It's Time to Boycott Buycott

by

Opinion

Just when you thought things couldn’t get any weirder…

A new, free app for Androids and iPhones has been launched. The app, christened “Buycott,” and developed by Buycott Inc. (an overwhelming amount of creativity, I know), allows users to join a number of campaigns of their choice and make purchase decisions based on the “campaign targets.” How does it work?  The “parent company” of the product is determined by the app’s no doubt incredibly accurate database, then cross-referenced with selected campaigns.

What, you think I’m speculating about the inaccuracy?  Buycott Inc admits on its website, “Buycott has a rich, but ultimately limited knowledge base of corporations and products…Sometimes we will input our best guess….Q: Is all the data guaranteed to be accurate? A: No.”

Should I continue?

In order to improve the accuracy and legitimacy of the app, how much data you can input as a consumer depends on how active you’ve been. What?  You can input data, you ask?  Absolutely! Remember, Buycott has limited knowledge and corporate ownership is complex, so they don’t have access to the information behind every product.  So, if you run into an unknown product, go ahead and contribute information!

Oh, and hey!  While you’re at it, why not start your own campaign?  You can fill in the description with whatever jibberish you want, and link any company as a “target!” It’s great! Just make sure you have legitimate information to back up your findings, as in, write your own Wikipedia article on that company and then link to it as a source.

The top trending campaign on the site right now?

  1. “Say No to Monsanto” by zenlikeme
  2. “Demand GMO Labeling” by jeru

Luckily, I don’t have a mobile app, or I may start my own campaign, which I think would also be trending: “Boycott Buycott.”

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