Tuesday, May 2, 2017

Don't Mind Me--As I Read Over Your Shoulder :-)

I'm afraid I have some bad news, Big Brother really is watching you. It took a while for George Orwell's dystopian world of "Nineteen Eighty-Four" to come to pass, but here we are. Your computer is watching your every move, your phone tracks you--heck, even Uber knows where you are after you've deleted the app. And no, you're not paranoid if you think your toaster is judging you or your fit-bit is giving away all your secrets, it's true. Welcome to the "Internet of Things"! Here's some more bad news, I've been watching you too. I never meant for it to happen, I swear, but the temptation was too great. If Big Brother is watching you, Little Sister is right behind him.

It started innocently enough. I wrote a few books and self-published them to Kindle. I eagerly agreed to be part of the Kindle Unlimited library in order to gain exposure for my books. Then KU switched from paying authors by the download to paying them by the pages actually read. You probably don't know this, but Kindle is watching you read every page--and so am I. I have an up-to-the-minute website telling me which of my books is being read, how many pages, and what country you're in! It's astounding, it's fantastic, and it's terribly addicting. Like watching the clock in Times Square tick down the seconds to the new year, I can't stop watching you read. It's lonely for me, I wish we could talk. I have so many questions for you. "Did you like that part? Were you surprised by the ending? Did my corny joke make you laugh?" You're so close, yet so far away...

Anyway, I didn't mean to freak you out. Please keep reading and don't mind me as I look over your shoulder. I'll be cheering you on! 

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