This sounds funny, but ever given a thought to whether a product or service you use has your best interest at heart? For instance these days there is a 'fitness craze' and your gym subscription is generally viewed as a good thing. Yet there are some products or services that leave us clearly damaged from their use such as addictions to drugs and alcohol. I just think it is a bona-fide question because we often seem to overlook its consequences.
The worst of them are what I call the in-betweeners, the confused and the deceptors. products and services that successfully hide their intentions from the initial stage. We might think they have our best interests at heart only to realize after an extended period of use that what we derive is a net negative from them. To just put it clearly, if we're not gaining anything from the use of a product or service we likely should cease using such products. Unfortunately many of us don't particularly consider this very valid question until we develop an unhealthy relationship with such an offering.
Am sure you'd be hard pressed convincing a happy gambler that sparing some change for some fun time will likely constitute a net negative until it spirals out of control and becomes a gambling addiction, often leading to debt and regret. Most people are quite difficult to convince otherwise when they are already in the thick of things. This is why I think we should each pose this question before we start using any product or service, as it is a lot easier to abstain than to manage. Those who are already in the managing stage usually don't manage things so well to be honest.
How do we spot intentions though? Some people are hard pressed and willfully ignorant on what to expect on using a product. Many just follow the crowd, or accept whatever is chosen for them without proper consideration. At one point or the other we're probably all guilty of this. I wonder how different things may be though if we simply ask ourselves 'what's in it for us'? It is a simple, yet very valid question that could revolutionize nearly every choice we make concerning what we consume.
It isn't also a selfish question to ask, because any company that wants to profit off us must provide value in return. These days many companies are seeking partnership models with their customers where their consumers get rewarded for their loyalty. Those who stick to the old guard of simply profiting off the impulses of consumers should be weary. Not everyone is asking that question now but I believe soon enough people will realize this and start to ask. It is one thing that makes me have faith in cooperative models such as Hive. True intentions Cannot get hidden for too long.
