RFID Wristbands @ TBF: Yeah or Neah?

[FaceOnMars]

I have no idea one way or the other about whether they're even being considered for the TBF, but there is another festival that is making use of them in town park & I'm interested to learn what others think about this new technology?

https://blog.printsome.com/rfid-wristbands-good-bad/

[FaceOnMars]

oy vey

[Pirate Looks at --]

By now you have probably found that RFID will be at TBF!

[ToddG]

I don't know much about RFID tech. I know what it does, but not how. I see the benefit to not having box office tied down, but mostly these problems seem to be for non lottery ticket holders. At night when we put coats on we won't have to show a wristband. But mostly I don't see a big advantage except for a few people to avoid lines at the Box Office, but I always do the box office thing days before it ever gets busy so it's never been an issue. In fact it's part of the fun. One thing I do like is they are moving to cloth wristbands, and doing away with printed paper tickets.

What are the down sides of RFID? What kind of frequency or scanning is used to detect them?

 Listening to: Dr. John- In The Right Place

[LFlanders]

I'm in favor of the RFID system since it cuts down on paper and time wasted at the box office. In addition, if allowed you can connect a debit or credit card and use it to pay for items, ie. festival gear, beer, food, etc. while you are at the festival. I am nervous to see when tickets will go on sale. Can anyone shed some light on this?

[barrywcarry]

The privacy issues that comes with RFID don't bother me, but I understand those that have concerns.  I'm resigned to the fact that many companies mine and use your personal data (which we agree to by clicking on End User License Agreements).  Sadly the US doesn't have broad protections like the EU has with GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation). 

In addition to PB knowing when you enter based on scanning your wristband, they could have readers all over the festival grounds to track where you wander, shop, etc.  I would suggest PB add an amendment to the Festivarian Bill of Rights

"All data collected from festivarians will be transparent and in support of improving the festival experience.  Festivarian data will be kept secure and never be sold or shared without consent."

[FaceOnMars]

I unloaded my 3-day Blues & Brews wristband this year on the Friday of the weekend of the show ... just wasn't feeling it after Phil pulled out & the whole RFID thing didn't help.   Anyhow, I walked up to the ticket booth with the buyer to confirm the validity of the wristband; and even though the promoter had mentioned there was no identity attached to the wristband, it turns out my name came up after scanning the wristband.  I had purchased the pass a while back directly from the B&B website, so it looks as though my name and contact info was tethered to RFID from initial online purchase.

I'm now curious how PB will approach tethering identities to the RFID device?  Will it be opt-in or will it necessarily & automatically be tethered upon purchase?  What happens if someone walks up to the ticket booth and purchases a ticket with cash, will it be necessary to provide one's contact information to complete the transaction and receive their credentials?

I can see how this emerging technology is becoming ubiquitous in the marketplace & likewise how some have grown accustomed to it, but why keep turning up the heat on the frog boiling in the water?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOk27I2EBac

PB claims it owns the data, but if the RFID system is tracking people's movements on public property ... should they even be entitled to "own" said data?   Moreover, what if the principle interest of PB decide to sell or merge with a larger company down the road; would ownership of said data also be part of the deal?

Not sure how many of you have ever visited Telluride over 4th of July?  It's actually busier than bluegrass in some respects & can imagine it getting unmanageable over time.  If the town still runs the event directly, would they be standing on solid ground to require town park attendees to wear RFID devices (that have identities tethered) in light of town park being public property?  

[Pirate Looks at --]

The privacy issues that comes with RFID don't bother me, but I understand those that have concerns.  I'm resigned to the fact that many companies mine and use your personal data (which we agree to by clicking on End User License Agreements).  Sadly the US doesn't have broad protections like the EU has with GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation). 

In addition to PB knowing when you enter based on scanning your wristband, they could have readers all over the festival grounds to track where you wander, shop, etc.  I would suggest PB add an amendment to the Festivarian Bill of Rights

"All data collected from festivarians will be transparent and in support of improving the festival experience.  Festivarian data will be kept secure and never be sold or shared without consent."

PB has already issued the above promise.

[FaceOnMars]

http://www.bu.edu/law/journals-archive/bulr/volume86n2/documents/DALALv2.pdf