The Man Your Man Could Smell Like

     

     After discussing memes in class and looking back to the discussion board post for a quick laugh, I realized how effective memes actually are. Richard Dawkins first coined the phrase in the 1970s, describing a meme as a“unit of cultural transmission”. Basically, this is when you read the meme and think; "Yes! I know exactly how you feel." Memes are highly relatable, thus being highly efficient, but for what? Memes can be anything from funny pictures of animals to satire that people commonly parallel in their lives, but I was curios what the outcome would be if memes were used for a reason other than entertainment. 

     After a bit more research I began to see that advertisers try to use memes for their products all the time. The old spice man, or the man your man could smell like, is a perfect example of a meme in marketing. The videos that old spice was producing turned viral and quickly became internet memes while simultaneously destroying old stereotypes of smelling like your dad. When a brand markets a meme correctly, they seem to expand enormously to new customer bases. The only problems are that; 1) When a brand doesn't get the meme right, people (myself included), don't want to be associated with that brand, and 2) Memes are unpredictable and rapidly changing. Old spice has already moved on to a new "Smellf" campaign, and are teetering on the brink of ridicule. So choose wisely if you want to market with memes, sometimes the choice isn't even up to you, but the internets freethinking minds. Have a great friday and holliday break!

Reflective Writing

Reflection

When writing an assignment or putting out work in hopes to better yourself, a goal all students should have, it is impossible not to leave room for “self” and prove your ethos as defined by Nedra Reynolds. Surely teachers aren’t looking for uniform papers or one correct answer. More likely they want to see that you thought critically about the assignment and answered the question as it pertains to you individually. Everyone has different interests and abilities, and giving your unique insight into a question is not only more interesting for others to learn from, but also a more quizzical look into finding what makes you, you.

            Aristotle defines ethos as being able to “manifest the virtues most valued by the culture for which one speaks.” When I look back at the papers that I have written over the course of this semester, I can easily pick out the beliefs and ideals that fueled my writing. In my first ever blog post, I reflected how I grew up and the differences that I see in the environment we are raising kids in today. As Paul Mitchell said in the first blog assignment sheet, “the first unit urges you to understand your own position in the debate on information and communication technologies before we begin addressing bigger issues.” When it comes to technology, I know, at this point in time, what I am looking to get out of it. I have concluded what makes it great and the pitfalls that it may have, and this is how I structured my ethos. I pull insight from personal accounts, changing statistics, and what has happened in the past to represent the virtues that I believe in and that give me credibility through their ethos.

            I try to create myself so that I don’t get caught up in the rigor and routine of everyday life. As a student, much of my time is consumed in the assignments I work on, many of which can be completed without much depth. When writing, I try not to pick typical subjects and reasoning. Maybe this is why outside of school I enjoy being involved in lesser publicized organizations such as the Boyscouts of America, the tennis team, Harry Potter club, National Leaders, and other groups that can break me away from the culture and ethos that I am normally involved in. I tried to reflect my belief that we must keep changing our perspectives in my evaluative argument paper, which challenged the widely accepted Kony 2012 campaign.  In this paper my ethos shows by telling where I stand in the argument and why countless authors such as Nicholas Bariyo of The New York Times and Elizabeth Flock of The Washington Post agree with my reasoning. I shy from pointing fingers and try to let me audience see my “between” ethos, as Rynolds discusses in her article “ethos as Location”, by guiding them to the credible sources such as "Charity Watch" share my goals.

            These assignments mirror where I’ve come from, the places that I’ve been, and how I want to influence the future. As I sit here I can confirm the fact that what I have written has accurately projected my beliefs. That is to say there may have been times, such as now, when my being and therefor writing was stressed, hurried, or a bit off of my main focus, but my goals were clear. I would have liked to see my writing develop into a more professional format with fewer errors, but my understanding of tools such as hypertext, argumentative writing, and use of ethos has never been stronger. For me it all comes down to what I’m passionate about. I’ve never been largely technologically oriented, but its something very pressing for the world we live in. I wish I could have come at this subject with more virtuous involvement, but knowing my writing was strong and enlightening to myself and to my classmates is all the assurance I need to know I wrote with critical purpose for what I believe.

Information in our Digital Nation

     After watching Frontlines "Digital Nation", I realized what technology was doing to social norms and the impact that it is having on us each individually. I did not realize, and like most, underutilized, the power of technology. Today, any blogger, tweeter, or writer can put out their work onto the internet, and with the right message, be hugely broadcasted. This cuts back on the advantages people can be born with or without and gives power to the individual. When power is given, it is usually taken from somewhere, and in this case, it is taken from authority. More specifically, those in a position of power can no longer just go the the right school or know the right people to become a voice in society. The barriers to entry into publicly (and even globally) heard discussions is vastly lower than any time within the past. This translates directly to the policies we make and how we can live our lives because of this. Take for example the repercussions of a tweet about something like the presidential debate or an email to friends encouraging voting that can influence who our president is. These messages can reach countless more people in seconds in comparison to the face to face interactions of the past, yet people can still pay closer attention to make their (more informed) decisions.

   
     With the incredibly fast spread of information through technology, we can almost always uncover the truth in a situation. From a logical standpoint as an American citizen, I want to embrace the internet as a place for public conversation. Politically, economically, and socially, the internet is a more free and interactive way to communicate ideas. The fact that it rewards content over prior conditions is a strategy I hope future generations keep in mind. Abraham Lincoln once said that he is a "firm believer in people. If given the truth they can be depended on to meet any national crisis. The great point is to bring them the real facts." This is what we are doing today, and with a greater availability of information comes a solution to any problem that we may have.

Technology's Epic Story

     Technology is more than the electronics that you use to talk to your friends and family, it is not just the coffee makers, watches, and tools that you use to make things easier throughout the day. Technology as defined by Kevin Kelly in his TED talk "Technology's Epic Story" can be traced all the way back to the big bang, and is simply any new information. Kelly points out that there are no bad ideas just like there are no bad children. We have to find the right uses for the technologies that we are inventing. We will continue inventing and finding uses for technologies as we always have, and like the invention of organisms, language, computers and more, we will become a part of these technologies. Having new innovations means new choices, more freedoms and greater possibilities. This is why people move into cities or even go to school, and it is why we must never stop the improvement of technology.

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     Watching this video really got me thinking on what technologies will come about in the future, but more importantly where do we want these new technologies to take us. I believe that innovations should combine available knowledge and resources fort the betterment of humankind. Technology is an extension of our own species and even earths evolution, but to quote George Carlin in his darkly comical standup act, "The world will be here long, long after we are gone...It is a self correcting system." Technology, man made or not, will continue, and I believe it is up to our society to keep up.

Television as a Tool

Technology is the way of the future, and will no doubt play a vital role in society from this point in time onward, but much of the time, technology is used simply for fun. The fact is, the uses for technology are all but endless. Social, medical, intellectual, progressive, and more commonly, distracting technologies are being used every day. The problem is, how do we separate the list from the latter? I often feel that watching TV or playing around on the computer hold me back from getting things done and can just be a waste of time. As a kid I was outside all day, every day. I had a TV and computer that I never seemed to miss, and I feel the same way when away from these technologies today. They can be very useful tools, especially if we have a goal in mind, but sometimes we forget just how big of a role they play in our lives. One of the easiest technologies to use for hours on end is television. 

I cant remember the last time I went to a friends house and they did not have at least one TV. I can, however, remember the last time I went over to a friends house with the sole purpose to watch TV. What could we have done otherwise? I constantly find myself asking this question while watching TV, and usually the answer is something far more productive. Now, I'm not the kind of person who always watches the history channel, gets lost in the discovery channel, or just cant get enough news. Like many, I relax with cartoons and comedy central, not quite the top tier of intellect. This can be great when trying to relieve some stress or rewarding yourself from working hard, and sometimes its the perfect outlet. We should be able to watch TV in a manageable way, but it shouldn't be a routine way to fill a day.

We must remind ourselves how much TV we are actually around. They are constantly turned on most places that we go, and are now even accessible through portable devices like smartphones. We have to use TVs instead of getting lost in them, and teach the younger generations to do the same. I constantly see my younger sister plugged into our TV for hours on end, when just ten years ago this was hardly the case for me or her. Maybe I grew up with different circumstances that led me away from TV, but I don't want to risk kids replacing their childhoods with technology.  

Its impossible to say that television is an all around bad thing for many reasons, but the bottom line is that it is not. Just watch responsibly and don't always let others get sucked in. My family and I set out one moth of the year to completely stay away from TV, and so far ive found it much more rewarding than i would have ever thought. We can go to the movies or watch it when its on in public places, but being shut off at home for a while is great. I feel more productive and find myself getting out of the house and doing things. My personal experience with no TV has led to stronger friendships and feeling more relaxed because of all the new found spare time. You don't have to quit cold turkey, but I challenge you to cut back on your usual watching time or stop for a few days. Get outside, call some friends or even break out the old box of legos. You never know where life will take you once you take yourself off the couch.