Films, hotels now food. Can this system really get you making good choices?
What do films, hotels, appliances and now food all have in common? They have a star rating system designed to help us make better choices. And while sitting through a mediocre film does little more than waste our time, the star rating system on packaged foods has promised better health. But can a simple label on packaged food be the answer to rising obesity?
The recently introduced system has got its detractors. For starters, how does a system rating healthiness give a better score to hot chips than greek yogurt? We'll get to that shortly. And how can we make best use of the labels despite their limitations?
How loyalty programs sucker you into giving up personal information
If you’re not paying for a product, then you might be the product. Wise words to consider next time you're thinking of joining a loyalty program.
We love a freebie, but loyalty programs offering everything from free coffees to discounted flights aren't actually free. Businesses increase their profits with loyalty programs in two ways. A loyalty program encourages you to shop with those participating outlets more than you would otherwise. And the other way is to sell your data, either to market research companies or to other companies that then send you unsolicited emails, instant messages, SMS or MMS also called SPAM.
So are these programs worth the effort or are we being suckered into giving up our personal information for little return?
Will TV streaming have the fastest take-up rate for consumer technology in Australian history?
Aussie viewer behaviour is stunning the experts. Subscriptions to TV and movie streaming services such as Netflix and Presto may prove to have the fastest take-up rate of new technology in Australian history. Even more intriguing is the rapid drop in piracy.
Why recalls aren’t working
Is it a case of a horror movies come to life - are our everyday items out to get us? Last year, there were 670 product safety recalls – up 12.4 per cent from the previous year. We better get accustomed to more recalls. Brands are worried about what happens to their reputation if they don’t do a recall, so you better start paying attention.
In an episode from Tales from the Darkside, a babysitter entertains a bunch of kids by inventing a creature that eats sounds. Things turn nasty when the vacuum starts eating everything and everyone in the house.
In real life, we’ve had:
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- chocolate laced with plastic,
- washing machines catching fire,
- furniture falling on kids, and
- cars rolling away when left in 'park'.
This year, we’ve had more cars recalled than ever before. There are plenty of disgruntled car owners, some even taking to youtube or kickstarter to raise awareness to what they perceive as a ‘lemon’ car.