RFIDs and MyMagic+ and Privacy, Oh My!

Over at StudiosCentral, my recent Jentasmic! columns have focused on the NextGen, newly-announced MyMagic+ initiative at Walt Disney World.

• MyMagic+: The Good, the Bad, and the Unknown
• RFIDs and Privacy at Walt Disney World and Beyond

It’s interesting to watch the response to MyMagic+, both from the Disney fandom and from the press. Business writers generally zoom right into the moneymaker: Disney building an unprecedented database of Guest information, with implications for both privacy concerns and outstanding marketing opportunities. The fandom is mostly giddy for the new technologies, the new customization of Guest experience, and the convenience of wearing a MagicBand instead of carrying a card or two.

As a dues-paying member of the ACLU, which chimed in on tracking people with RFIDs years ago, I’m concerned about the privacy implications, primarily related to the inferences which can be drawn through data-mining (remember when a couple MIT students figured out how to mine Facebook data to determine whether a man was gay?).

And at the same time, I’m deep enough into Disney fanaticism that I’m likely to give the system a spin next time I travel to Walt Disney World. I’ll be interested to see how things go as MyMagic+ is gradually rolled out, and how much it changes from this point in response to Guest feedback and operational experience.

A Gift for Mary Poppins: The Umbrella Photo Browser

Check out this new invention, from Keio Media Design OKUDE Laboratory: the Pileus Umbrella, which will make rainy days fun by both capturing and displaying photos and videos, and connecting to services such a YouTube or Flickr to share more.

The Pileus Umbrella web page shows a prototype, including some images taken by the umbrella.