Media Experiences

When I was growing up, I thought that news channels such as FOX, CNN, and NBC told the whole truth and nothing but the truth. As I grew older I began to notice that one news channel would report a story, and another news channel would report the same story in a completely different light. So I began to question: what is the truth and how are we, as citizens of the United States of America, suppose to distinguish fibs from the truth. Recently, the media coverage of the uprisings in Libya and Egypt have expanded my views of other countries and their suffrage. Also, the Internet allows for a free and open flow of discussion and debate. So everything I heard on the news channels, I would look it up on the internet and see what other people had to say about it. This way I got other sources and other people's opinions which helped me develop my own ideas and conclusions.

Marketing Research

One concept that I found very interesting is that companies research their consumers. Marketing research is done by companies to find consumer's "hot buttons" meaning what their consumers are interested in and what they are not interested in. Surveys, observations, and experimentation are all good ways of conducting market research. Surveys and group brainstorming seems to be the best way to conduct marketing research because it allows for the consumer to directly speak their opinions. Also, surveys can be conducted in many different ways such as over the phone, email, internet, and by person which allows for a wider consumer opinion. Observation is when a research group observes consumers' buying habits, which is useful but different consumer's have different habits and can be read the wrong way depending on who is observing. While experimentation has a lot of different variables which makes it hard for a research team to keep an accurate record.

Wootan Vs Liodice

Though I believe that children are being wrongfully targeted by advertisements, I do not believe that the government, or anyone else, has a right to limit free speech. Wootan argues that companies should be regulated in what they can and cannot advertise, while Liodice argues that regulating such things, even a little, is an attack on the constitutional rights. I do believe that purposely targeting children with unhealthy sweets is morally wrong, but people are going to do what they need to do to earn an income regardless of what I say, or the government does. They will always find a way around these laws, so limiting what people can and cannot say will not dramatically influence the outcome. I ultimately think that it is the parents'/guardian's fault for childhood obesity. For example, after Halloween I had a bag full of candy and chocolate and my dad warned me that if I ate them all I would regret it. I laughed and ate as much candy as I could, and soon my stomach began to ache. I quickly learned that eating as much as I did was not a good idea and my dad was right. After that, I limited the amount of candy that I ate and did not feel tempted by advertisements of candy and chocolate. The government should do more to promote parental influence in a child's life, not blame and limit a company from trying to sell a box of cereal.

Strategies of Marketing

One marketing strategy that I found very interesting is the use of symbols to represent a company. For example, when people see an apple with a bite taken out of it, people think of the Apple company and when people think of Apple they think of MacBooks, iPods, and iPads. Another symbol that generates a lot of conversation is the Nike Swoosh. When people see the Nike Swoosh they think of everything related to Nike, even their slogan "Just do it." The slogan "Just do it," also promotes impulse buying. This is purposely done by advertisers to make consumers feel like they need that material object that instant. Even the way something is written can be a symbol, such as Coca Cola. The way the cursive C has a sort of ribbon at the end of it. I have personally seen other companies use the same font as Coca Cola to make a joke about something because when everyone reads it, "Coca Cola" is in the back of their minds.

Body Language

One concept from the reading that I found very interesting is how body language can be just as important as verbal communication. When people feel uncomfortable they will move around in their place. If people are lying they will look down or break eye contact. I found it interesting that the book mentions that body language can interpret different things depending on cultural background. For example bowing in Asia shows respect when you greet people, but in America when people meet another person they shake hands. In pictures, body language is one of the more important things that is conveyed. It is said that pictures are worth a thousand words, and that is because of what people can see from the picture. Picture can bring out emotions because of the body language used. If everyone is smiling, then it was a happy moment when the picture was taken, but if everyone is frowning then it was a sad moment when the picture was taken.

Rhetorical Devices

In the past week I have used many rhetorical devices such as euphemisms and hyperboles. A euphemism is using a neutral or positive term to cover up a negative term, or in other words, sugarcoating. In the past week I was talking about the war with Vietnam and instead of calling it a war, I called it a "conflict" because it seemed less violent. This is an example of euphemism because "conflict" sounds less violent and disastrous than "war" sounds. War inclines that people will die, while a "conflict" suggests that people are only fighting. I also used a hyperbole, which is an exaggeration or possibly an overstatement. I was talking about the amount of homework I had to do over the weekend and I said I would die from the amount of homework. This is an exaggeration because I would not actually die from homework, but I would spend all day doing homework.

Sally Ride

Sally Ride is a great example of a critical thinker. In college her friends said she is "calm and totally focused...always able to see the heart of things... to quickly think, figure it out, crystallize it." Later in life, Ride was the first woman to be an astronaut and go to space in 1983. She was able to accomplish this because of her analytical and critical thinking skills. Also, because of her outstanding communication skills she was appointed as the person who handles all group-to-staff communication for the first and second shuttle flights. She put the NASA reports together and presented them to the United Nations which shows her excellent writing and public speaking abilities. She is now the head of Sally Ride Science which sponsors camps that encourages girls' science interests. The camp also helps the girls build their leadership, writing and communication skills, all of which are necessary for success in the future.