CAPITOLA, CA—Claiming that the footwear in question would go nicely with a lot of things in your wardrobe, your mother sent you a blurry and indistinct photo of her home computer screen Friday ostensibly displaying a pair of boots you might like. “I was looking at the internet and thought of you when I saw these on the Amazon’s website. Don’t they look comfy?” read the text message from your mom that accompanied a pixelated cell phone image of boots of an indecipherable style and color alongside several open tabs and a folder on the desktop titled “Family Pics 2014.” “I know you mentioned last spring you were looking for some new boots, and these look just like that pair of boots you wore when I came to visit you last year. It looks like they have your size, too.” At press time, mom was sending you a photo of the URL so you could order them when you got home.