This summer I attended a concert. Not just any concert, but a concert where I was seeing two of my favorite bands, The Fray and Jack’s Mannequin. I had literally been counting down the days until that night as soon I received the tickets in the mail. The night rolled around and I jumped in my car with my two best friends and hit the road.

The public relation strategy being utilized is putting together a special event. The concert was coordinated not only to entertain an audience, but also to raise the profile of organizational or corporate clients. The venue the concert was being held at is a very large venue which typically holds a music festival called Warped Tour. Merriweather is the name of this venue. Since the venue is so large there are several different booths and vendors around the actual stage and stadium seating.

The booths and vendors are promoting a certain product or service. As soon as there is a break between bands or before the concert as ended the vendors are attracting more and more people. One vendor I found myself visiting most was the food and drink booth. The only beverages you could purchase were Coca Cola products or beer. The beer being served was Bud light. They made a specific attempt to advertise these products on posters and flyers. Naturally, I was influenced and while I’m unable to consume alcohol, I ended up buying two large cups of Coke and forking out four dollars for each cup. I also bought a hot dog and when I proceeded to drown it in ketchup; I was given the only option of Heinz. I wasn’t complaining, but I noticed these weren’t generic brands; they were popular brands being offered and consumed. Not only was food and drink served exposing me to these popular brands, but the actual band merchandise available upon purchasing was inundated with Epic Records record label advertisements. Epic Records record label recorded The Fray’s albums and signed them as a band in general; hence, there were sweatshirts, tee shirts, and posters at certain vendors promoting the record label.

This public relations strategy was very successful when striving to impact concert-goers like myself. These organizations and corporations promoted themselves by their plethora of distinct advertisements. I, as a consumer, was given no other choice but to consume Coke products for instance whenever I was thirsty. Of course, my attention was on the bands the majority of the time but I was also exposed and influenced by the advertisements as well and the strategy being used my public relations agents was very practical and efficient.

I experienced some difficulty when finding an advertising campaign that is featured in several different mediums. Of course on television there are so many different, random commercials and advertisements, but the thing is, I didn’t find these same advertisements in movies or magazines. I thought about this for a while and then I realized the exact product. The product I consume, the product featured in advertisements almost everywhere, and the product that America loves.

Coca Cola.

So the question people should be asking is not “Where do I find Coke ads?” the question is, “Where do I not find Coke ads?” I flip through my Cosmopolitan magazine and I come across a Coca Cola advertisement. I watch reruns of some of my favorite shows like American Idol and Project Runway, and what is the featured drink being consumed? Coca Cola. Some of my favorite movies even feature Coca Cola. Movies like Shark Tale, Save the Last Dance, Failure to Launch, and Elf all advertise Coke. Not only do I find these advertisements on the small screen and big screen, but as I’m surfing the web shopping or looking up information for homework, I’m faced with more Coke ads. Advertisements flash at the top and sides of my screen. “Hit the target and win a free Coke!”

The Coca Cola advertising campaign doesn’t target one, specific audience. They target several different audiences. For example, the Coca Cola ad found in Cosmopolitan targets adult women. The Coke advertisement isn’t regular Coca Cola, is diet Coca Cola, so it’s used for most women who worry about their body image. The Coca Cola advertisements found in American Idol target mostly everyone. Men, women, and children all watch American Idol, so they are all influenced. American Idol is also shown at 8 p.m. typically, therefore it’s the time where families are sitting in their living room together all being exposed. The movie Shark Tale is a cartoon for children with adult humor, once again targeting more than one audience. The same idea I mentioned is also applied in the movies Failure to Launch and Elf. The advertising campaign is trying to reach everyone. Everyone is inundated with these ads; consequently, everyone consumes.

The campaign reaches audiences by several demographics: age, gender, and sex. The campaign also reaches audiences by psychographics. They produce advertisements with slogans like “Open Happiness” and “Live Positively” to target those audiences with positive or negative lifestyles, implying that consumption of Coca Cola will lead to positivity, happiness, and love.

It is my opinion that their strategy is very effective. The Coca Cola campaign is definitely reaching the several target audiences in a very effective manner. It is obvious they are trying to reach these audiences by their placement of the product: in children’s movies, women’s magazines, family television shows, and the World Wide Web.

Now that I’ve sat in front of a screen informing you of this, my brain needs just a little relaxer and motivation. I need a little refresher. I’ll grab a Coca Cola. Why not crack open a can of “happiness”? 

Since I was a little girl I’ve been very fond of reading. I feel as if when I’m reading, I’m always learning. I’ve read several short stories and novels and if I had to choose just one book that’s made a significant difference in my life it would be a tough decision but I would go with Twilight.

To most people reading this blog, they would consider that extremely cliché considering it was one of the top selling books in 2005 and 2008 and it was extremely popular among several age groups, but it was by far one of the greatest novels I’ve ever read.

Twilight is a fiction, vampire-romance, novel written by Stephanie Meyer. I read it during my senior year of high school in 2009. It came to my attention after I saw the movie in theatres with my best friend. I saw the movie and was informed that it was a novel. I had no idea that it was a book and actually the first in its series. Immediately after watching the movie, I went to the 24-hour Wal-Mart at midnight and bought the first book as well as the second.

When I read the book for the first time I was overwhelmed with excitement. The movie was absolutely phenomenal to me so I was thinking to myself the book can’t get much better. I thought wrong. The book completely blew me away. The novel is comprised of so much vivid detail, thrill, excitement, and suspense. It’s a definite page turner and I never wanted to set it down. I finished the book in one day and moved on to the second soon after. The book tells the story of a girl named Bella Swan who moves to a pretty mundane town and falls in love with a boy who wouldn’t be socially accepted if her friends and family knew the “real” him. His name is Edward Cullen and he is a vampire who is far from normal or accepted. She faces a lot of crucial decision and risks everything to be with him. The first novel as well as the following tells the story of their adventures together and their love.

It impacted my life because it taught me a lot about love and how unconditional it is to a certain extent. The relationship between Bella and Edward is so strong. Bella and Edward do everything in their power to be together. It’s unlike a relationship I’ve had with anyone, but it still teaches me and shows me how powerful love can be. It gives me hope that there is a relationship like that for me in the future. I believe the vivid details and ways Meyer describes the setting and characters makes this novel so influential.

After reading this novel it affects the way I read today. It’s almost as if I have expectations now when I read other novels. I expect to read novels with so much description and detail. I strongly recommend reading Twilight; it’s a book you’ll never forget.

Growing up my favorite channel or movie to watch was Disney, Disney, Disney. Among some of my favorite movies were The Little Mermaid, Pinocchio, Toy Story, Dumbo, and Cinderella. Disney consumed my life a child and it was what I admired most. In several movies I always idolized someone. I would attempt to mimic their mannerisms or I would hope to be in a setting identical to theirs.

For instance, from The Little Mermaid, I wanted to have the perfect “prince”. I also wanted to be as close to my father as she was and be “Daddy’s Little Girl” even when I was closer with my mother. After watching Cinderella, I wanted to be as beautiful, graceful, and rich. Like The Little Mermaid, I also wanted to eventually be paired with a handsome, charming prince. In other movies I watched there was typically a happy relationship in every household. My parents separated in my second year of elementary school, so I always admired movies with big families living under the same roof with a strong bond or relationship.

Other than the characteristic that related to me and my life there were several other common themes. There was always a moral taught followed by a happy ending. Each family was typically happy and successful. Every character was beautiful or handsome. If there was ever a conflict, there was always a simple and happy solution.

Years down the road, I am now eighteen and a freshman in college. I’ve had a bit of experience as a young adult so far. I’ve owned a car, had a job, been in a relationship, been responsible for expenses, and generally speaking I’ve been faced with independence to a certain extent. As I relate back to the mentality I had as a young child watching those Disney movies, I realize my “real world, the “real world” isn’t everything Disney movies cracked it up to be.

I do not have a prince charming. I’m not sure if there is even such a thing. I’m not rich and it’ not easy to be wealthy and successful. I’ve been involved in several conflicts where there is not a simple solution and in several instances I didn’t have happy endings.

I realized how powerful Disney is as a conglomerate; Disney was able to shape the perception I had of my future. I eventually realized life wasn’t a fairytale, but I believe Disney is using its power in a less than beneficial way. Yes, Disney is providing morals and values in their films but they are also portraying the average American lifestyle as more of a fairytale than reality. It’s not only exploiting the children viewing these films, but it’s also affecting parents too. Families who are watching these films are exposed to this lifestyle being portrayed and could be given the impression that it’s the right way of living and the reality they should be trying to obtain.

Disney may be magical, but realistic? Not so much.

…Would you want your mother to see that? Many people fail to ask themselves that question before posting pictures on Facebook or MySpace of crazy parties, beer cans in hand while making obscene gestures.

Because of the social networking phenomenon among many age groups kids, teenagers, and even adults are gaining the ability to reveal all parts of their lives online. They are given the opportunity to post whatever pictures, videos, and or information on different social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace.

Yes, this is creating easier paths of communication while making it easier to meet people, but is it jeopardizing our single opportunity of being granted our dream job?

On Tuesday, September 15, 2009 writers of the Oklahoma Daily posted an article called Social networking profiles affect job-searching students.

After reading this article I was informed more about the disadvantages of social networking. The major idea in this article focuses on hiring business scoping out profiles of possible new employees. Students who are graduating college looking for a job should be able to have a Facebook or MySpace, but should also consider keeping it cleaned up because some potential employers may be monitoring their personal pages.

Companies find a friend of the student applying and use it as a gateway to view what the student thought was private to outside viewers or strangers.

In my opinion, I feel this is absurd. People’s personal lives on Facebook or MySpace should not jeopardize their opportunity at a career. If an employer comes across the profile of a certain individual seeking employment, they have the right to view their personal page, but should not use it to base whether they are hired or not. Individuals are guaranteed the right to live how they please and should not be punished for that. During an interview, if a person is disrespectful, lacking knowledge, rude, or doesn’t fit the requirements for the position, that is a legitimate reason not to hire them; however, because they have a picture on Facebook holding a red Solo cup is NOT a legitimate reason to eliminate them.

A major policy that is enforced among the majority of businesses is to keep personal lives out of the business and the workplace. That policy should not only be enforced after being hired, but should also be enforced when hiring. Keep the personal life of an individual out of the hiring process in a business.

UTOPIAN VERSION

The world as we know it is already being consumed by technology. Everyday scientists and engineers develop ideas and ways to enhance technology. If it’s only 2009, how will the world be in 2035? That is almost 25 years from now. Can you imagine? Maybe you can’t, but I can.

Based on my observations as a young adult living in 2009, I see technology being utilized every day. Among all of my friends, every one owns a laptop or desktop computer, iPod or mp3 player, cell phone or pda. I walk along the sidewalks of campus and after passing ten students or professors; each one has their cell phone in hand or at their ear. Now can you imagine the technological world in 25 years?

In 25 years, I see people knowing only the most high tech ways of living. In an all American household, no matter the age, each member will have a cell phone or laptop. Small children will have less advanced versions of cellular devices and it will be normal for teens and adults to own cell phones, laptops, and iPods combined into one device. Everything will be touch screen. From reclining a chair to turning on the faucet, the touch of a screen will activate these technologies.

In the kitchen, cabinets and drawers will have touch screen menus on the front on them. The screen will let you know what’s inside and what’s missing. Refrigerators will have menus telling you nutritional information, what is needed from the store, and recipes. Ovens, stoves, and microwaves will have a touch screen menu where you can find any kind of food, and it will cook the food itself. Turn tables will eject from the kitchen counters where they will hold smoothie makers and coffee pots.

In the living room, there will be a touch screen, universal remote that can operate the lighting, air temperature, television, heating in the furniture, and reclining all chairs.

In the bedrooms, beds will be able to make themselves and there will be remotes to operate everything. Pillows will have iPods installed in them along with alarm clocks, satisfying comfort but at the same time serving the general purposes to wake in the morning and sooth with music at night.

In the bathrooms, all appliances will be self clean. Toilets, sinks, bathtubs, and showers will clean themselves after every use. Everything will have motion detectors to activate. Sinks, showers, and bathtubs will adjust water temperature to each person’s liking based on memory.

Newspapers, books, and magazines will be electronic. All reading material will have a voice that reads to reader aloud and will have buttons to turn pages or bookmark pages. Internet will be installed in all reading electronics where you can access internet anytime, anywhere. Wireless will be accessible in any city of any country.

Cars will control themselves. They will drive and park themselves. People will be able to talk to cars and control music, air temperature, and preferred destination.

With these technologies the field of mass communications will be dramatically affected! Print journalism will disappear. Advertisement executives will spend more money finding new ways to electronically advertise products. Film and television quality will be enhanced significantly.  As opposed to the sporadic special effects in television and films now, in 25 years television and film will all be high definition and 100% of the show or movie will be special effects. All radio will be converted to satellite radio, satisfying all listeners.

In 25 years, technology will take over the world.

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BLEAK VERSION

Twenty five years from now, the world will be consumed by technology. Technology will reach all extremes and to a person living in 2009, the technological world in 2035 will seem incredible, fascinating, and exciting.

But don’t you know? Looks can be deceiving.

Yes, the innovation of technology will reach its highest point with incredible new inventions in the world of communication technologies, but like I said; TECHNOLOGY WILL TAKE OVER THE WORLD.

The world will have gone mad.

There will be no social world. People will be so dependent on communicating in high-tech fashions; they will forget how to communicate with each other when they are in the same room, face to face. Families, who live together under the same roof, will no longer be aware of how to talk to one another, solve conflicts, celebrate, or show affection. They will be so reliant on their cell phones and computers to talk for them; they will lose so much personality.

People living in the year 2035 will become addicts; maybe not to cigarettes, alcohol, or drugs but to technology.

It all seems so harmless, but in reality it will be more detrimental than we think. The quality of people’s eye sight will lessen. People will be so used to looking at what’s under their nose, like cell phones, laptops, iPods, or electronic books, their ability to see far away will weaken. People will gain excessive amounts of weight. They will sit around in their automated recliners and heated furniture, watch their high definition televisions, play online games on their laptops, or read their electronic books and become so obsessed they forget to get out and exercise. People will also be able to easily work from home and will not have to walk to work if living in the city, which ultimately reduces their routine, daily exercise. The air will become more polluted than it already is. Since cars will be able to drive themselves, the driving age will most likely decrease, putting more drivers on the road to cause more accidents and more pollution to our semi-clean air.

Pure laziness will consume the lives of many. It’s a sad vision, but if technology were to take over the world, which is very possible and probable, this is how the world will be.

It’s exciting to imagine the new technologies and all the inventions that follow, but will it be worth risking our health and our ability to socialize?

Communication is vital in friendships and relationships. It’s the backbone for both, but if the world is anything like the description of my utopian version….people may as well kiss those friendships and relationships goodbye.

Technology will take over and inadvertently destroy everything in its path.

Am I that Addicted?!

MAA. Media Addicts Anonymous, if they had a club I honestly feel like I would be deserving of a membership!

I wouldn’t say I’m definitely addicted to media, but pretty darn close. For two consecutive days I recorded the use of media throughout my day. I dreaded this assignment. Why? Not because it’s school work, but because I am in denial. I was faced with the recognition that I’m slightly addicted to media and in a way, it’s a little pathetic!

For two consecutive days, I noticed a pattern with my media usage. I’m somewhat of a routine person when it comes to engaging in parts of my day that I enjoy most. Meaning, when it comes to checking my Facebook or MySpace, calling a friend, reading a magazine or progressing in the Twilight Saga, watching my favorite television shows, or listening to my iPod, there is always a routine. I always have a designated time of day that follow through with those activities. After completing this assignment, I realized how often I use media. For both days, I began my day with waking up to my cell phone alarm followed by checking at least three text messages. I get right out of bed and sleepily walk to my desk, where I check my Facebook or MySpace. I eventually get ready for class after. On my way to class Monday AND Tuesday, I notice flyers about different activities around campus and different promotions. Throughout both days, IN class I was exposed to media. In my Computers and Creativity class Monday, I spent my class time on a computer. I completed a lab using Adobe Flash and in order to read the assignment, I had to go through the internet where I exposed to several ads. On Tuesday, in my Mass Communications class I was also exposed to media. …I wonder why? J I saw clips from YouTube and once again very exposed to media. It’s almost completely unavoidable even in an educational setting. After classes I was constantly on my cell phone, making phone calls or text messaging. I was listening to my iPod, while visiting my Facebook, Ning, Shutterfly, and MySpace, right from my iTouch! As soon as I walked in my room, I was in front of the television, watching reruns of my favorite television shows, I read my Cosmopolitan magazine, and the third book in the Twilight series. Until I actually crawled into bed, I was on a computer, cell phone, my iTouch, or propped in front of the television.

I’m so surprised that my days are literally consumed with this much media! Here is how much media I’ve used!

The Worst Two Days. . . EVER!

I’m going to go ahead and be extremely dramatic and tell you that two days without any media was the worst 48 hours of my life! I know that I’m exaggerating, but it was actually impossible for me to go two days without any media.

Of course it was impossible to avoid media when it came to my classes and using books and computers for homework, but even without going to classes…I couldn’t stay away from it! I ignored almost all my calls and waited until I saw those people the next day. My parents, however, I had to talk to them! I couldn’t go two days without talking to them! Of course as soon as I touched my phone, I just had to check my text messages. I was too curious and too addicted, I admit!

My biggest challenge was avoiding Facebook! I’m constantly checking my Facebook. It’s not like I’m necessarily on it for two hours straight every day, but I’m typically checking it every available minute! For every sporadic five, ten, or fifteen minutes I’m on, and it accumulated to around two hours! Two days without a lot of cell phone usage and checking my Facebook had its advantages and disadvantages.

As far as advantages go, I like being able to relax. It was so nice to be able to relax and not worry about talking! I gained a lot of alone time and I gained a lot more sleep time! I notice when I use media so much, that I actually lose sleep. I stay up late through all hours of the night checking my text messages or updating my Facebook or MySpace, that I actually lose a lot of much needed sleep. When I gained that sleep, I noticed that I actually felt better throughout the day and had much more energy. This was definitely an advantage to avoiding media.

BUT!

I definitely experienced more disadvantages. By avoiding media, specifically the use of my cell phone or computer, I felt really out of the loop. I didn’t know what was going on with my friends and their day! I didn’t get to talk to some of my best friends as much as I typically do on a day with my cell phone attached at my hip. I also missed out on plans, they didn’t have a reliable way to reach me and they certainly weren’t walking across campus to ask me face to face so I ended up missing out!

Without media I struggled, and I don’t think I’ll want to go through another assignment like this again! No, I don’t want to go through this again, but I did learn a lot about media and how it affects me when I’m not even realizing it. I feel like I was semi successful with avoiding the media, but I’m only human and it’s 2009. Come on, media is literally consuming the lives of every person my age. It’s become a part of my life, a part that I just can’t ignore. It’s literally shaping my generation as well as my own personal future.

Last Thursday, I viewed the video titled “Media History”. I was very apprehensive about the video and whether I would like it or appreciate it, being that it was an educational video; however, to my surprise, I did learn a great deal regarding the history of media. The video presented the story of film, television, and media. I didn’t realize the importance of media before watching this video. After watching, I learned that media allows you to trace back to revolutions of communication, such as the alphabet.

I also learned about the several types of communication. As far as print communication was discussed, It came to my attention that “Oratory diminishes importance” and that the ability to have things physically recorded and printed, then mass produced increased the amplification of the intended message. I learned how eventually newspapers began to disregard politics, but focus more on business news and the commercial process, such as prices for goods at different ports. Following print communication, electronic communication evolved. I never realized how technical and difficult it must have been for researchers and engineers to invent the telegraph to simply separate transportation from communication. This enabled newspapers around the country to exchange information to inform states of what was happening across the county. Presently, the more dominant forms of communication are visual and fragmented, so I did not learn a great amount of what I didn’t already know.

Towards the end of the video is when I gathered the most knowledge. I learned about converging communication. I know this is important because it’s involved in all sorts of media today.  I learned there were three different types of converging communication: globalization, conglomerization, and fractilization.

Each aspect of communication was very interesting to learn about; although, the movie was slightly out of date it still managed to inform me of how we evolved into such an involved and intense media-addicted society.

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