned by Amazon’s Jeff Bezos. Independent journalism is alive and well in Washington, DC. The angle for the story is that one can buy an Amazon product which only an Amazon “delivery person” can open. Even better the gizmo will make a video. The goal is to eliminate the Amazon boxes piled outside of doors. I have heard that in some neighborhoods, people help themselves to these Amazon boxes with the smiling arrow logo. I noted this passage from the write up which seems to be a Bezos supported criticism of Bezos’ latest and greatest idea:

Amazon wants to let strangers into your house and train a surveillance camera on your front door. Oh, and they’d like you to pay them $250 for the privilege.

I also highlighted this passage:

Yes, I do value convenient deliveries, but I value my security more — better to strategize around postal schedules than be assaulted by a person hiding in one’s home! And while I dislike rained-upon packages, I prioritize privacy enough that I’m loath to install a corporate-controlled surveillance apparatus inside my house.

Independence is good. What if the company requires the Amazon Key? I suppose there are other newspapers eager to hire independent thinkers who criticize the do no wrong Amazon thing. No one in Washington gets fired for rowing the canoe against the Potomac currents.

Stephen E Arnold, October 26, 2017

Comments

One Response to “Amazon on the Bezos Hot Seat?”

  1. Graham Gillen on October 26th, 2017 11:09 am

    It would seem like an Amazon “lock box” of some type that sits OUTSIDE the home would be the preferred lo-tech way to go.

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