Thursday, May 17, 2012

What could possibly make me hate the Coachella experience? RFID.

c/o RFID News
"The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival with help from Intellitix, an RFID technology provider for live events, added an online audience of more than 30 million last month when over 30,000 fans registered to “Live Click” around the festival site."

BTC Commentary

Coachella is the annual saga of awesome Palm Desert music and arts festival line-ups. It is the same one I got into trouble at several times.  The same one where Dave Grohl repelled from speakers and landed 6 feet away from me during a Tenacious D set.  The same one where I weaseled back into the VIP area during TOOL's live premiere of 10,000 days.  The same one where I ended up driving home a mobile interface developer and club manager for the Avalon in Hollywood after crashing the electronic backstage area.  The same one where I got the stink eye from Kelly Osbourne for my black & blue dress.

This goes to the attention of Coachella's asshole promoters who thought endorsing Intellitix was a great idea. -

RFID? Really?  You've got my attention, but I assure you it's the wrong kind. 
You're full of it. I hope your online ticket sales go right in the crapper if there is no analog option to rival all the attention-whore Facebook addict audience. 
We have the individual incident of privacy here which is worth defending, even for annual see and be seen crowds.  You don't get to stay part of my commerical concert life by over exposure to the elements of peer-to-peer cum government surveillance. 
RFID elicits a very certain amount of disrespect when it comes to the sanctity of my fun.  Inetllitix has a right to sell their tech to whomever. I just hope Coachella concertgoers on stand by will have the same analog option I did when I actually went to your shows. I believe privacy should be as hotly promoted as this information chattel corrale you are presenting as "social networking" for the oblivious potheads attending your shows. 
You may burn in hell for this. 
BeatTheChip.org


TO MY READERS,

Coachella marketers are just being bloodsucking location and sales trolls.  The reason there is RFID at THIS venue is the same reason there is 5$ bottled water concessions in the Palm Desert.  They are going to SELL YOU.  You don't get anything for what they will make hand over fist from tracking your actions.  If someone wants to give you an RFID *free* or at a discounted entry at Coachella - tell them to go f**k themselves.

OR.. You can take the discount, slip off your bracelet and beat the hell out of RFID inside with a nearby brick, paperweight or heavy rock and let the marketers eat their bad judgement.

Demand analog wristbanding at the courts Coachella. All prior ticket sales were analog. Demand the proper ID standard. While it may be impossible to leave your smartphones at home on this one,  the RFID tagging is way way way over the top.  You deserve a choice.

That is all.