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Evil Corporate Bastardness

Princess

22:57 / 21.09.06

Our Lady, in the Headsick\Rage thread, pointed us in the direction of the new "slimming" option available on some HP cameras. I do not believe myself to be alone in finding that utterly sick. So what are we going to do?
Well, as I'm not a shareholder of the company I can't really do much from inside the company. But I can boycott the products and send a letter of ire.
Beyond that, I thought I might write an article for a couple of local papers, maybe do some collage work, maybe arrange some sort of "Fuck You HP" party?

I dunno, I'm a little stuck for ideas. I was kinda hoping that a lot of people might be utterly incensced* and also want to arrange protests\arts\writings\etcs and maybe we could have this thread as a central point where all the plans\results can stay together? Maybe if theres enough we could, I dunno, do something with it?

I'm utterly naive at all this. Someone come make a go of this for me?

Princess

22:58 / 21.09.06

*smelling of patchouli

Also, a link for those who haven't seen it: Hate Me!!

Ticker

23:15 / 21.09.06

there are a bunch of online petition sites these days like this one where you make a petition get a shitload of people to sign it and then send it to the PR department of your choice.

Our Lady Has Left the Building

06:59 / 22.09.06

Maybe those of us who have Flickr sights and the like could take photos of ourselves holding signs saying 'Fuck HP' with links to the website in question?

Olulabelle

07:20 / 22.09.06

I absolutely agree that we should do something. I like the idea of taking pictures of ourselves and I think we probably should start a petition, too. Perhaps we could find out the email address for HP and email our pictures to them. Then we could enlist the help of people who didn't have flickr accounts.

On a side note, I know this is about creating something but I don't think it should be here in creation because apart from anything else people won't see it. Can we move it to switchboard? Or to conversation?

Princess

11:34 / 22.09.06

Yeah. Maybe a move would be good.

Our Lady Has Left the Building

■

Hey cube, what does the bottom peice of paper say?
I can't make it out.

■

23:20 / 22.09.06

Hm. May have to do another one in daylight. "Me, I'm boycotting HP's dodgy marketing. You? tinyurl/j3a92"

Mistoffelees

14:45 / 23.09.06

HP seems to have some problems right now. They have a spying scandal, heads are rolling.

"So far, Hurd hasn't become the focal point of an investigation initiated by California Attorney General Bill Lockyer, who has said crimes were committed at HP and that his office has enough evidence to file charges against HP officials and outside contractors."

Olulabelle

14:46 / 23.09.06

These are ace!

Right, we also need to email them to Hewlett Packard don't we?

pointless & uncalled for

07:58 / 25.09.06

It needs something a little bigger. A couple of pictures in the corporate inbox will do little more than to get them to block e-mails and possibly IP addresses.

On the otherhand, a blog (maybe notthinner.blogspot.com) to which the wider world in general can make submissions, slyly touted to some representatives of related media might make a bit more of a difference.

At the moment this is just a matter of preaching to the choir while come crook chisels from the collection plate unnoticed. Don't try to make them care about your opinion, make them care about public opinion.

Olulabelle

08:24 / 25.09.06

Okay, but I think it should be something more HP relevant. Their 'effect' is called 'slimming effect', we could think of a blog name to do with that? Or maybe something about HP being thin moral values?

If everyone is going to post to a new blog, they can't post FUCK YOU. We'll have to get people to post F**K YOU or else it won't get covered by the savvy media.

A while ago there was a website where people emailed pictures in of themselves with signs saying sorry or something. I can't remember it exactly, but it was a good idea. Can anyone else recall it? If we could set up something like that it would be ideal. I'm sure there are enough lovely programmers here to help us make a basic site which would accept the emails.

pointless & uncalled for

08:27 / 25.09.06

It was the I;m sorry site for the 50%+ of the voting American people to apologise for not ousting the incumbents

Jub

08:37 / 25.09.06

I can see why people think this is a bit strange and beyond what they find acceptable. However, HP wouldn't put this function on their cameras unless they thought (read: spent a lot of R&D money on it) people would use it. I don't see why having a pop at a company for addressing their customer needs is so problmatic.

Shouldn't you all be having a go at magazines etc which create the idea that skinnyness is a good thing, rather than protesting about a company which is addressing this need that their customers (think they) want.

Olulabelle

12:33 / 25.09.06

Yes we should do that, but we should also protest HP for trying to make money out of the fact that the media manipulates people into having a problem with their self image.

STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK

12:37 / 25.09.06

I can see why people think this is a bit strange and beyond what they find acceptable. However, HP wouldn't put this function on their cameras unless they thought (read: spent a lot of R&D money on it) people would use it. I don't see why having a pop at a company for addressing their customer needs is so problmatic.

Sorry, don't have time to respond properly here- I'm just off to sell some crack. You would not believe the market demand for the stuff round here.

pointless & uncalled for

12:38 / 25.09.06

I rather think it's a matter of creating a demand or need for their customers based on the inherent character of a large portion of people's relationship with the printed image.

Quantum

13:34 / 25.09.06

Stoat- that's because crack is so slimming you see, much better than Atkins. We shouldn't blame the dealers though, it's Marie-Claire and Cosmo that are to blame for creating the demand. More! is responsible for my junk habit, and think of poor Pete and Kate, forced into addiction by the pressure of having to look thin.

14:18 / 25.09.06

Shouldn't you all be having a go at magazines etc

It's fine, I have plenty of go to go round.

STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK

14:51 / 25.09.06

Blimey... you wouldn't believe how much pocket money kids have these days. RIGHT! I'm off down the pub.

On a more serious note... the technology's been there for a while now. If this is just a case of supplying market demand, why isn't everyone doing it? There's also an economic case for paying other countries' poor to make cheap trainers for us. I haven't seen an ethical one yet, though.

Jub

14:56 / 25.09.06

Olulabelle

10:31 / 26.09.06

It is useful if you:

a/ wish to pretend to yourself that you weigh a stone less than you actually do. Now, thanks to HP you can take a photo, slim it down using their super software, blow it up to lifesize and paste it over all your mirrors.

b/ wish to enter a model competition by sending in a photo but then (and this is crucial) wish to be utterly humiliated when you go for the interview in person.

c/ Have a very thin photo frame in which you want to fit your subject's picture into.

Liger Null

11:28 / 26.09.06

hm. Points taken, thanks all. Still think it's not that bad - as corporate evilness goes it's hardly a sweatshop is it? Maybe some people want to look slimmer in their photos - would be interested from anyone who thought it was useful and why.

I don't have a problem with the thechnology as such. If I had it on my own camera I would probably make liberal use of it, especially in self portraits. What I have a problem with is the way in which the technology is presented, using already skinny female models, which I think sends the wrong message. They could have used a more neutral subject, like a tree or someone's overweight cat or something.

Mirror

17:05 / 26.09.06

I'm not sure how this can even really appear convincing, anyway. I mean, sure, they can make the body thinner, but that doesn't get rid of the flapping jowls and such.

Baz Auckland

22:45 / 26.09.06

They could have used a more neutral subject, like a tree or someone's overweight cat or something.

Or it could be that it doesn't actually work as well as they claim..,

distractile

08:03 / 27.09.06

Somewhat related:

Automatic beautification.

Not in-camera (although I imagine it could be), but raises similar questions about the desirability of externally-imposed standards of attractiveness.

It strikes me that the problem here is the commodification of the tools. Professionals have been using these kinds of techniques for ages, but if you want to democratize them, you have to make the process as easy-to-use and as automated as possible - which inevitably requires the imposition of an aesthetic standard.

11:00 / 27.09.06

I've started a shiny new thread in the Head Shop about body size and cultural values in general - do please pop over and chip in there also.

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