"the way music died [side b]"

1. Keen provides a lot of structure and appropriate information, and he also brings up the devastating truths about today's music business. It is sad to think that video stores are being put out of business because there are companies such as Netflix and Blockbuster online that accommodate consumers even more. Also the introduction of MP3's has put record companies out of business. Now companies, music stores, local book stores, and video stores can only hope to rely on their loyal customers who will always come back. Yet, it does not seem like there is enough room in the economy to keep such businesses alive. Keen draws upon these ideas, and the fact that companies and industries are being robbed of their business through the introduction of more and more innovative technology.

I do agree with Keen that this is very true, but it is equally as upsetting. It is kind of sad to think that places where we once went to get away and escape- music stores and book stores are now being placed out of our reach because there are new ways to access books, music, and video(s) from our homes. There is an aura about a book store or local music hot spot that is like home, and it seems that mega companies and conglomerates such as Blockbuster online, Netflix, Amazon, and iTunes/Napster are taking this away. Everything is being placed in fast forward and now there is an approach even accepted by the lazy members of out society.

Keen also discusses the decline in print media... newspapers and magazines. I feel that with the decline in today's economy that print media has downsized. Several magazine publications have been terminated completely, and many newspapers such as The New York Times and The Wallstreet Journal have downsized both physically (trimmed the actual size of their papers) and in information (the termination of whole columns has resulted). Internet has also taken over the print world, for example, NYTIMES.com and other sites have become increasingly possible, subscribers can gain access to minute by minute updates all around the globe, yet there is something different about actually sitting down with a newspaper. I agree here with Keen that there is nothing like sitting down with a tangible newspaper and reading. This brings me to another thought, I can understand how magazines have declined in recent times, yet the thought of having to downsize on newspapers surprises me very much. Still at home, my family receives a newspaper daily in order to stay on top of the day to day updates, locally, nationally, and globally.

2. In Utopia Keen addresses some of his worries about how in the Web 2.0 world people who are less educated and experienced are able to play on the same field as those who are schooled and prepped to be certified and working in such a realm. More specifically Keen talked about Wikipedia and how it basically is robbing information of their validity. You and I could post anything we want right now on Wikipedia regardless if its truth or not. This can mislead many people.

Growing Up Online

Growing up online has both its positives and negatives. Now a days the Internet is such a vital thing for the functioning world. While watching this particular documentary I found that many people were appalled and incredibly surprised by certain things like addiction to the Internet and cyber-bullying. Clearly this documentary was compiled pretty recently, yet these things have been around for such a long time. I feel that being I have grown up online that I am not surprised that people have become addicted to the Internet or that cyber bullying has become so increasingly popular. For example, even here at Mari st College a website has been set up for students to anonymously bully and post negatively about other students. Furthermore, I even saw this when I was still in high school. It shocks me that so many adults are so shocked by this, because it has been around for such a long time.

Moving on there are so many different social networks that exist in today's cyber world that is hard not connect amongst one another on a regular basis. When out parents were young they communicated through penned letters and telephone calls where now we are communicating through electronic mail, text messages, and instant messages. Blackberry cellular phones offer BBMing (blackberry messages) which is like online communication for your telephone. Although all of these new innovative technoligies have enabled society to connect easier, I think there are some negative outcomes and results.

Do campaign producers give us what WE want??

1. Where are we headed? What's the future? What are your thoughts on how far the techniques of persuasion might go?

As of right now the media has an enormous effect on the general public. As a result of this past election there have been an overwhelming amount of advertising dollars pumped into this campaign. I feel that in the future even more money will be pumped in the campaigns, and not only will there be public government funds, but many of the candidates will begin to accept even more funds from outside organizations (for example Obama using so much of the money donated to his campaign whereas McCain did not receive the even amount-- does this contradict some of Obama's anti capitalist politics??) I feel that a lot of the persuasion is used in negative ways in order to produce positive results for the given candidate-- mudslinging. Many of the commercials that I have viewed target the other candidate's politics, and then at the end say we won't do this. I do not agree with all of the advertising and campaigning that we have been bombarded with this past year, yet I do not thing there will be a slow in the future elections either. I also do not feel that I am really effected by the commercials because much of the information that I base my decisions on are based on debates and live politics-- what they DO not what they SAY.

2. Is there something distinctive in the American character that makes us susceptible to this world of advertising and messages? "The Persuaders" program explores the idea that Americans are seeking and finding a sort of identity in buying/joining a brand. What is this about? There is most definitely an American character that points us out as "vulnerable". I say this because we always seem to be easily swayed, with which ever way the wind blows. Also I do believe that the advertisers are doing exactly what they are being paid to do, that is to persuade (and in some ways possibly deceive). I believe that the persuader's are attempting to provide an outlet for today's society, people like to have an identity, a specific persona, and these persuaders are providing the public with these outlets to define themselves. I also do not think that there is anything wrong with this because, as long as someone is joining a brand or adopting a particular belief or system in which they believe.

3. What are the common elements in the persuasion/selling strategies of advertising and marketing? And how can we move about in this world with a degree of self-awareness as to what's happening, especially since all these messages are increasingly trying to move us to act and make choices on an emotional level? Technology has made advertising into what it really is today. Although sometimes I think that that we have become really desensitized to advertisements on the Internet. For example, I always X out pop ups, and I hardly ever really put any serious thought into viewing the sidebars and banners. I think that the Internet has become to saturated with "meaningless" and less inventive advertisements that people are beginning to overlook the overall message (partially because they are now CHOOSING not to be bothered).

Merchants of "Cool"

It seems that these many companies and agencies are really taking strides to successfully target teenagers and young adults. It seems that teenagers and young adults can be easily influenced through trendy advertising campaigns, and the need to fit in and be "cool".

It also seems that the media sure is keeping tabs on how to keep up with the evolving mind and needs of today's teenager. Although it seems that many kids today are turning their eyes and minds in a more rebellious direction. This can also provide some serious obstacles for many companies and conglomerates attempting to reach such an audience. For instance, from a musical perspective, many teenagers are turning to hardcore rock and profanity saturated rap music. It seems tough to advertise such harsh concepts without exposing what it truly is, for example profanity and violent images can not be used through public mediums.

Yet, the media seems to prove to be successful in invading the mind of society's youth. For example, there are clever ways that advertisers reach teenagers. The Internet seems to be the easier outlet, for example, many websites can feature polls to help engage its viewers (research can be achieved, and sometimes we don't even know were being targeted). This seems rather sneaky. But then again, how are they going to reach kids who are not concerned with voluntarily participating in polls and observations groups (etc.)?

Personally, from viewing and examining the news methods in which media professionals are using to target teenagers, I feel that it could eventually spiral out of control. For example, could media conglomerates and professionals eventually be given access to our computers to view the types on websites that we view and to see what exactly it is we do online. This would not surprise me in the near future.

How Do Media Professionals Know Their Audiences?

Although this seems like an easy question to answer, there really is a lot of ground to cover. Questions I often arrive at as an Advertising major could include attempting to get to the audience, and how exactly can I define each particular audience. Every single consumer in society is being targeted by different conglomerates for very different reasons. As a consumer I always hope to get the best out of any and every product, additionally as someone who could possibly be interested in one day creating plans to target different groups of people, there needs to be a great deal of research. This brings me to my initial approach, and response to this question.

The first thing that media professionals need to do is begin working backwards, they can do this by examining the target market and providing simple tests and evaluations in order to decipher what exactly the market's needs are. For instance observations and surveys can be taken to examine the needs further to help lock into place exactly what the audience/target market is looking for. This allows a relationship to be formed, the conglomerates and media professionals are now expressing an interest in their consumers and this allows both parties to become accustomed with one another.

There are also ways for different media professionals to branch outside their comfort zones, and see if they can expand beyond their target markets. These global efforts have proven to be both successful in many cases-- for instance the McDonald's franchise, this was always a predominantly American concept, and has become part of the American culture. Yet, when one branches outside of the United States, there are McDonalds' everywhere, although this embodies an aspect of American culture, it has become part of a global culture as well. Although these efforts are not successful for all services and products.

Furthermore there are some threatening ideas that accompany this idea that media professionals are making attempts to know us so well, and in addition these efforts are solely being made for an overall profit. All of this research and efforts to get to know the market (me and you) seems a bit invasive being the overall goal is money driven.

Money As Debt

After viewing the short documentary film, "Money as Debt" I became intrigued and a bit more engaged the whole banking system which is so firmly locked into place within our ever so damaged economy. There were a variety of different elements that were revealed through the short film regarding out banking systems, elements that I was not even aware nor accustomed to. Being, an Advertising major with a Psychology minor here at Marist College a lot of information regarding banking systems are not exposed to me on a regular basis. This documentary like film really opened my eyes to an array of different issues that the world is and may continue to face in the future. Ultimately, the animation that was used helped me better understand and tolerate the information being presented to me-- that is because although I am not familiar with much of this information, it does not interest me particularly either. Therefore the animation helped engage me as a viewer in general and as a viewer who is completely foreign to these concepts. I really enjoyed what the creators and publishers did with this because there was an element of humor that accompanied the film, it allowed me to become immersed into concepts. Additionally I was also unaware of the vast amount of that can be accomplished using so few programs, I was also incredibly impressed with this as well.

Animation Project

I chose Time Warner as the main focus of this particular project, like I have with many other projects. This particular corporation interests me most because of the vast array of other companies and franchises that it currently holds down. For my animation I decided to start with the name Time Warner to remain central throughout the entire animation, although its opacity blinks at the end. Through each frame a different element under Time Warner pops up, AIM, HBO, 90210, Warner Brothers, CNN TV, InStyle magazine, and Moviefone. At the end the opacity of Time Warner's elements and Time Warner itself blink back and forth a few times. I found that this animation illustrates the different companies and productions that Time Warner holds, it also illustrates the different audiences and mediums that it holds, illustrating a true media conglomeration and media globalization.