dear Starbucks, say it ain’t true?

So I have this from an extremely reliable source, who vouches totally for the facts that follow.

Story one: Last month while visiting Charleston, three women went into a Starbucks. They were spending the weekend together and one of them had a disposable camera with her. To commemorate their time with one and other they decided to take round robin pictures while sitting around communing. The manager evidently careened out of control, screaming at them, “Didn’t they know it was illegal to take photographs in a Starbucks. She insisted that she had to have the disposable camera because this was an absolute violation of Starbuck’s copyright of their entire ‘environment’--that everything in the place is protected and cannot be used with Starbuck’s express permission.

Story two: At our local [North Carolina] Starbucks, a friend’s daughter, who often has her camera with her, was notified that she was not allowed to take pictures in any Starbucks. No explanation was given, but pressed I would think that the manager there would give a similar rationale.

I wonder what would happen if hundreds of people from around the country experimented this holiday weekend by taking pictures at their local Starbucks …

In an information society, modern battles are fought less with weapons and more with ideas. Since Memes can influence behaviour and change culture, they are the new weapons which are used to establish and dethrone ideologies.

From the point of view of Memetics theory, the mass media is presently the most sophisticated engine for the dissemination of Memes since it exposes potential carriers to an incredible volume of memes daily.

The greatest character in the gallery of American branding is Wal-Mart, of course. Wal-Mart is not only the world's largest retailer; it is also the most admired company in America, according to Fortune Magazine. It also has a very strong and clearly defined brand identity. Wal-Mart projects itself as the epitome of decent middle-American values. Wal-Mart knows the value of a dollar. Wal-Mart is patriotic, community oriented, family-centered, rural and religious.

But last week Wal-Mart got into a dispute with the so-called lad magazines Maxim, Stuff and FHM. Wal-Mart executives announced they were pulling the magazines from their shelves and would no longer sell them, because they are too risqué. [....] You can break 6 of the 10 commandments in America, but please, Thou Shalt Not Violate the Brand. Maxim, Stuff and FHM represented fissures in the Wal-Mart brand persona. That creates tension in the retailing chi, if I can slip into feng shui talk for a second.

Now it should be said, Wal-Mart is neither strait-laced nor consistent. The store carries a full line of condoms, guns, Secret Treasures see-through panties, Cosmopolitan magazine, and even an Ozzy Osbourne line of toy cars for kids. There are CD's by the rap artist 50 Cent and computer games like Marine Sharpshooter, with the slogan, "One Shot, One Kill." Sometimes you get the impression that Wal-Mart is like a lot of parents these days, who have vague intimations but don't really want to know what their teenagers are listening to, because it would be such a hassle to try to shut it all down.