We are a World of Advertisements!

Each and every day we are exposed to ten fold the advertisements than we realize. they are everywhere around us. they are everywhere you look. As I'm sure all of you have seen time square or at least pictures of it each day a sign in Times Square receives an estimated 1.5 million impressions per day.

This form of advertising however is not always the type of advertisements we see everyday (unless you live near Time Square that is). Most of the  advertisements we don't really notice as much, but they still effectively try to persuade us to buy their product. They will introduce you to an idea or an object and make you want it. They play solely on the greediness of the world.  

Advertisements are seen every single day whether you realize it or not, everything is an advertisement for something whether it was meant to be or not. Have you ever seen kids smoking cigarettes in the street? Walking advertisement for smoking. Have you ever seen a person drinking from a coke can? Has that ever made you want one? Subtle thing such as this may seem like nothing when you look at it but in your brain  when you see that coke you're going to want it, you're going to want to have one. Here's a little video on the psychology of the advertising world out there:

Not only do advertisements try to make you want their product but if an ad can make you laugh, you are less likely to forget it as compared to a super boring one. Take this McDonald's commercial for example. We may not be able to understand what they are saying, however, you can still see just what is happening. Its about a couple that love each other and he would do anything for her, go shopping with her, dive into the ocean after a rose, and even push her broken down car to safety. But when it comes to those McDonald's fries. THATS IT!

♩♫♭Music to My Ears ♬♮♯♪

Music is my thing. I LOVE music! I have 3 iPods and I'm about to get a fourth! I have over 3,000 songs on my iTunes and thats after deleting several hundred. I am an off-the-wall odd ball when it comes to music, I listen to very diverse genres. I am a fan of Tchaikovsky. I am a fan of   Underoath. I am a fan of Nirvana, Metallica, Natalie Grant, Yiruma, Blink-182, The Vitamin String Quartet, Rascal Flats, The Almost, All Time Low, Backstreet Boys, Dario Marianelli, Five For Fighting, Foo Fighters... the list go on and on. Even within the genres I love to listen to bands not many people know about. Some may say, 'This music is no good,' but how do they define "good?" Do they refer to music as good when its one of the songs they hear on the radio every day when they get in their car? Do they think a good beat makes music good? Or is it the lyrics? 

These days music is made popular by the number of times it's been played, take our own little Rebecca Black.... she sucks. However, the thing is, she's famous and the viewers and the consumers in our world today have done that themselves. With every time she is mentioned, every time her songs are viewed or bought, she becomes more and more famous. Attention is brought about more than just by good music. If attention was only brought to "good" music... we would never hear of Rebecca Black. Lets face it bad music becomes famous solely because it is bad music. But the thing is how is music defined as good or bad?

There is really not anything that is set or determined that defines what makes music either good or bad. SOO That is why I am here, to express my opinion on the matter!

So heres my list, 'What makes good music "good"and what is just a no no!':

1. Can the singer even SING? If the answer is no... forget it, I'm not listening.
2. Forget the auto tuned crap, I.M.O its like listening to lies. 
3. Does the song have a good beat?
4. Does the song make you feel the emotions it portrays? (The beat as well as the lyrics work toward emotion)
5. Does the song keep the beat consistent throughout the song? When a song has a set and determined beat, straying from this beat just throws it off the deep end. I don't want  to listen to a song that goes from being undistinguishable because theyre singing/rapping/whatever so fast to soommmeeettthhhiiiinnngg ssooooo  drraaawwnnnn oooouutttt itt beeeecooommmeeeess obbbnnooooxxxiiooouuuss. I dont want to be taken by surprise when every other line goes from fast to slow... that just does not appeal to my taste.
6. Im not a fan of cliche.  I don't want to listen to the same sounding songs each and every time a "new" song comes out.
7. Are the lyrics something I want to listen to? I don't want to hear about how you sat around all day, sharpened your dull pencils, and clean out your purse/wallet. Just like the pencils, its DULL! Listeners want to hear something they can relate to or even aspire to become.
8. I dont want to hear how you "smack[ed] that all on the floor, smacked that [gave him] some more." This also follows the dull pencil concept. I DON'T want to hear about you or your "bubblegum"!
9. 'What?!? The song is 9 minutes long??? And those are the only lyrics?' I could easily give you a great example of thie one. GREENDAY! You are VERY guilty of this!  "Homecoming"? is it necessary that it is 9 minutes and 18 seconds? and "Jesus of Suburbia"... just over 9 minutes... 30 Seconds to Mars is also semi guilty of this, some of their songs lasting over 6 minutes. Theres a point when you are listening to a song that you just get tired of it.
10. Stick to your genre! I hate listening to  a great Alternative/Pop song and they randomly start screaming... I do like some screamo but I dont like when other genres decide to just throw in some screaming.. no, no.. stop that!
11. I love a good calming acoustic song. But when your guitar playing sucks and you're singing just isn't quite up to par... I can listen to an untouched acoustic... but there IS a point where I suggest you get yourself back in voice and guitar lessons.
12. DANCE music. I love you. I really do. I love the music that keeps me jumping and excited and just having fun. I can't dance, but that doesn't mean I don't want a good beat to dance to.
13. Consistency, consistency, consistency. I want to hear consistant lyrics. I want to hear a chorus, a few lines that stand out from the rest in repetition. I don't want to hear lyrics talking about nothing and just jumping back and forth from one random to another "Don't get it twisted Lil Mama got my paper on That means im a paper chaser I chase my paper on And I know we chasin paper that you be chasin on....I'm telling you like Jennifer Hudson I got plastic elastic in the back of the jaguar sure cause that's whats poppin... " what?!?!
14. When lyrics don't seem to go together they don't flow and the words just don't compliment each other... failure. I will not listen to music with a choppy flow and words don't compliment each other.
15. Just because its mainstream does not mean its better. Explore the music you've never heard. You might be surprised.

AdBuster

“We are a global network of culture jammers and creatives working to change the way information flows, the way corporations wield power, and the way meaning is produced in our society.” - Adbusters

With this, I say make it a revolution! A revolution of media: news, journals, TV shows, blogs, movies, newspapers, news channels, magazines, the web! Media needs a to start a rebellion against the structure its been assigned. This structure is full of bias, being swayed by corporations strong enough to keep information the way they want it to be seen. This is what Adbusters plans to stop.
Adbusters has created campaigns in order to try to make their way to a cultural revolution, with campaigns such as “Buy Nothing Christmas.” It is shocking for most of us to even hear something like that, ‘What?? Mom and Dad aren’t getting me my Louis Vouiton handbag and my iPad and that new Juicy Coture Perfume?!?.’ But this movement is not about the things, its about control, showing these companies we buy from that the consumers are the ones with the true power. As soon as consumers are no longer consuming there starts a halt in their revenue, which is every companies nightmare. Buying nothing for christmas I’m sure may sound COMPLETELY out of the question for some, so they have also taken this into consideration and have also said that for those that see this as too extreme, they suggest that you try to buy less or buy locally, those local businesses need more support than the large corporations would ever need, by doing this you can support your community as well as do that holiday shopping. “Buy Nothing Day” is also another day that they have created for the same reason of putting control back in the hands of the consumers. This day is to happen in the US on November 25, 2011 and Internationally on November 26, 2011.
Adbusters have also created another way to buy from small localized companies. Instead of buying from the converse name brand, they have a similar product called Blackspot Shoes. These shoes not only put the control back into the hands of the consumers but they also are eco-friendly, made of recycled rubber tires, hemp, vegan leather and are painted by hand. These fair trade factory Blackspots could truly pass for a normal converse shoe, so if its the converse-look that you are looking for, but you want to keep your purchase local and make it eco-friendly, Blackspots are the way to go. 

Adbuster also has a campaign for #NOSTARBUCKS, which is as simple as it sounds, no Starbucks. Stick to the locally owned coffee shop, you never know, it could be twice as good as the mass made coffee Starbucks makes, you could even look up the recipe for your favorite drinks online. 

Snooki's New look.. Lady Gagas new outfit!! (Who cares..)

Journalism has lost its touch, headlines are becoming things like "The 'Jersey Shore' Cast Dresses Like Hipsters", "Jennifer Aniston Made Justin Theroux Shave His Beard", "Michelle Rodriguez is on a boat. She‘s probably wasted too." 

The media is losing sight of what is important. In my opinion, news is something that can affect our lives, and I don't know about you, but I dont care that Justin Theroux shaved his beard.... I don't even know why that is... (thats how I prefer it!!) and i dont really care all that much about lady gagas new outfit

News should be about the world, the economy, the heros in our community, inspirational stories, etc.. today's priorities are skewed and there shouldn't be so much focus on the celebrities of the world. We don't need to know how the A listers are living their lives, I don't care is the jersey shore cast is wearing the "hipster look", and don't care about who's pregnant and maybe wasted..

Journalism needs to be taken back by those who care about whats happening in the world, not what Snookie is wearing today, that makes no difference to me. BUt whats hapening around us and internationally.. matters.

Media, Media, Everywhere...

“Companies that own large numbers of companies in various mass media such as television, radio, publishing, movies, and the Internet” also known as media conglomerates as I learned last year, are companies such as Walt Disney. 


Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney, The Walt Disney Company, as of 2010, is the largest media conglomerate in the entire world.

With 8 divisions Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group, Disney Music Group, Disney-ABC Television Group, Walt Disney Theatrical, Radio Disney, Disney Interactive Media Group, Disney Consumer Products, and Walt Disney Parks and Resorts I believe it to be a very successful company. It also owns many subsidiaries: Pixar Animation Studios, Marvel Entertainment, LLC, Playdom, Tapulous, ESPN (80%), ABC Inc., A&E Television Networks (42.5%) as well as numerous others.



The Walt Disney Company, I would say has done a fabulous job on the focus of its media concentration with it mainly focusing on what principles Walt Disney originally started on, which I believe to be purely entertainment for the masses. The success of their media concentration is very clearly reflected on its revenue of 38.8 billion dollars this past year!! However, this company not only focuses on entertainment through orated and visual entertainment, but it also has many branches of resorts and cruise lines such as Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, Disneyland Resort, Walt Disney World Resort, Tokyo Disney Resort, Disneyland Paris, Euro Disney S.C.A., Hong Kong Disneyland Resort, Disney Vacation Club and Disney Cruise Line. From its radio to their cruiselines theres certainly more than enough to be said about its success in its growth and expertise in the field of media. 

The Future Lies Ahead: Internet in the Making

"Slowly but surely" is not the case with the internet, the internet is taking over the masses with the speed of light. Advancements are constantly being made throughout the world. This makes some wonder, where is the internet headed towards?

 It is the (more recent) past,  present, and future. 

Since its conception, the internet has gone from simple text on a solid white page to videos, movies, music, almost anything you can imagine. Internet is now in the palm of your hand with ipads and phones and itouchs, etc. 

Not only is the internet in the palm of your hand but its now in your own kitchen refrigerator and even your car! No one TRUELY knows where the intenet is going but within the next few years but it is going to go far!

When you think about it, the internet has revolutionized our decade, but it's not all it use to be in some ways. The internet is becoming more and more monetized, ads popping up everywhere, its just getting to where it's not very often to even find a page without ads, these ads are what provide revenue for web pages. The internet is so free of barriers that things such as porn are accessible to anyone with a computer, I think that in the next 10-20 years this will become such a problem, there will be or at least SHOULD BE barriers and rules to not allow things like this on the computers. The stats on the internet are truely astounding and are shocking to hear. See for yourself...

THE INTERNET WILL BECOME ITS OWN BRAIN AND ITS OWN MASTER

Technology in Journalism: Apple Computers

Check out this link, its about the Missouri School of Journalism and how its come into the technological times and is using the technology of Apple Macs (I LOVE MINE!) to get their messages across through media and journalism. To see the video and read about it, click here!