Week 6

My experience with trying to participate in the blogosphere world so far is pretty unsuccessful. I personally feel like our blog writing assignments so far required "right" answers. For instance, the first question was along the lines of, "What did you learn about McLuhan?" It's kind of difficult to post an analytical comment about that to five to seven different people. If the blog writing assignments were more opinion based, I think my attempts would be more successful.

(I'm not sure if I'm supposed to post my comments to other people's blog entry on here or not. I posted it below just in case.)

My comment to Courtney's Nintendo DS blog entry:

This is actually the first time I have ever heard about elders playing strategy games on Nintendo DS and I am truly amazed. I think it gives elders a chance to get into technology with us because technology isn't primarily for our generation. Scientifically speaking, strategy games help increase brain functions such as concentration and reasoning. USA Today states, "Studies of patients with Alzheimer's, dementia or attention deficit disorder have found that those who play games have better speech and brain function." I think that Nintendo DS is just fortunate to have a game that improves brain functions, to me, it's just a plus for them. However, I will have to agree that they do exclude the fact that the game system itself is pricey, especially for elders. Your blog was interesting, I liked your variety of ads. (And of course, the blog entry itself.)

My source: http://www.usatoday.com/tech/gaming/2006-04-18-brai

My comment to Aya's Axe ad:

I think for your deconstruction for the axe commercial, a male also could have created it. I definitely agree with you that it is targeted towards both male and female but I think it is targeted primarily towards males because what the advertisers are saying is, “Hey, if you buy our product, a girl will be sexually attracted to you.” I think guys like it when girls give them attention like that, but I could be wrong. So I think it could go both ways. Your deconstruction of the ad is agreeable.

My comment to Mike's ipod nano ad:

I definitely agree on your ipod nano ad. I've had a series of intelligent conversations with Digital Media students, computer nerds, and electronic nerd about Apple products. Surprisingly, a lot of them say how crappy Apples are, but they do have a handful amount of pros, like space and the fact that it lasts a long time. I think both Apple and PC have their pros and cons, but again, you're right about the packaging. I think the way they design their products actually do grab young adults attention. Looks like the appearances of things actually do matter!

My comment to Kate's Power To The People Blog:

Your idea is definitely what everyone wishes for, but it will take a lot of transformation in the economy to do so. I'm going to have to agree with Courtney about "nothing is free." I like to think of it as looting. It's taking from businesses and businesses are losing money. It's how the economy works. We need to circulate money. I think if we go with the idea given, a significant amount of job opportunities will be lost. The more business and companies there are, the more money can be circulated. (This is according all the econ classes I've taken.) We have jobs to make a living, to buy things, to pay other people, we give people jobs as well. There are more of us than advertisers. Who pays? Just advertisers? Who will make their income? Where will the money come from if they buy spaces for advertising? It is possible that if we go with the given idea that it could be a government job. Don't get me wrong though, I like your idea and I wish things could go that way, but it'll make our economy drop.


My comment to Regina's Tiffany's ad:

I agree with your deconstruction of the Tiffany & Co ad. Although, I actually think that the targeting audience is also to middle class young adults. The reason why I think this is because humans are so influenced by the media, especially young adults. So many young girls go through magazines and they want to be glamorous. They want to have the glamorous, romantic life. I've been around so many young girls who drool over Tiffany's jewelry, perhaps it's because some of it looks simple like Apple products? I don't know, but I definitely feel like young female adults are also the target audience. I also think another unhealthy message is that when you look at the ad, you want to have a romantic looking relationship like the couple in the ad. So I also feel like people think in order to look like you have the perfect romantic relationship, you should buy Tiffany's. Otherwise, I definitely agree with everything you had to say.