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MoviePass Wants To Gather a Whole Lot of Data About Its Users (fortune.com)
An anonymous reader writes: MoviePass CEO Mitch Lowe thinks his service's rapid growth will continue, projecting earlier this month that MoviePass will have 5 million subscribers by the end of 2018, and account for around 20% of all movie ticket purchases. But some of those future subscribers might be concerned about his company's tactics, which Lowe recently said includes tracking users' location before and after a trip to the movies. Lowe's comments, originally reported by Media Play News, were made at the Entertainment Finance Forum on March 2 in Hollywood. They came during a panel titled "Data is the New Oil: How Will MoviePass Monetize It?" Lowe's answer to that question, in part, was that "our bigger vision is to build a night at the movies," including by guiding users to a meal before or after seeing a film.
Lowe said that was possible because "we get an enormous amount of information. Since we mail you the card, we know your home address . . . we know the makeup of that household, the kids, the age groups, the income. It's all based on where you live. It's not that we ask that. You can extrapolate that. "Then," Lowe continued, "Because you are being tracked in your GPS by the phone . . . we watch how you drive from home to the movies. We watch where you go afterwards, and so we know the movies you watch. We know all about you. We don't sell that data. What we do is we use that data to market film."
Lowe said that was possible because "we get an enormous amount of information. Since we mail you the card, we know your home address . . . we know the makeup of that household, the kids, the age groups, the income. It's all based on where you live. It's not that we ask that. You can extrapolate that. "Then," Lowe continued, "Because you are being tracked in your GPS by the phone . . . we watch how you drive from home to the movies. We watch where you go afterwards, and so we know the movies you watch. We know all about you. We don't sell that data. What we do is we use that data to market film."
Get a card sent to a P.O. Box, pay using a prepaid card. Put the app on a cheap secondary phone which doesn't even need service. Use the theater's WiFi to confirm you're there.
That way, you can share an account (i.e. card + burner phone) among an entire family or group of neighbors and friends. Turn off the phone when not "in use" to turn off the tracking function.
Suck on that, Mitchie-boy.
I'm an investor - Mitch, would you please SHUT UP? Your growth is going to stop cold if this news spreads any further
You're not supposed to run your mouth about how you're mining data from your customers, stupid.
Store discount cards don't track your location, and mine are in the name of Guy Fawkes, 666 Grape Lane (look up the origin of "Grape Lane")... ... ...
But it would be relatively easy to turn off the app entirely when not in use via Android settings. It only needs one location -- when you're at the theater, to keep you from sharing the card. (See my previous post for a way to cheat that too.)
Right. The US needs a big 'ol recession to wipe the smug smiles off of the faces of various tech industry (aka targeted ad/data theft industry) types. It will be fun to watch the NASDAQ party like it's 2001 when the poop finally hits the prop.
And it wouldn't surprise me one bit if the dumb-as-a-doorknob morons who wear surveillance equipment on them at all times find this "cool" somehow. Their minds are completely gone at this point. There's no point in getting upset or joke about it anymore. They're lost. The "general public" has become so dumbed down that we will never see anything nice again.
An even better dirty secret is this: That kind of data isn't all that valuable.
Movie theaters already know that you go to dinner before a movie. That's why movie theaters are often parts of malls; they provide an audience of people who want to see a film and are willing to get something to eat as well. They don't need to pay MoviePass to get your GPS coordinates.
MoviePass isn't making money; they are losing money trying to make themselves well known and sell out before they run out of cash and investors.
Better yet, use it in a way that gets you the bennies but deprives the company of your data. i.e. turn the app off when not in use, or install it on an old "burner" phone.
Remember, the only people you're hurting are Wall Street banks and VCs who sink their money into services where you're the product. Yeah, if enough people do it, MoviePass will go bust, but might as well get a nice run with Wall Street money while it lasts.
He simply explains the business model which was know right from the beginning.
run every app in its own container where I can specify what the external world looks like from within the container. So: GPS some location/track that I have chosen (regardless of the hardware GPS even being switched on), sound & camera virtual and maybe hearing/seeing some pre-recorded rubbish, contacts database - maybe unique to the container, ditto call log, ... Ie I want to control what the app perceives through the 'phones sensors.
That is not a very good representation of the US population. Google around and you will find average US citizen watches over 5hrs of TV per day.
Tracking isn't inherently bad. It's a question of value and disclosure.
For example, a 5% discount and tracking all my purchases? No thanks.
But $10/month all you can watch? For someone who likes to see a lot of movies, this might well be a good trade.
As for myself, having to make the purchase at the theater is a deal-breaker. Having experienced the convenience of reserving seats ahead of time, I don't think I'll ever go back to the old way.
How? Even if they only work twelve hours a day and spend three hours on transit, that only leaves nine hours for sleeping, getting ready for work, and everything else.
It is sad how she is going to be mocked for the rest of her life because of how Disney used her? I assume that's a her. It's hard to tell.
You work 16 hours a day? You think other people "only" work 12 hours a day? Do you live in a third-world country?
Most people in Canada with normal jobs work between 35 and 40 hours per week.
#DeleteFacebook
No matter how you slice it... Fn Creepy. Any lady who would date this guy has gotta be out of her mind. If I were a serial killer I would be applying for a job at this company.
[($)]
Is it that they can't suggest things well, or is it that they just don't have the shows you enjoy available to be suggested. I have found it to be the latter.
"our bigger vision is to build a night at the movies," including by guiding users to a meal before or after seeing a film.
Um.. isn't that how movie night works already? I mean, when I was 7 and saw Star Wars in Plaza I in Plaza las Americas, PR, there was a nice dress-up restaurant called "Sancho Panza" right next to the theater. And a Baskin-Robbins to the other side. Dinner and a movie, done.
WHen I went to see Empire Strikes Back at the same theater 3 years later, Sancho Panza gave way to Burger King and Arby's. The Baskin Robbins was still there. Dinner and a move, done.
When I went to see Return of the Jedi 3 years after that, they had built 3 more theaters in the 3rd floor, right in "La Terraza" -- a food court. Dinner and a movie, done.
So.., what, exactly, is this goon on about?! I know I've forsaken the moviehouses for my own home theater, but the last few times I've been to a movie I've had dinner either before, or after, in close proximity to the moviehouse. Things have changed but they've not changed that drastically: In general, there's always food somewhere near the theater, usually walking distance.
The "Civilized World" jumped the shark ca. 1973.
I do not own a smart phone. I do not even own a dumb phone. I can still order movie tickets from Fandango via my PC.
No, I am not a Luddite. My entire 40+ year career was in computer software. I just do not have the need to be in constant contact 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Are you being sarcastic or joking?
The average work year is 1783 hours.
https://stats.oecd.org/Index.a...
The average travel time to work in the United States is 25.4 minutes, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Let's make that 30 minutes to include time to walk from the parking lot.
Some fields work over time often. Some fields work overtime occasionally. But most jobs are 45 hours or less.
Increasingly people work from home 1-2 days a week so you can drop the travel time for them.
She was like chocolate when she drank... semi-sweet at first and then increasingly bitter.
https://yro.slashdot.org/story... -- 5 whole days ago
Palaces, barricades, threats, meet promises
You work 16 hours a day? You think other people "only" work 12 hours a day? Do you live in a third-world country?
I average... one hour of "TV"* per day. I don't work in a 3-rd world country, I work in south florida (oh wait, that's kinda a 3-rd-world country, or at least, it feels so to me)
Let's see..
My "40 hours a week" tech job really maps to 50 hours, because of the typical IT bullshit. Y'all know what I'm on about here.
Then there's the commute -- I spent an average of THREE hours a day trapped in my mini. I like driving, but this *isn't* driving, it's being trapped in south florida commute hell - Palmetto Expressway and into Calle 8. Fuck me with a chainsaw, I hate it so.
And it's been like this for years. 40 hours a week is a myth. I am trying my damnest to change it, to get closer to that.. but the phone just don't ring like it used to, y'knowwhatImean?
Probably not.
* Defined as one hour of a program of my choice, on my schedule, not what the broadcasters put out. Right now? I'm on a My Little Pony: FIM bend. That's my one hour a day.
The "Civilized World" jumped the shark ca. 1973.
And that is why America is doing so much better, than Canada. From looking ot our door log, and we require people to check in to open the door and swipe their card on the way out, our employees are averaging just over 90 hours a week. There's a reason Seattle is doing so successful as compared to the rest of the world. We're not lazy.
"Using your touch-tone keypad, please enter your latitude in degrees, minutes, and seconds now."
What Earthly good is money if you have no time to enjoy it? There's a fine line between industry and sado-masochism. 90hr/wk is the latter, plus after a certain time at the office, you stop being effective.
This isn't being industrious -- this is a martydom contest about who can stay in the office longest, even if they're playing on their phones 50% of the time.
"Success" is having time for family and leisure as well as making a difference. Working 90hr/wk for a bunch of people who'll likely kick you out the door at age 50 is just sad.
Define "falling behind" -- standard of living in Western Europe is quite comfortable.
Plus you have slow internet, right? Why don't you just move from Seattle?
I'm sure the rest of the people that would be hit even harder appreciate your sentiment.
"Oh my God. This is terrible. This is the end of my Presidency. I'm fucked."; ~ Donald J. Trump
Enjoy your Karshi.
#DeleteFacebook
Damn stupid Slashdot... nerd site can't even handle unicode in 2018.
"Enjoy your Karoshi"
#DeleteFacebook
I don't shop at groceries that gate decent prices behind loyalty cards.
Any assurance that they're not going to sell the data is only good until the next merger.
Meanwhile, I continue to avoid the movie theatres apart from a few select movies, for which I reserve a seat in advance in a low occupancy theatre that is too expensive for the masses to bring their squalling children. Like once every year or two. If I just can't wait to get it at home where the experience is 1000% better.
"Oh my God. This is terrible. This is the end of my Presidency. I'm fucked."; ~ Donald J. Trump
> Store discount cards don't track your location
They do when the data points are tracked between locations. I don't see the point of splitting hairs over the timing granularity. The the intent of the cards is the same. To track volume, frequency and location. Again, this is just a more advanced version of a pedestrian practice that has existed for decades. Trying to avoid the tracking, seems self-defeating. The lack of basic attention to scripts, the hack directors, the wooden acting, is approaching horrific. The public sure doesn't seem to mind if there's enough explosions, but some of the moviephiles do. This is also a good way to give indie more visibility. YMMV
Often wrong but never in doubt.
I am Jack9.
Everyone knows me.
"MoviePass wants access to your location"
[Deny]
except recessions usually hit the poor much harder than the rich. Think about it, investors have diversity in their portfolios such things include commodities that do not drop as much in value (such as properties). Also consider that no investor worth his salt has absolutely everything invested in the market, meaning that most have rather large nest eggs sitting in offshore accounts just ready to reinvest and "earn" more money as the market recovers. No, a recession will do absolutely nothing to the majority of investors just like the last few times it happened. Please use some logic before posting again.
Since so many of the sheeple seem intent on trading every scrap of personal information about themselves to marketers, it's obvious attempts to make aggressive data gathering illegal are going to fail for lack of support.
However, there is a kind of legislation might actually be popular enough to succeed. Enact data protection laws that include heavy penalties for failing to protect consumer data. When a corporation is as careless with consumer information as Wells Fargo was, for example, the company/bank/whatever should pay a hefty fine and be responsible for damages. In addition, the board of directors should actually face the strong probability that one or more of them will go to prison.
We have already seen massive data leaks that potentially have national security implications. If it's true, as we are repeatedly told, that severe penalties are a deterrent, then people responsible for such leaks should pay a heavy personal and financial price. They assemble detailed information about large segments of the population for their own ends. Then, because there are no real consequences for failing to protect these vast stores of information, they leave it vulnerable to any foreign spy agency with enough interest to go after it. Or they simply release it themselves due to carelessness, greed and stupidity.
I've calculated my velocity with such exquisite precision that I have no idea where I am.
At least he is honest. He tells it is about the value of the data and not "better customer experience" like others try to do.
The thing is the few people who are unwilling to share their data is extremely small. As long as you do not get laws at least as strict as they are in Europe (and they should be stricter) with serious punishment for breaking them you are fucked. Seriously and truly fucked.
Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.
And that is why America is doing so much better, than Canada. From looking ot our door log, and we require people to check in to open the door and swipe their card on the way out, our employees are averaging just over 90 hours a week. There's a reason Seattle is doing so successful as compared to the rest of the world. We're not smart enough to realize we're being exploited
FTFY
And I bet you don't get paid extra for all those extra hours. You know what? You keep right on being "successful"; I'll keep my 40 hr/week job and enjoy the rest of the week however I choose. If that means I am lazy then so be it.
THE SOFTWARE, IT NO WORKY!!!
We don't sell that data. What we do is we use that data to market film.
YOU'RE THE ONE IT WOULD BE SOLD TO.
Does that line really pacify people? Do you actually feel better every time they say that? "We don't outright sell the data [to competitors]"? All this does is skip a middleman.
It's like a bedframe factory saying "We don't sell these oak trees to other factories." whoopdeedoo, besides helping your rival it'd be an inefficient supply line.
How's life in the hypocrite lane?
FREE.... damb
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