Computers now have an unsettling ability to offer you goods or services apparently based on the fact that you once searched for something. Thus, it seems that every time I go online to read the New York Times, I will see side-bar and pop-up ads for bicycles, tattoos, and (I have no idea why) body part enhancement. Lately, folks have been offering me “leads” to clients who need legal services.
I once litigated a case against a Chicago company that sold leads. During the run-up to the hearing, they changed their business model to one of cooperative advertising. Thus, the Statewide Grievance Committee dismissed the case, though noting that “on slightly different facts” the result would have been different. In some kind of cosmic karmic pay-back, now every time I go to “the Google” for something, I get offers such as these:
