MattSnodBlog

There's a relatively new service called Blippy that let's you automatically post a message when you make a purchase from a variety of sources (Apple's iTunes Store, Amazon.com, Zappos, and some others).

While this would be a marketer's dream, I can't imagine a majority of people willing to reveal their purchases. It runs a few risks.

1. It could send the wrong message, either "I'm too extravagant in my purchases," or "I'm too cheap in my purchases."
2. It could accidentally ruin a surprise gift for someone else. "Mary Jones just bought a new Amazon Kindle," presumably for her husband, Tim, who wanted one for his birthday.
3. It could help ruin a marriage. "Tim Jones just bought a diamond necklace," which will raise questions with Mary when she doesn't receive said diamond necklace.
4. It could be dangerous. "Tim Jones just bought an HP laptop," which someone could then steal by profiling Tim Jones on Pipl for his home address and checking Tim's FourSquare updates to see when Tim is at a restaurant 20 miles from his house.
5. It could be costly. "Tim Jones just bought a yacht," which the IRS will be sure to audit, since Tim only makes $23,000 a year.

I think this sort of thing just has a lot more downside than upside.