The South Bayview Bulldog

Less than nine months after Loblaws introduced the mobile app to “reward” shoppers with product recommendations designed to fit their profile, the PC Plus program is said to have reached one-third of Canadian households. That’s according to a California-based company that provides the food giant with a service that matches customers with electronic coupon offers they are most likely to use. Do you feel a little manipulated. If so, it’s because you bought into it and it seems many people like it.  This is the step beyond plain old PC Points for merely shopping at Loblaws. And the profile developers say they will soon be able to provide Loblaws with information that permits it to offer you “coupons” based entirely on your profile and yours alone. In total, the program counts about 6 million members. Presumably the largely unseen hand of Loblaws is felt mostly in Ontario where it has the most stores. It is easy to see how Loblaws does such enormous business and how it can reject brand-name companies which otherwise would rule consumer decision-making in its stores. Itbusiness.ca 

Linda Nguyen of the Canadian Press runs down the expectation and reality of student debt. Most kids think they’ll be on the hook for close to $10,000 in school debt but some shoulder as much as $25,000. On average, they expect to get out from under this burden in six years. It will be obvious that some take longer depending on their field and just how much judgement they applied during school. Worth a read if you are about to assume debt or have a son or daughter about to borrow money. Linda Nguyen, Canadian Press 

The Open Streets experiment on Bloor and Yonge Streets has gotten off to a curious and somewhat sparsely populated start. The first of two closings took place today (Sunday, August 17, 2014) between 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. As few as they were, those on foot had to watch out for bicycles and the occasional skate boarder. There was clearly no traffic control. Cyclists swung from one side of Bloor to the other. A woman heading south on her bike traversed the intersection at a speed of perhaps 30 km/h. The purpose of the street closure was hard to find. In the Starbucks on Yonge just north of Bloor the baristas were bemoaning the lack of business. “It’s so slow,” said one. Out on the street, a few couples and families walked mostly on the sidewalks looking a little bemused by the empty thoroughfare. A lively band played to a handful of onlookers outside Zara on Bloor. Nonetheless, with all the hoopla preceding it, Open Streets was de rigeur for mayoral candidates. Sarah Thompson and her workers were dressed in cheery red and white. They hustled potential voters fairly aggressively but found limited opportunities. Olivia Chow and John Tory made an appearance. Kristyn Wong-Tam, (Ward 27) was present. It is an open question if any of today’s open streeters, even those on bicycles, made it from end to end of the blocked off roadway. The much ballyhooed “connection” of neighborhoods seemed moot.