Okay. I just was talking with my husband and he said the Clippers’ Intuit Dome arena (and I’m sure there are other arenas) uses spectators’ smartphones for E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G. Can’t use cash. Want a hotdog? Use the app, although it will allow you to tap your credit card. If your CC is tapless (some still are) you’re screwed. Don’t have a CC, you’re screwed. You have to use an app on a smartphone to get into the building. Don’t have a smartphone? Too bad. You also can use your face to “Zoom through with your phone in your pocket”, which is funny because women’s clothing is well-known for having large pockets to hold phones. Speaking of women, you can’t have a purse with a strap. Got to use a clutch:
We understand that a bag can help keep your essentials safe and sound. However, please note that only personal clutches, including clear bags, no larger than 5” x 9” x 1” will be permitted in the arena. We will make exceptions for medical and childcare needs up to 14” x 14” x 6”, but these bags must be screened by an onsite X-Ray machine.
This is one reason I’m still on Team Potato. It’s a useful shibboleth – if I’m locked out of your service because I don’t have a smartphone, then I guess I just won’t be using your service.
That said, I’m not sure how long that will be realistic. A while ago I had to get a new campus ID at one of the institutions I’m affiliated with. Campus has switched to digital wallets; when I asked for a printed card they said they don’t print them anymore. They wouldn’t print one out for me (or even acknowledge that they could!) until I pulled my flip phone out of my pocket and showed it to them.
I’d been meaning to read this article for nearly a year and finally got around to it:
Whether it’s SaaS, superapps, blockchains, or whatever format comes next, the trajectory of recent Silicon Valley “innovation” remains the same: a hint of genuine productivity and a heavy dose of old-school land-grabbing and value extraction. Software in its many varieties impose a growing tax across modern life, whether for the lowly consumer aghast at a three-figure toaster subscription, or the Fortune 500 CEO, handed a list of dozens of six-figure software tools. The grift seems to be reaching a climax, and the bubble can’t pop soon enough.
