Posts
If this is beginning to sound like an excerpt from the book, 1984, by George Orwell, you might be right. And if you thought the book was good, wait until you see the movie, or if you're more into real-life drama you won't have long to wait. It's coming to a computer near you!
Big Brother is getting ready! And according to the request, filed by the FDA, entitled, "Request for Proposal (Event-6994)" opened 9/16/2011, The bidding has begun for an "online sourcing tool". This tool will have one purpose, to monitor any activity on the Internet that might speak ill of "The Fed".
Apparently, Social Media, while being entertaining, has become a problem, so the Federal Reserve has decided... wait... this bears repeating... "so the Federal Reserve has decided"... that there needs to be a "Group" in charge of what is being said. Not only is this "group" supposed to watch and listen to every blog and tweet, but they are going to;
o Track reach and spread of your messages and press releases
o Handle crisis situations
o Continuously monitor conversations
o Identify and reach out to key bloggers and influencers
o Spot emerging trends, discussions themes and topics
(these are some of the services they are wanting the winning bidder to supply)
"The solution must be able to gather data from the primary social media platforms –Facebook, Twitter, Blogs, Forums and YouTube. It should also be able to aggregate data from various media outlets such as: CNN, WSJ, Factiva etc."
According to Congressman Dennis Kucinich, the Federal Reserve is NOT a Federal Agency. As he so eloquently put it while addressing Congress, "the Federal Reserve is no more Federal, than Federal Express".
"The Reserve Bank is soliciting information including capabilities and pricing from potential vendors through this online sourcing tool."
"There is need for the Communications Group to be timely and proactively aware of the reactions and opinions
expressed by the general public as it relates to the Federal Reserve and its actions on a variety of subjects."
"Social media listening platforms are solutions that gather data from various social media outlets and news sources. They monitor billions of conversations and generate text analytics based on predefined criteria. They can also determine the sentiment of a speaker or writer with respect to some topic or document."
What bothers me the most is that this is not an official branch of our Government, yet, somehow, they have the authority and the ability to tap into everything you do on the Internet. So, what's next? Is WalMart going to follow suit and if someone says something derogatory about a pair of shoes, they are going to slap a big lawsuit on them? Or maybe McDonald's is going to look for those who are divulging the recipe for their "secret sauce" or if someone might know the where-abouts of the Hamburgler.
It's amazing to see what some can get away with, when there is no one to challenge them. Maybe the Fed should have just stayed with just printing money. Oh wait, that's what QE3 was all about, and why the dollar has sunk to its all-time low. And I'm sure that all of this has nothing to do with the up-coming Presidential Race. That would just be silly!
Wow! That was quick! I haven't even clicked "publish" and already there are 3 black SUV's, that just pulled up in front of my house. a black helicopter circling above, and two guys, dressed in black suits, looking like they just stepped out of the movie, "Men In Black", are knocking at my front door.
Not really! But give it time.
In the meanwhile, be careful what you say while playing FarmVille, or in your next Tweet. "The Group" might just pay you a visit, and handle the situation.
Until then... "There's nothing going on here. Move along!"
(you can get your own copy of the "Request for Proposal (Event-6994), just click here)
