Attention Shoppers: All Lanes Are Now Closed!!!

Advertisements are everywhere! They even have their own channels dedicated to selling products they know people will eventually go out and buy. From the TV commercials and movie theater previews to the logos on a bus, these things all play a large role in the development of our society.

Picture this… Its late night and you’re lounging around on the couch watching your favorite television show. Next thing you know a Taco Bell commercial comes on and flashes its newest product on your TV screen. It doesn’t look all that appetizing, but the man eating the taco disposes of it as if it will be his last meal in forever. You sit there totally engrossed and hanging on to every word the person is saying about the biggest taco you have ever seen. Almost immediately you become hungry. That’s funny because you don’t remember being hungry before while you were watching your show. After all, you’d just eaten dinner a few hours earlier. With your mind made up and a stomach that seems to become increasingly angry with each ticking second that goes by, you scramble to find your car keys and get out the door.

This is how advertising agencies know how and when to attract consumers to their products. Even though the taco mentioned above doesn’t appear to be greatly as satisfying as anything you’ve eaten from the restaurant (and due to the fact that you had just eaten), the way the person is devouring it makes you just have to have one. Also Taco Bell is open late so the ad agencies know when to target their buyers. This is true for so many other products we purchase in our country and I think advertising plays a major role in luring people in to buying things we might not always need. I truly feel that the U.S. has become overly materialistic partly because of the fact that we have become more modernized and expanded our knowledge in different areas of how things work. I am satisfied with knowing that we are figuring things out and making life easier for people and families, but I think the over abundance of some products are consuming us. Instead of buying things out of necessity, we buy to compete. We are constantly obsessing over what somebody else has and looking forward to the next best thing. Some people can’t even enjoy what they have because they are so busy obsessing over what’s to come. Gaming systems are like that. Not necessarily because one is better than the other, but because of how advertisements make the product appear larger than life and some almost guarantee the other’s superiority. That works for almost anything. Stores are in competition with other stores and generic brands are in constant battle with name brands. It’s the question of what makes one any better than the other? Sure some name brands look and work better than generics, but they are also highly expensive and often times not worth what you pay. However, because it looks good you have no problem splurging on it. As humans, we all tend to want the best of the best but when those things appear to take charge of our lives, things can become hectic.

With that being said, I think advertising can work both ways. It can be either good or bad. I believe that we must first determine our needs from our wants and that way we won’t spend money on things that are unnecessary. We need to learn how to balance our spending because it seems that the only people benefiting from sales are the ad agencies and product manufacturers. Sure we have fun and enjoy the product at first, but what if something happens to it. All those people still get to keep the money they made off the product, and you are stuck getting the run around with customer service representatives and insurance agencies that refuse to refund you or ship you another product for free. I have one solution: buy what you need and forget about the stuff you want and can’t afford. Easier said than done I know, but in the end it will make a big difference and help to keep our economy intact.

Excuse Me Ma'am, You Didn't Get the Job but... (Internet Security)

In this day and age, everybody is at risk for falling victim to the internet. People have decided that they will do anything to get what somebody else has. I’ve never been the victim in any case yet (knock on wood!), but that doesn’t mean that I’m completely protected from the things people do. The closest I’ve ever come to providing personal information about myself online is through my MySpace and Facebook page. I think a lot of people are guilty of doing this, but who’s to say that the information one provides to readers is accurate. I mean it so common for people to tell half truths and whole lies. Just because someone describes themselves as being extremely gorgeous and such, doesn’t mean that they are in actuality. The internet is known for a source for people to provide false information to others.

The information I provided on those social networking sites is pretty much all fact, but I never go into details about myself in the questions they ask. My confidence in providing information online stems from the fact that I get to control whatever I decide to write. I feel confident knowing that I get to choose what to write about myself and what not to write about myself online. I also feel that just because information is being requested from me, doesn’t mean that I have to provide any answers. The only other thing that I’ve provided information online for has been my online banking. That one really bothers me a bit because you never really know the lengths someone will go to just to steal your information. The online banking site claims to be safe and secure, but is it really? I had one instance when I went to fill out a job application for a retail clothing store about two years ago. They didn’t want to hire me because of my age and the fact that I was still a high school student. I guess they wanted someone more flexible. They offered to keep my application on file just in case something opened in the future. I agreed and thanked them and left the store. Little did I know of what was to come for me! About a few months later I got a letter in the mail from the store. I had already had a crappy job and was prepared to leave the current one to go to work at this clothing store. What I discovered was far worse than what I expected. The opening of the letter started off as: “We’re sorry to inform you Ms. Williams…” Just reading that little sentence made me instantly angry. My first thought was “Why did it take them all this time to let me know that I was never going to get the job!” Oh yeah! I was enraged. Kind of a strong word I know, but I was so ready for something new and was disappointed yet again. Just as I was about to tear up the letter something else caught my eye. This line stated that: “recently stole two laptops from our store containing the store’s information and the personal information of several people who also applied for a job (this including me).” They then informed me that they had contacted the police and a investigation was underway but they had not found anything suspicious as of yet. The store also teamed together with the three major credit bureaus and offered everyone a free year of credit monitoring and told us to contact our banks to prevent any type of identity theft and fraud. At this point I was just in complete shock. This is one of those things where you assume something like that would never happen to you. I didn’t have any credit but I do have a debit card, but that was the least of my worries. My social security number was on the job application and floating around in cyberspace somewhere (probably still is but hopefully not!). No credit is perfect credit for a thief so I instantly became worried. I called my bank and filled them in on the situation. I had to go through the process of getting a new card and pin number and they also froze my account until the new card and pin came. My bank also placed fraud alert protection on my account so that whenever I go somewhere to make a purchase they have to ask for my ID and a number of other things to verify my identity. Then I had to get the credit monitoring activated which I encountered problems with at first, but I got it done. It’s been two years and I still have to take these steps to protect myself. I have to get my bank card changed every year and even going online to do my banking causes me to cringe, but I feel somewhat at ease knowing they are also going through steps to protect me as well. Like I said before, this is one of those things you think will never happen to you and I was completely unprepared. I still don’t have any credit established as of now but I still make sure to check with the credit bureaus. These types of things are no joke and that’s why I never provide any more than necessary when I go online.

Wall Street Journal...OR Not!

1. Have you enjoyed reading the Wall Street Journal? Explain why you have enjoyed it, or why not.

Answer: Honestly, I have to say that I haven’t enjoyed reading the Wall Street Journal as much as I thought I would because it’s something I wasn’t used to doing. There was not much in the paper that was interesting to me but I found it to contain a lot of useful information. It was a great source for things I would probably need to know as I progressed into my career field of choice, but I did not enjoy the part where I had to actually sit down and take time out to read the paper.


2. How has reading the newspaper helped you learn about Mass Communications media? Explain, and give some examples of what you’ve learned.

Answer: Reading the WSJ has increased my knowledge of what Mass Communications is about and it has helped me to understand the mass media business. As I stated before, the paper is a very useful source of information. The WSJ broadened my knowledge of what kinds of things happen in the Media business and I thought the way they delivered the news was great (especially the follow-up stories). I had no idea before about the way advertising, books, internet, television, etc. all work together to keep each other afloat, and how they all can work against each other as well. For instance, the internet is really putting a hurting on books and newspaper right now because people find it easier to go online and get anything from news topics to novels, and etc. The internet also affects how people watch television shows and movies.


3. Compared to traditional textbook-based study and learning methods, is reading the newspaper a better or worse educational experience? Expand your answers with details and examples.

Answer: I loved the idea of reading up on current event topics, but I think that both the textbook and the newspaper coincide with each other. I would have loved to learn more about the history of the industry however; at the same time I feel that it is just as important to know how that history is affecting the present. I only agreed to utilize the paper as a guide through the course because I didn’t want to deal with the hassles of preparing for midterms and final exams. I didn’t feel as though we should be tested on stuff that we should already be familiar with.


4. Has the reading assignment changed your behavior, i.e., your daily schedule, your study habits, your desire for news and information?

Answer: Since reading the paper these past couple of months, I don’t see a change in my reading habits. I’ve always read books but I’ve never been an avid reader of the newspaper. The Orlando Sentinel was the only newspaper I ever really read but it wasn’t on a regular basis. It was only when I took the time to look at it. The key factor affecting me from reading the paper is TIME. There never seems to be enough of it. I find the internet to be so convenient because I’m almost always on it so that helps me out a lot. I never would have even thought to subscribe to any newspaper or magazine before taking this course and once you get used to being a certain way for so long, it makes it harder for things to change.


5. Are the weekly quizzes an effective way to measure what you’ve learned by reading the Wall Street Journal? If yes, why? If no, why? Add suggestions for other ways to measure learning.

Answer: Absolutely NOT! That’s one of the reasons why didn’t want the textbook. There are extremely too many stories to read at one time and when I try to cram all that information into my head, it just doesn’t help. I forget almost everything that I’ve read and panic when it comes time to take the quizzes. I liked the idea of doing group discussions kind of like the way it’s done on WebCT. We should be broken into different groups and given one story about one topic. (Advertising, Movies, Books, Internet, Etc.). Then we should write a brief essay about the story and how it affects the topic and people and when we’ve written the essay we should reply to someone in our groups essay about what we think about what they said and why we agree/disagree with what they’ve written. I think that it would be a lot easier especially since I like to write.


6. How likely are you to renew your subscription to The Wall Street Journal after this semester? Give an expansive answer, with reasons.

Answer: I will not be renewing my subscription to the Wall Street Journal because I believe it would be a waste of money. I don’t mean that in a bad way but since I don’t read the paper anyway it would not be very smart for me to renew my subscription. If by some chance I did find that later on I would want to subscribe to the paper again, it would be the online version and not the paper version. Another major reason I stated earlier is because of time. When I have other classes with other homework, it can be a hassle juggling all this work that’s due at the same time. I barely have time to do my other work. Even if I did read the stories every day, by the time it comes time to take the quiz in class; it would be hard to remember stuff that I read a week ago. That’s why I don’t like the quizzes. I just don’t find the paper to be better as a major learning tool. It was filled with lots of good knowledge, but not very useful when it came to determining grades.

Reading Really Can Be Fundamental!!!

Imagine sitting for hours and hours, flipping through the pages of some new book your teacher wants you to become “FAMILIAR” with before next week’s test. You know in the back of your mind that you probably won’t get through the first chapter let alone the first couple of pages. Then your teacher announces that the test has to be moved up because she will be absent on the day you were originally supposed to be tested. You think “Ah no biggie, I’ll just spark notes it or something the day before.” Little do you know that the book isn’t located online yet because it was just published a month ago! You scramble to skim through the book two hours before class starts and a few minutes before the teacher hands you the test, your mind goes BLANK!!! Whatever are you going to do? This has happened to me countless times in my youth. Books became an essential part of my life when I was in my early teen years. I never really paid much attention to them at first and only read when I had been told to by my teachers. School books weren’t of any interest to me and neither were any other types of books. I preferred to spend my free time listening to music and doing other creative things like writing stories, poetry, and many miscellaneous subjects. My love for books started when I entered seventh grade and since then I have read many genres such as African American Romance, Drama, Humor, and Mystery/Suspense regularly. I am very proud of my reading habits because I feel like there is something out there for everyone to be interested in.

At first, I became interested in reading books that focused on African American Drama and Romance. The first book I ever finished reading was titled Imani All Mine by Connie Porter. It was about a 15 year old honor student who was raped by a boy she liked and became pregnant. Now I won’t summarize the whole book but it was an amazing story. The narration, setting, and issues made it easier for me to understand this teen and the obstacles she was facing in the story. I have read many of Connie Porter’s other novels that were similar to this one and that sparked my interest in reading books about teen issues. I have also gained interest in reading other African American fiction novels that focus on the issues teens are facing in urban communities. Another genre I took notice in at a young age was African American Romance. Brenda Jackson is the author responsible for piquing my interest in this genre. She is an excellent Romance Fiction writer and one of my favorites. Most of her books are written in series so I have already finished nearly all of them. Being introduced to these types of books eventually made it easier for me to read and accept all kinds of books.

Later on I started to read more about other topics. It was amazing how I went from not reading at all to practically reading every chance I got. The more I read, the more I became aware. Reading helped me to broaden my thinking skills, and to also become socially active. I started hanging around people with similar interests and this was really important to me because I was shy and almost never talked to anyone unless I had too. This is why I spent most of my time alone writing my own stories. I was given a book as a gift from a friend when I was in the eighth grade. I remember him asking me what kinds of things I liked to do and me replying that I liked to read. He had no idea what type of books I was interested in because I forgot to mention it and he just bought me anything. I have yet to remember the title of it but I remember everything that happened in this book. I took my time getting around to reading it because this type of story was not common to me. It was a mystery/suspense novel that was somewhat like a ghost story where you had to figure out what was happening and why. I didn’t want to be rude and turn the book down so I kept it. When I finally got around to reading this book I found that I couldn’t put it down. It turned out to be a very good book and helped me to open my eyes to what else was out there. Brenda Jackson also wrote a few mystery/suspense novels that I loved titled The Savvy Sistahs and Ties That Bind. I like to call these two books my “who-done-it” books because they kept me guessing until I reached the end.

The last of the genres I like to read is humor. In middle school I read a series about a mischievous pre-teen named Alice McKinley by author Phyllis Reynolds Naylor. These books were quite humorous and fun to read as I followed along with the many MIS-ADVENTURES of Alice. She was always into something that led to trouble but at the same time, she encountered many situations that were not so thrilling. After leaving middle school I no longer kept up with the series but I’m sure Phyllis Reynolds Naylor has developed Alice’s character from a young lady to a fully functional teenage girl with lots more issues than she can handle. I enjoy anything that makes me laugh and the most entertaining book I’ve read recently is titled The Incident of the Curious Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon. The book’s main character is a 15 year boy with autism. While some may find this book not meant to be funny, I had a few laughs while reading it. Christopher being the way he is made the book enjoyable to read. His lack of capability to understand emotion and take the world “literally” makes this book fascinating and touching all at the same time.

As you have probably already noticed, I am a very avid reader. It’s a big change from being the one who always skimmed through stories and not really reading at all. Now I can say that there’s really not much I haven’t read. I read regularly and I am very proud of that fact. Most people my age don’t read and it’s sad because READING REALLY IS FUNDAMENTAL. Not only does it stimulate your mind but it also gives you knowledge of what’s out there in the world. I read to stay informed and in order to do that I have to take the time to pick up a book. In doing so I discovered that the authors are an important element in understanding books but they aren’t the ones that keep me reading; it’s the characters that have me continuously turning pages with their never ending tales of romance, drama, mystery/suspense, and humor.