Salespeak

Its true, advertisement is everywhere. Roy F. Fox explains how we become a targeted audience as soon as we become aware of the world. Fox goes on to say that we can hear, see, smell, taste, touch, dream, and become Salespeak. To me, that means the media and all stores or items we praise. Sometimes, I don't even realize that advertisements are out there. I shop, and if I see something I like, I pick it up. Advertising almost doesn't phase me, unless it involves comedy. New technology advances, such as TiVo, allow myself and many other users, to breeze right through the commercial breaks. Between the television, magazines, billboards, bus stations, and more, advertisement is all over and there is no way to avoid it. Fox stated, “We're a society based on materialism.” So why do we want to avoid what is providing us with the information to new products anyway?

Meet My 5,000 New Best Pals

In this article by Janet Kornblum, teen Brittnie Sarnes has over 5,000 friends on her MySpace account. While majority of the people on her friend list are strangers, it doesn't bother her. She believes that she is “cool” if so many people want to be her friend.
Personally, I have a Facebook. And although it is nice to see a new notification or friend request pop up when I sign on, it is mostly for entertainment – not an obsession. I got into Facebook the summer before my freshman year of college. I used it to search for my roommate, in hopes of making the initial conversations less awkward. Now, it is another way to stay in contact with friends from home, which is extremely important to me.
A section of the article was about how lists can be faked. Weird. Is having a ton of friends really that important? MySpace and Facebook users who have thousands of friends are obviously accepting every friend request, or requesting friends themselves. To me, that is dangerous. That is why I enjoy the privacy controls, which allow people to select what kind of information they want broadcasted.
I say, have fun using MySpace and Facebook. Just be smart about it.

Supernatural Girls

The article describes a Supernatural Girl as, “bursting out of the 'girl' category box.” Meaning that they, “transcend gender expectations, defend themselves, and vanquish demons.” Males are usually the ones who define power and protection. However, movies such as Harry Potter and The Incredibles, promote girl power. Hermione, from Harry Potter, is able to defend herself and friends from evil. Meanwhile, Violet, from The Incredibles, is able to defend her family from a superhero-wanna-be.
Girls are becoming more powerful, which is a positive thing, and is especially important for younger girls to recognize that. I personally feel that it is inspiring to see a female stand up for what she feels is right. Even outside of movies, shows such as SVU and CSI are promoting high ranked woman in the work place. Movie and show writers should keep up the good work.

Leading a Double Life

Second Life, to me, is contradicting to our society. We tell young children to be careful of strangers and be cautious of Internet predators. Yet somebody thought it would be a good idea to create a website that allowed a person to recreate themselves. The pictures found on page 96 of Text Messaging, are of a Second Life user and his online avatar. After seeing the difference in the two, how can we tell children that Second Life is safe, yet be careful at another other site on the Internet? And not just children, but anyone at any age. I feel that the only people who religiously use this, are unhappy with their real life in some way. The only way that this site is okay, to me, is for the use of understanding the reality of life- how to manage money, etc. The social aspect is emotionally unstable. A man conducted a virtual funeral for his Second Life companion, a women he had never met in real life. Not to mention, Second Life has a private sex section for adults only. I am curious as to why businesses think it is necessary for its company to be apart of Second Life. This whole Second Life idea does not strike me as something I would personally enjoy doing on my free time, nor do I think anyone else should participate in it. Sims is a video game of the same ideas, and seems to be much more safe.

Plagiarism and Cheating

In my high school English classes, there was a day or two dedicated to learning how to cite other author's work. We were taught, “better safe than sorry” and therefore cited even the smallest of sentences. Why Kaavya Viswanathan thought that copying another's whole paragraph into her work was okay, is beyond me. A high school student would know better than that. So how could a Harvard level college student, who previously seemed to be well accomplished in writing, not know about plagiarism?
I feel as though this story reminds me of the McDonald's coffee issue. A customer had purchased a hot coffee, placed it in between his or her legs, spilled it while driving, and then proceeded to sue McDonald's for not having the, “Caution: HOT” sign on the cup. How ridiculous is that?
Anyway, whether Viswanathan's act was conscious or unconscious, a women of her knowledge should be aware of the rules of plagiarism to begin with. Each syllabus that I have received here at West Chester so far, have all clearly stated that plagiarism will not be tolerated. The writing classes even have a Reference Book that indicates how citation should be correctly done, in order to eliminate the chance for plagiarism. Yet this story does bring up the issue of what exactly is plagiarism and what are its limits? Discussion about plagiarism should definitely take place within each writing class, and even a non writing class that simply requires writing.
Romance novels and movies are well known for either tragedy or a happily ever after theme, that those ideas are universal. If one were to create a book or movie based upon that idea, it is not exactly plagiarism. However, our Text Messaging book gives an excellent example about Harry Potter. How many books and movies, other than J.K. Rowling's, are there about wizards? The same plotted story or movie from another author would obviously be taking Rowling's idea. Personally, I think that is plagiarism at its least, even if the character's names and plot scenes where all different. It has actually been done already. The Disney Chanel plays a show called, “Wizards of Waverly Place”, much like the Harry Potter series, but appropriate for younger children.
Basically, I believe that each school should clearly state it's feelings on the idea of plagiarism, and make it well known what is acceptable, what is not, and how to handle it.

Cultural Renaissance or Cultural Divide?

Bill Ivey and Steven J. Tepper, of course, had to add in at least one paragraph dedicated to the iPod. The two go on to say that this device allows citizens the capability to exlpore new entertainment. I agree that citizens are able to develop a sense of knowledge by learning how to work an iPod. For those who are not technologically smart, are now thinking they have some sort of technology knowledge. However, next time you see two people walking, I bet at least one of the two as an iPod bud in his or her ear. Has the iPod lessened conversation? Perhaps.

The most interesting paragraph, to me, was concentrated on the radio today. I absolutely agree with Ivey and Tepper that most radio stations play only a few recordings at a time. The number of songs played at a time is 12, and those 12 are continually replayed. Not only does this put recording artists out of the system and limit consumer choice, but it also gives few recordings to achieve success. Personally, while I am listening to the radio during a road trip, I hear the same song more than once just one way. Then when I am coming home from the road trip, I will hear that same song another several times. The worst part, however, is that some stations play the same songs; so changing the radio station does not even help sometimes!

Althought the iPod may hurt conversation and the radio annoys listeners with constant repeats, the two devices make any task more pleasurable. For me, my iPod allows me to enjoy a run and my car radio allows me to enjoy a ride rather than hear silence. Despite possible downfalls, music is an advance in society itself and would be dull without it.

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