Man walks into a bar, barman says

Your usual Sir?

How do you know what’s my usual – I’ve never been in here before?

Cloud Sir

What you mean “cloud“?

You walk in here – CCTV clocks you- interrogates the cloud and sends us your profile – your Consumer DNA.  So is it a pint of Guinness,? Pork scratchings Sir?  Would you like to purchase this little playlist we’ve downloaded for you on our -i-jukebox-all your favourites Sir?

According to my friends with their heads in the cloud, about 4 in 5 people will react warmly to this approach, appreciating the presentation of purchasing decisions based on previous purchasing history and the behaviours of those like us. 20% of us will stick two fingers up labelling such a process a crass manipulation of personal freedoms taking us 95% of the way to Orwell’s vision of 1984.

Organisations such as DCisions have been pioneering the assimilation of decisions taken by DC members for some years. They produce annual reports which confirm that most people do not take decisions but the few that do find the decisions they take on the investment of their retirement funds – of great importance to them.

Returning to  the bar – 90% of the drinks the barman served came form a couple of beer kegs and two bottles of wine. But he had 50 bottles of spirits on the shelves behind his bar that people would admire (without really considering ordering). The barmen knew that he would not be taken seriously without those bottles – though they mostly gathered dust.

He also knew that the next guy who came in and ordered a Green Chartreuse would almost certainly be the boss.