New App Lets You Boycott Koch Brothers, Monsanto And More By Scanning Your Shopping Cart

Kudo's to the developer, now if they added a resource for national chains, of stores and restaurants and what they lobby for it would be the perfect app. the only way to stop their control over policy is to cut off their funding, by making people aware of what they are funding while making a seemingly innocent purchase, or better yet just ban their lobbies, and make it illegal for politicians to receive any corporate funding in any way shape or form.

Originally posted by VoidHawk
What I'd like to see!
The app should down load the database to your phone, why?
Because the way it appears to work at the moment (correct me if I'm wrong) is it sends a request to THEM!!! for the data on every item you scan.
This means THEY have a copy of your purchasing history!!

If the people behind this app want to convince me that they are genuinely on OUR side then they should let us download the database so that we can keep OUR purchasing history PRIVATE.

It's a good way to get the phone number (and location) of all the anti corporate types.

Well it's not that easy, dude. A database of that size will be created, probably, in SQL. Smartphone's and handheld devices don't have the resources to handle a database that complex. The only way to have all the data (potentially 10's of GB's) on your phone would be to integrate an SQLite database integrated in to the app, but then everyone would have to download a MASSIVE file to install the app, and who's going to fund that kind of upload requirement?

I think the way they've done it is the only way they could have.

To Thread: It's funny seeing so many people saying they still have non-smart phones. I forget that America is a few years behind in phone tech.

Originally posted by VoidHawk

Originally posted by ~Lucidity

reply to post by VoidHawk

 

Just because I scan it doesn't mean I'm buying it.

edit on 5/17/2013 by ~Lucidity because: (no reason given)

It DOES show your interest, and pass on your number and location etc.

There are countless devices now that don't have 3G capability (e.g. Tablets, Organizers), but could still run the app using Wi-Fi. You have the option of turning off location services also. This means that yes, they would know that someone scanned a tin of beans in supermarket X, but there'd be no way of linking it to you.

Originally posted by VoidHawk
reply to post by RickyD

 

I dont think it would be a very large file, and anyway it could easily be compressed. Most mobile phones could EASILY handle a small database.

Compression/Decompression just increases the amount of time and resources your phone would need to work with the database; that idea would lead to even worse performance.

Can you imagine the size of the DB, dude? We're talking 10's of 1000's of products, each with various other pieces of info attached. You're just going to have to believe us all when we say your phone can't handle a database that size.

Originally posted by Flatfish
New App Lets You Boycott Koch Brothers, Monsanto

Nice

Originally posted by EarthCitizen07
There is nothing wrong with koch brothers, but there is plenty wrong with monsato and gmo produce.

Everyone is blaming tea party or occupy, when they should be blaming everything that is wrongfully mainstream.

The reason I mention tea party is because people already know the koch brothers have strong ties to the libertarian movement and tea party. In case they didn't know before, well now they know.

carry on. As for mobile phones I can't say I love them. I kinda dislike them.

It's because of the Koch brothers we have oil speculators setting the price of oil. Until they started this oil stayed at a reasonable price.

Originally posted by Lil Drummerboy
Ahh yes,.
another app wanna be company cashing in on a cause,.
Get the app,.maybe free for now,. then pay later

Id rather give them once 2 usd or 2 euro than paying a food company to secretly feed me GMO and pay all i have to the health system to not cure my cancer and just feed me useless pills and watch me die after a long and painfull agony.

It is at least a very cheap way of getting back at them. They try to hide their identity in the back of a loong chain of brands and is good to be able to see the whole chain.

I for example boycott Nestle. Is hard for me to keep in mind all the brands they are related to. On top of this, they buy lots of local brands without the public beeing aware of.

So please mister, just because it was not your ideea and it wont get you rich doesnt mean is not useful or the guy that built it doesnt deserve to get rich.

Yes, is a revenue obtained from fear and disgust and even hate. But hey, however you call it is the most eficient weapon we got till now. Is the best use of the information about the food companies till now!

Originally posted by Thundersmurf

Originally posted by VoidHawk

To Thread: It's funny seeing so many people saying they still have non-smart phones. I forget that America is a few years behind in phone tech.

edit on 18-5-2013 by Thundersmurf because: (no reason given)

I find it funny that many just have to have the lastest tech, most of which they don't use. But they just gotta have that status symbol. My old clamshell still works just fine. It's a phone after all and that is what its main purpose is.

I don't see this app taking off though. It'll follow along the lines of people saying that they are going on a diet. Many start, but most end up failing.

They may use it the few times they go shopping, but at some point, they are going to buy that ice cream, and then it's all down hill from there.

Originally posted by Liquesence
reply to post by Flatfish

 

Now, if this app would automatically inform said companies that their product is not being purchased once it is found to belong to the parent company, that would be great.

Or tie it into twitter, so a crap ton of tweets go out to the company every time a product is not purchased.

I think that's a great idea. If they got a tweet every time one of us boycotted their product, it would be a little hard for them to ignore. Who knows, maybe that modification will get added, I'd definitely vote for it.

reply to post by Flatfish


I've been seeing this discussed on Facebook, and I'm all in favor of it -- as long as the lists are accurate. What I do worry about is if someone innocent could end up on the list because of their source material.

Let's say I'm boycotting Walmart (I "buycott" them by shopping at Target whenever I can. Sometimes (as when we're on a trip) it's just not possible.) If the app lists all the people who sell to Walmart, I might end up boycotting other companies that I WOULD support, whose only "sin" was using Walmart as a supplier or selling to them.

But I like it and am going to install it on my phone. It adds to your choices.

Originally posted by BigBrotherDarkness
Kudo's to the developer, now if they added a resource for national chains, of stores and restaurants and what they lobby for it would be the perfect app. the only way to stop their control over policy is to cut off their funding, by making people aware of what they are funding while making a seemingly innocent purchase, or better yet just ban their lobbies, and make it illegal for politicians to receive any corporate funding in any way shape or form.

There IS the flip side to this, where you check everything... and you find that everyone at one point or another buys something from a company you object to (maybe that organic farmer buys a shovel at a company that also sells to companies you don't like.) That would mean you'd have to hand-make everything, including spending time to gather metal ores and smelt them.

I'm sort of "buycotting" Wal-Mart, but this doesn't mean I'd "buycott" a restaurant that gets their mops and floor wax from Wal-Mart.

I think if you use it, you have to watch out for the "reducto ab adsurdum" factor and not go overboard.

Awesome - user content of collaborative media formats motivating profit shares.
Conscious Consumers Creating Collective Choice~

LOVE

That sounds nice but what kind of permissions does it want? If its like the others that ask for my state info and my identity, and wants to track my every move while never turning itself off and trying to take pictures with my camera at any moment of any day than I'd rather not.


Nice idea in theory. i'd consider using it if no special persmissions were requested to download it.

reply to post by BobM88


Didn't you hear? Companies are now considered entities like we are.

en.wikipedia.org...

This thing is awesome. It teaches you patience while you try to register 17 times.

But once you get past that it does this really cool thing. You scan a barcode and then you wait. And wait. And wait. And wait. Then, and this part is really cool, a box pops up and says "sorry, there has been an error."

Very clever. That whole time you are staring at it waiting, you are likely not buying stuff from companies that have practices you might find unacceptable.

Wouldn't it just be easier to buy store brand food? I personally don't feel like scanning everything I look at and waiting for the app to load before I throw it in my cart. I think store brand is the way to go personally. While I think the app is a great idea, I think it's just a novelty item at this point.

Windows Phone, please.

I think iLemming's should already know that their money is going to Apple...

reply to post by Byrd


I'd say it takes away choices, but that's beside the point.

App has been pulled from Android store until dev can fix it. Server overloads. Not sure if its on the apple store or not. No word on when it will be back on Android.

Originally posted by Flatfish

Originally posted by EarthCitizen07
There is nothing wrong with koch brothers, but there is plenty wrong with monsato and gmo produce.

While I'm sure there are many here on ATS who would disagree with that statement, the beauty of this app is that the choice is yours to boycott those who you feel are opposed to the interest you hold dear.

I agree 100%, instead of bickering and arguing with people over who is "good" or "bad" you can make your OWN decision with your pocket book instead. If you dont like the political leanings of a corporation or how they do business you can choose not to support them.

For anyone who hasnt figured it out yet, Dollars mean more than votes, corporations sway political elections more than people realize.