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        <title>ZDNet Blogs</title>
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<title>Follow-up:  Build-A-Bear says it will take privacy suggestions to heart</title>
<link>http://blogs.zdnet.com/Howell/?p=210</link>
<pubDate>Sat, 26 Jan 2008 05:00:25 -0800</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Denise Howell</dc:creator>
<guid>http://blogs.zdnet.com/Howell/?p=210</guid>
<description><![CDATA[There were lots of reactions to my last post about Build-A-Bear luring kids and parents into divulging personal information they might otherwise, in other contexts, guard more closely.  While some responses channeled Scott McNealy, most seemed to get that my beef was not with the fact of the data collection, or the uses set forth in Build-A-Bear's privacy policy, but with doing it in what amounts to a wolf-in-sheep's-clothing manner.  Here's a sampling of the subsequent discussion: Cory Doctorow called the practice "private information seduction." The Consumerist agreed it "seem[ed] sort of...sinister." Skippy dot net reacted similarly to his in-store experience at Build-A-Bear. Andrew at Changing Way quipped that "the Bear can be more seductive than the Beacon." Curmudgeon-in-Training pointed out that "kids, ... ]]>
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<title>Harvesting data from children with cuddly creatures and cutesy keyboards</title>
<link>http://blogs.zdnet.com/Howell/?p=207</link>
<pubDate>Mon, 21 Jan 2008 02:16:54 -0800</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Denise Howell</dc:creator>
<guid>http://blogs.zdnet.com/Howell/?p=207</guid>
<description><![CDATA[And you thought Beacon is (was) creepy. Yesterday I had my first experience at a Build-A-Bear Workshop store.  Build-A-Bear, if you're not familiar with it, is a publicly traded company headquartered in St. Louis, MO, with some 350 retail outlets worldwide.  It's irresistible to boys and girls alike, if the birthday party we attended was any indication.  Kids can choose one of over 30 different styles of animal, stuff it onsite using big yellow machines filled with flying fluff, carefully add a small heart to bring the animal "to life," and customize to their heart's content (and their parents' wallets' horror) from a stupefying collection of sounds, clothes, shoes, and accessories that include miniature skateboards and MP3 players. All ... ]]>
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