Jake’s Weblog

Mass Media in its current state is highly dependant on electronic forms of media to convey its points.  Right now, we are in a transition state between the traditional forms of media, things like magazines and newspapers, and even television, and moving towards an increasingly electronic field of information.  Newspapers are being replaced with blogs of uninformed, often amateur, self-proclaimed reporters.  In addition, the newspapers and magazines of America are increasingly transferring to an electronic format themselves.  The question is whether they themselves will survive the test of time in the long run; though I think that more people will trust a name like “The New York Times” over a random blog, there is also a general trend of increasing apathy amongst the new generation which ultimately may lead to a decrease in the news industry as a whole.  I hope that it never reaches such a point, but it’s certainly possible.  What I really find disturbing, however, is that some of these massive RPGs like World of Warcraft and such are actually generating virtual economies and that people are becoming rich off them.  Furthermore, people are making new “games” where supposedly people can go to a virtual store and buy real products.  I’ve seen and heard some really stupid things before, but this tops them all.  We need to draw the line somewhere. Overall, I think that in 10 years’ time, It would not be unreasonable to assume that the newspaper industry and print media in general will be dramaically reduced if not completely erradicated, as new technologies on the internet become more and more advanced over time. 

   In response to a recent reading on Free Speech and media law, I thought I’d share my views on free speech.  I’ll try to make this quick and painless, because I’ve got a game of Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion with my name on it as soon as I’m done with this, and as much as I love free speech, I really want a suit of elven armor for my character, Elethor the Bard.

   The way I see it, free speech is a common sense matter for the most part – the crazies should be restricted when necessary (or just ignored), but by and large if it’s an educated person, I think that they should be able to say pretty much whatever they want.  There are some people I do think should actually have their speaking privileges revoked, among them Pat Robertson, Bill O’Reilly, and Ann Coulter for starters, but they do have the right to say pretty much whatever they wish as Americans.  Thankfully, that wonderful, rights-abolishing piece of legislation known as the Patriot Act doesn’t seem to be overly restrictive yet, because they can say things like, say, to assassinate the leaders of certain South American countries (ring a bell, Pat Robertson?) and the media will still make fools of them, as they rightly should.  By and large, I think people also realize that people like this shouldn’t exactly be taken seriously, but then, they did elect George W. Bush twice…maybe that’s an overstatement.

   My liberal biases aside, I say that as long as what you’re doing doesn’t hurt or defame another person, and that your reporting s accurate, then it should be allowed.  By the same token, too much expression can also be a bad thing.  Flag burning is alright.  Some claim it is disrespectful to the veterans of our country.  I think it’s important to show respect to our country, but only when it is worthy of respect.  It’s like a little kid – you praise him/her when he’s doing something good, and give him a time out when he misbehaves.  This is a little bigger than a time-out, of course, because it’s burning a flag, but the message is more or less the same – “you’ve done something wrong, and you’ve lost my respect for it – fix it now.”

For this week’s class material blog, I’ll be discussing my rationale for my side of my group’s promotion of the APO Blood Drive.  In my part of the project, codenamed Operation Cheesy Fliers, my main goal was to create a series of overly corny, random-humor fliers to appeal to the average college student.  After seeing some of the shows that other college students watch, and shows that I watch, it seems to me that the best way to get something noticed is to use a random, witty humor of sorts.  Looking at shows like South Park and Family Guy, every episode usually features some random figure of pop culture in a parody of everyday life.  Furthermore, sometimes these figures are parodied in advertising of sorts.  By incorporating icons like Waldo, Mr. T, and Snarf, I’ve created a completely random ad campaign chock-full of cheesy phrases sure to appeal to the average college student.  With these figures ranging as soft as Tinky Winky, and as hard-core as Chuck Norris, it will appeal to the soft-hearted soul, and the masculine, iron-pumping Texas Ranger.  In addition, the fact that I’m using a lot of well-known people like Stephen Colbert and the aforementioned Mr. T and Chuck Norris, along with carton characters will help to establish additional humor in the juxtaposition of these random characters in a Blood Drive ad campaign.  Really, going across campus, seeing a poster sporting Chuck Norris for an event, and in the next building you visit, seeing a poster of the “King” Burger King; if that’s not odd and humor inspiring, I don’t know what is. 

   In today’s world, the market for advertising has much increased.  Essentially, today’s marketing techniques aim for the purposes of establishing name recognition, spreading news about a product, Promoting an image, and adding value to a product.

Name Recognition – The basic premise of the name recognition technique is to establish a recognition of product name.  This is done in a number of ways – a product can be connected with a catchy phrase or name.  One example I can think of was a Seattle dog grooming salon called “High Maintenance B****” – the shop uses the dual meaning of b**** to create a catchy and memorable name association.  It can also involve other techniques, like a catchy jingle or tune to make the product last in the heads of the consumer.

Spreading News about a Product – This method of advertising is basically used to promote an old product with a new ingredient or component.  It takes the same old product you’ve been buying and claims that through the addition of new and improved doohickey #25, it will make you sleep a full ten hours without interruption.  A good example of this were the early days of Arm & Hammer, where the company ran a series of ads to promote the various uses for its product beyond simply baking.  Also a good example is the Dr. Pepper 23 Flavors promotion, in which Dr. Pepper promoted its product as having 23 Flavors to tempt your palette.  Considering it’s a soda, I doubt that the 23 flavors is much different from any other brand out there.

Promoting an Image – When promoting an image, the company is basically trying to associate the product with a particular image – there’s the the army of Kellogs Cereal characters, the Marlboro Man, and my personal favorite, and the Doublemint Twins commercials.  It’s all about connecting the product with a certain image or feeling.

Adding Value to a Product – By projecting a certain image with a product, it can attract a particular crowd.  This is where sex appeal and images come into play.  One of my favorite commercials that shows this technique is the Volkswagen commercial featuring Slash, the lead guitarist of Velvet Revolver and formerly Guns N Roses (and, for the record, the best guitarist in the world).  Slash’s guitar is plugged into a Volkswagen sound system, and the cinematography seems to suggest that the car is really blasting out the crazy jam Slash is playing.  It conveys this distinctly bad-ass image because, well, Slash is pretty bad-ass in my opinion.  If I wanted to drive a car and be thought of as a Slash-esque character, though, a Volkswagen would not be first on my list…not even on my list, for that matter.

In response to this week’s topic of public relations, I think that the way in which the famous can manipulate the media to its eye is a very valuable tool, and especially through the use of publicity stunts it can change the way they are viewed.  Case in point – the Janet Jackson/Justin Timberlake “wardrobe malfunction.”  It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that this was a publicity stunt meant to boost record sales for a declining artist.  Such has been the case all over – when people want attention, they will use different means to get it, and for those in a position to do so, the media provides a perfect outlet.  I would be curious to see just how involved Jackson’s PR people were in the event, whether it’s planning (or not-planning) and the reputation cleanup afterwards.  I suspect a similar incident in the case of Michael Jackson somehow; after Nirvana’s 1991 Nevermind effectively showed the world that Jackson really is a no-talent pop star begging for attention, I can imagine why he’d be looking for ways to reclaim the spotlight.  The Public Relations career is dedicated to making others look good, and to someone skilled with a pen, a creative mind, and, depending on who you work for, no conscience or sense of moral, it can mean a lot of money.  It’s still interesting to me at least, how the field has gone from a career of shouting out the attractions at circuses, to subliminal advertising techniques and minute strokes of advertising genius. 

I thought that I’d take the time to review a very under-appreciated album of the grunge scene; a forgotten favorite, if you will.  Jar of Flies by Alice in Chains is perhaps one of the best by the group, which is otherwise known for its thundering, bass-laden grunge rock.  In contrast, however, this piece features a more acoustic approach, producing a much more intimate sound.  While Nirvana is often hailed as a great band when it comes to acoustic versions of their music, Alice in Chains is perhaps more gifted in that aspect, or at least as gifted.  In addition, this piece also displays some exploration on Alice in Chains’ part, even departing from their heavy sound to explore some blues-based rock.  Overall, I give it: **** (4 Stars) 

Rotten Apple – This track has a chanted, almost hypnotic vocal quality that is very characteristic of the softer Alice in Chains tracks.  The vocals are so drawn out and restrained, and, for lack of a better word, creepy, that it sends chills down your spine.  Combine that with Alice in Chains’ typically dark lyrics, and you get a very powerful song.  The whining guitar in the opening sequence of the song really adds to the overall effect.  This is a sample taken from the bedrock of grunge. *****

Nutshell – Probably my favorite track on the whole album; this song is really well done and showcases a more acoustic side of Alice.  It’s still grunge, but unplugged.  It’s one of the most underrated songs in the band’s history, and I think it’s one of their best.  Layne Staley’s chilling vocals follow much the same trend as from “Rotten Apple.”  I’ve seen live, totally unplugged versions, and I have to say that Alice in Chains rivals Nirvana in skill with acoustic songs.  I love these types of songs; they’re so much more intimate.  While Alice’s bigger songs like “Man in the Box” are in your face in instrumentation, “Nutshell” grabs at the heart. *****

I Stay Away – This would really be a great song if the chorus were not so contrasted in comparison to the rest of the song.  While the chorus has a dark, heavy sound, the rest of the song is almost uplifting in tone, complete with an orchestral section as well.  It’s a very interesting song, to be sure, but so differentiated that it loses a little power. ***

No Excuses – picking up where “I Stay Away” left off, “No Excuses” has a lighter tone.  It seems to have a sense of sarcasm and regret similar to the other grunge works of the time, and is all in all a catchy piece.  For Alice in Chains, it’s a departure from the usual, bass-laden heaviness present in songs like “Man in the Box” and “Grind.” ****

Whale & Wasp – a 2:37 instrumental piece that showcases some very haunting guitar parts.  You can tell the “whale” from the “wasp” – it’s interesting, but ultimately, an instrumental. ****

Don’t Follow – another interesting piece for Alice in Chains.  Staley’s vocals take on a more melodic tone from their usual dark, restrained growl.  A harmonica adds to the other little quirks of the piece.  It takes on the tone of a traditional love song, but even so, Alice in Chains makes it sound great.  It’s hard to believe that they wrote such songs as “Man in the Box” after listening to this. ****

Swing on this – Imagine Alice in Chains dressed as the Blues Brothers, and “Swing on This” is what you get.  It has a very distinctly blues-based groove, with Alice in Chains’ ghostly, strung-out vocals giving the song an interesting feel.  Stylistically, I’d much rather have “Man in the Box” any day of the week, but you have to give them points for trying. ***

   It would seem that in today’s world, America is a well-advanced nation with state of the art technology and well-educated citizens, but the truth is that compared to the rest of the world, Americans are lazy and ignorant, and I’m as guilty as the next man.  A bag of rocks probably has a higher IQ than the nation as a whole.  Seriously, look at the rest of the world – they may not all be as advanced technologically as us, but they have a much better idea of who they are and what is going on in the world around them – therefore I have to side with the sentiments of N. Abramovitz and Guilio A. De Leo from the Taking Sides reading.  America is increasingly becoming a nation undereducated, and in the end only we will pay the price for it.  As the world around us grows more technologically advanced and up-to-date, our remaining ignorant to something as simple as the underlying principles in our Constitution will only pose problems.  So no, I do not believe that people are better informed in the information society.

   Wade Roush gives the argument of a newer and better internet called “PlanetLab” as leading the way to a new age of information.  I fail to see how this applies to people being better informed in the information society, as it is merely streamlining the process even more and making it even more effortless.  This automatic virus-destroying technology and easy formatting may seem like a blessing, but it does nothing to help the average American become on-par with global standards of up-to-datedness.  The fact that many of my countrymen probably don’t know James K. Polk was once the leader of their country is a little disturbing, considering we’ve only been around for 200 years and there’s not even 50 Presidents to remember.  It’s sad, but we’re spooned so much pop culture that we barely even know who we are as a nation – how can we be considered “informed?”