Rushkoff: The Persuaders - Key Terms

Neuromarketing- psychological; it is the process of figuring out why people do and buy what they do. researchers want to find out what the consumer's subconscious attitude is towards their products. Usually use focus groups. 

Emotional branding- this refers to the way the consumer feels about the product regardless of the brand or price. This is used mostly when consumers are going to want the product more than they would actually need it. Example: designer/luxury products such as a Mercedes.  

Branding/Creating a culture- When a company creates their own unique identity around their own brand. Delta Song tried to do this but was unsuccessful at getting consumers to know what their product actually was. 

Narrow Casting- reaching out on a one to one basis; for example how in the 2004 election the Democratic party reached out to voters by going door to door showing them simi-personalized video on topics of interest.

Rhetorical Marketing- This is used to chose the right "buzz words" to correctly and successfully market an idea or product. This is used in many ways for example how republican politicians started to say "global climate change" rather than "global warming." 

Under the radar marketing- This is marketing in places where a consumer would not typically look or expect a certain brand to be. For example, when Jet Blue made their ad look like the front page of The Boston Herald.

Across Media Marketing- Across media marketing is used when advertisers want to market a product in an unexpected place, such as in a movie, as opposed to the ordinary print, radio, or television ads. For example when a movie shows its characters drinking Starbucks coffee that would be across media marketing.

Product placement across media- This is much like Across Media Marketing. It is a form of cross promotion in which promotional companies surpassing the traditional advertisements and decide to include extra appeals to their offered products. (Again)For example, having movie characters drink Starbucks coffee.  

The Persuaders: Key Terms to define

Neuromarketing
Emotional branding
Branding/Creating a culture
Narrow Casting
Rhetorical Marketing
Under the radar marketing
Across Media Marketing
Product placement across media

Need to define and give examples...

Vector Art Images

Internet & Democracy Questions

1. Based on this debate and previous readings What Definition of democracy do you feel is most fitting for us to use in-conjunction to our growing reliance and integration of digital networked technologies?

Based on the readings and debate, I feel Andrew Keen's and Farhod Manjoo's definition of democracy is most fitting for us to use in conjunction with our growing reliance and integration of digital networked technologies.  They both basically state that democracy is in jeopardy because of the unchecked nature of the internet.  People can post subject matter on whatever topic they choose and there is little authority out on the web to discourage fraud.

2. How does your answer to #1 fit into the unchecked nature of Web 2.0 technologies, and what are some tangible examples of this? Do you feel this is an important issue that needs to be addressed further?

My answer to question number 1 fits perfectly into the unchecked nature of Web 2.0 technologies.  A great example of this is all the social networking sites.  The unchecked nature of these sites can and has created many disastrous consequences. The most recently publicized case being the Rutgers case where a student posted a comment creating a disastrous chain of events eventually leading to a student’s death.  I go back and forth on when, where, and how to check these types of sites and whether it should be done at all on a regular basis.  However, there needs to be some way to limit the amount of sites on the internet that go unchecked.

3. Define and describe the phenomenon of the Media echo-chamber as described in the Internet Debates. What are some examples of this silo effect, and do you believe it is an issue that needs to be addressed? Why or Why not?

The media echo-chamber phenomenon states that people only check media of those groups with the same ideas and opinions as their own.  In effect, people are becoming more and more one-sided, and are not even considering listening to other perspectives.  This is definitely an issue that needs to be addressed.  For example, in our nation, we are mainly democrats or republicans.  This has become a more prominent issue because people are only listening to the people that have the same thoughts as them. (Democrats only watching PBS or Republicans only watching FOX News) People have been tuning out others with different ideas and values and have turned on each other to prove themselves right.  The problem here is as we continue to be this way our country will just become more and more divided.   

4. What are some ways that expertise and authority could be (or is being) enforced on the internet? Who would be behind these forces? Why do you believe are they are needed or not needed?

I truly believe that there needs to be some authority over parts of the internet.  However, it is difficult to say when, where, or how to do this.  I feel that there could be some sort of algorithm that could detect certain key words or phrases, that could then be sent to be further assessed.  It is hard to figure this issue out without getting caught up in the “Big Brother” theory, which is basically the thought that the government track us or keeps an eye on basically everything we do.  And as I have stated previously these precautions are needed for the safety of our nation physically and mentally.  

 6. Give a through example of an adaptation or improvement made by a of a social, political, or cultural group, government, business or individual to keep up with changing nature of the internet.

An example of an adaptation or improvement made by a social, political, or cultural group, government, business or individual to keep up with the changing nature of the internet is like when companies like Chase Bank use things such as smart phones for banking.  With the new age of technology Chase Bank started a process where you can deposit a check by snapping a special type of picture using a smart phone. Before this they even made banking simpler by making it possible to do checking and so forth online.  

 7. Is democracy threatened by the unchecked nature of the internet?

I do not believe that Democracy itself is threatened by the unchecked nature of the internet. Democracy is all about being governed by the people, for the people. We have lived with democracy through many radical changes that have taken place in history. If we think that democracy will falter just from the changes that the internet has brought, we are sadly mistaken. Web 2.0 is just another part of history that democracy is adapting to. (This being the type of thing our country created amendments for.) 

The Great Seduction Response

1. How does Keen define Democratized media, and what are his main issues with this trend? Use examples from the web in the form of links.

Keen describes democratized media as “the great seduction,” or the empty promise of the democratized media. He says what the “Web 2.0 is really delivering us is superficial observations of the world around us rather than deep analysis, and shrill opinions rather than considered judgments.”  His main issue with this trend is that instead of the world becoming more cultured from having access to music like the Brandenburg Concertos, people were becoming more narcissistic and only seemed interested in becoming self-made.  In other words Keen dislikes democratized media because of the fact that everyone is simultaneously broadcasting themselves, but nobody was listening to anyone else. Here is a good example of this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghs0nNF1YZ4

2. Compare and Contrast Keens take on Social Media with Douglas Rushkoff's. Which one speaks to you and your own experiences and why?

Both Keen and Rushkoff’s views of social media are great examples of the two opposite extremes of the views on “Web 2.0.”  Keen’s view is the negative or the opposing view.  He sees social media as a form of media that is corrupting society. He thinks that social media is making individuals increasingly narcissistic.  Keen dislikes democratized media because of the fact that everyone is simultaneously broadcasting themselves, but nobody was listening to anyone else.  Douglas Rushkoff is a cyber advocate; he wants to help people embrace, understand, enjoy, and generally become less afraid of technology so that future generations can benefit from it.  He believes that the internet is not going to change society but it is going to amplify it, and magnify existing trends.  I agree with Rushkoff’s views of social media; it is a way to enhance our future tenfold if we use it properly. 

My Response

My partner is Ashley Casiano.

Posts not showing up...so here are my comments.

Ashley Casiano:

            I enjoyed reading this post, and I agreed with you as well. You wrote, “If people have no boundaries, and anyone can connect to anyone problems are bound to occur.” I too wrote a section of my post about this very topic.

            I wrote that social networking sites can provide a constant reassurance that you are listened to, recognized, and important. Instead the face-to-face, real life conversation, which is far more unpredictable and stressful than the computer mediated conversation, happens in real time; there is no opportunity to think up witty responses, a real conversation exposes your tone of voice, your body language, and probably even your emitted pheromones. (Which are molecules that transmit mainly sexual and social messages that others perceive unconsciously.) Could you imagine how awkward our world would be if every conversation we ever had online was held face to face?

            I enjoyed your take on this question.  You had said that people don’t realize almost thirty five percent of arguments online are because of misinterpretations. Because of the fact that people are not able to hear how the person may be saying something, or because they do not know if certain things are meant to be jokes many problems arise from this.  Some problems may occur because of a conflict of interests.  If someone sees something on someone else’s facebook or twitter that they do not agree with, for example, religious beliefs or even statuses, people may say things may then lead to an argument. When people post things such as an inside joke or things with significant special meanings on social networking sites other “outsiders” could definitely take it to mean something incredibly offensive. 

Janae Myers:

I agreed with your comment about how there are people who are disgraced by the way technology can be used and the impacts it has on people, while others are astonished at how it benefits society.  Those who think it is hurting our generation are not taking into account what we are gaining. They are focusing solely on the negative aspects of the change rather than the innovative tools we are gaining. 

 Megan Walsh:

Just as I had mentioned on Janae’s post, those people who think social networking is hurting our generation are not taking into account what we are gaining from the experience. They are focusing solely on the negative aspects of the change rather than the innovative tools we are gaining. Just because we do not sit and read a novel a day does not mean we are not competent, intelligent, hard working, success driven people. We just act, think, work, and thrive in new and different ways.

Brendan Cuddihy:

When I think about bullying I think of the big kid in the class sitting in the back, spitting spit balls at a small kid in the front. I like that you brought up the topic of cyber bullying. This opens a whole new era of bullying that previous generations did not even have to consider. I also touched on this topic in my paper. I talked about the Rutgers incident and how these types of events are spinning out of control. 

Stephanie Robinett     http://stephrobinett.blogspot.com/2010/10/digital-nation-final-paper.html

Digital Nation FINAL Paper

              Social network sites are putting attention span in jeopardy.  If the young brain is exposed from the beginning to a world of fast action and reaction, of instant screen images flashing up with the press of a key, such rapid interchange might familiarize the brain to operate over such timescales.  Sites such as Facebook and Twitter are said to shorten attention spans, encourage instant gratification and make young people more self-centered.  Perhaps when in the real world such responses are not immediately helpful, we will see such behaviors in children and young teens and call them attention-deficit disorder.  Baroness Greenfield, an Oxford University Neuroscientist and Director of the Royal Institution, believes repeated exposure could effectively “rewire” the brain.  She says, “My fear is that these technologies are infantilizing the brain into the state of small children who are attracted by buzzing noises and bright lights, who have a small attention span and who live for the moment.” She followed with, “It is hard to see how living this way on a daily basis will not result in brains, or rather minds, different from those of previous generations.”  The pure impulse of reliable and almost immediate reward is being linked to similar chemical systems in the brain that may also play a part in drug addiction. We definitely should not underestimate the delight of interacting with a screen when we puzzle over why it seems so appealing to us.   

            Social networking sites can provide a constant reassurance that you are listened to, recognized, and important. Instead the face-to-face, real life conversation, which is far more unpredictable and stressful than the computer mediated conversation, happens in real time; there is no opportunity to think up witty responses, a real conversation exposes your tone of voice, your body language, and probably even your emitted pheromones, which are molecules that transmit mainly sexual and social messages that others perceive unconsciously.  

            Communication is one of the most important devices we have as humans, but it is the way we communicate dictates how relationships form.  Picture this scenario: you just meet a potential friend/love interest for the first time and then you exchange numbers. Do you text them next or talk on the phone?  Most people I know, including myself, decide to text the person first. Then, texting all of the time starts to become a replacement for phone conversations; since texting is more versatile in timing and can be sent quickly.  However, if you don’t know someone well enough, a long texting conversation can become the kiss of death.  For instance, if you’re flirting over text, but you have not actually flirted in person yet, it is tremendously awkward to see the person again when you have only revealed your true feelings electronically.  The same is true with Facebook.  It is like inviting someone into your home when you become “friends” because they can see what you’ve said to other people and vice versa.  All of your information is there for others to see, even the embarrassing video of you singing a popular 90’s tune on your guitar.  If you do not get to know someone’s interests from them, you are not really getting to know them; you are just getting to know the social networking site’s version of the real person.

            Now, the next question we need to ask ourselves is how are we to explain some of the collective anger that seems to be unleashed online; and is it a result of the same anger characterizing much of our society's discourse, or is it the cause?

            The Internet community offers users a number of outlets to express their personal opinions and thoughts, from chat rooms to message forums to social networking sites.  Many of these interactive web pages encourage or even require participants to remain anonymous or create alternative identities.  The anonymity of the Internet may provide a level of privacy for users in the real world, but it can also enable certain participants to become much more aggressive or mean spirited than they would be without the promise of anonymity.  To this effect, the Internet can definitely encourage others to ignore Internet etiquette and post malicious or deliberately provocative messages for the sole purpose of hurting other posters or chat room participants.  For example, the Twitter post that outted the Rutgers student.  These mean spirited or blatantly offensive Internet users are known as trolls in the Web community, and there have even been jobs assigned to website mediators who spend much of their time online deleting offensive messages and suspending the accounts of those who leave them.  Besides, weather the effects of something as simple as a post online are intended or unintended our connectedness means that someone, somewhere will be affected.  

Digital Nation Paper

The Mob. 
What are the unintended effects unleashed by our connectedness? Does anonymity plus connectivity always equal misbehavior and cruelty? How are we to explain some of the collective anger that seems to be unleashed online - and is it a result of the same anger characterizing much of our society's discourse, or is it the cause?

Social network sites are putting attention span in jeopardy. If the young brain is exposed from the beginning to a world of fast action and reaction, of instant screen images flashing up with the press of a key, such rapid interchange might familiarize the brain to operate over such timescales. Perhaps when in the real world such responses are not immediately helpful, we will see such behaviors and call them attention-deficit disorder.

Social networking sites can provide a constant reassurance that you are listened to, recognized, and important. Instead the face-to-face, real life conversation, which is far more unpredictable and stressful than the computer mediated conversation, happens in real time; no opportunity to think up witty responses, it exposes your voice tone, body language, and probably even your emitted pheromones. (Molecules that transmit mainly sexual and social messages that others perceive unconsciously)

The pure impulse of reliable and almost immediate reward is being linked to similar chemical systems in the brain that may also play a part in drug addiction. We definitely should not underestimate the delight of interacting with a screen when we puzzle over why it seems so appealing to us.   

THIS IS JUST A START...

Discussion Questions

Today many TV shows and advertisements try to look amateurish or "homegrown" to emulate what is often seen on the Web. Do you think professional production values will continue to drop, or do you think amateur user-generated content will get better over time? WHY??

I do think professional production values will continue to drop, but only for a period of time. I feel as though this is one of the latest trends that seems as though could never fade out of style, yet in a few years will become obsolete. At this time we say we do not mind the low quality of productions, however what would productions such as the movie Avatar been like without its incredible animation quality?? I believe we will, and rightly so, fade this trend out over time.

What social media sites do you find yourself using the most, and why? In your opinion why is Facebook so    much more successful than MySpace, and do you think Facebook is "here to stay" for the long term.

I use mostly facebook. Facebook is the most popular social networking site used by my friends. I can be "connected" with them at all times. At any given time I can view my friends pictures, leave a message or comment on their wall, and now I can even instant message them through facebook no matter where you are in the world. I also enjoy using facebook because it is interactive. I can actually be doing something on the site rather than just sitting at a computer starring at the screen. 


Why is transparency such an important concept in the Social Media world? Is it MORE or LESS important in the offline world? Why?


Transparency is a very important part of social media. Transparency shows us, the public, the truth about companies. The definition given for transparency in a social setting implies "openness, communication and accountability."  The actual need for it in social media is becoming increasingly important. For instance, the Facebook scandal in early 2009. If Facebook had just been upfront about the changes there would have been no problems.

Photoshop Assignment #2

FLOOR SEATS at MSG!!!

Photoshop Assignment

For this assignment I chose the new Apple iPad. I wanted to

show that the iPad can preform a variety of different tasks that 

you would never have be able to do before. 

McLuhan Assignment

Skype is a new way people are able to communicate with each other. You can talk face-to-face with friends and family no matter where they are in the world. 

The iPad has taken an older idea, a computer, and transformed it into a completely new innovative package. The iPad is a touch screen computer that combines the capabilities of computers, books, cameras, and so much more. It does all of this and it is the smallest, thinnest, most lightweight computer on the market.

Facebook is a social networking site that allows friends and family stay connected. You can easily post pictures, videos, messages, and comments on your own page as well as your friends pages.