So I guess this blog has officially become "mine" rather than under the direction of UMBC...and isn't it just a really big waste of code and millions of computer nerds and C++ to let it die in such a disgraceful way? I think so. So yeah, continuation of stuff from previously....except not school centered...
Hope everyone had a great holiday, i know mine was interesting. So every year my dad wakes up early on Christmas and wears these zigzag hemmed elf shorts with little jingle bells that are the size of basketball players in the 70's...you know...daisy dukes basically. SO my dad is running around yelling at me about how i didn't clean the bathroom and is like yelling at me from inside the shower with mop and shower cleaners in hand and expects me to be serious. I had this badass video of him...but he grabbed my camera and threw the batteries into the shower...what a bad sport. It's not my fault my chicken-legged dad looks like a tranny in his little shorts...not my fault. He proceeded to read the Christmas story from Luke in the same little shorts....it was quite gross...my boyfriend even saw them and can attest to the fact that they were only slightly longer than my dad's t-shirt.
On other news my work is getting to be really annoying. The other day a glass cracked right in half in my hand and all over this guy at my table...it was horrible. I told him i would come over with some Oxi Clean and do some stain removal...they left me 20%...i am badass.
ok seriously...i have to get to sleep....
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Yourotheryou.com
I have uncovered a truly amazing bit of advertising genius put out by Toyota (specifically their 2008 Matrix) that features a function to aid the process of prank calling your friends. Although I do not approve of crazy advertising schemes I did check this out and it seems to be pretty legit.
They ask you for your name and address ( so far no random junk email from Toyota YESS!!) and then to put in as much information about your friend as possible like: gender, email, address (not recommended by safety panel of myself) and their phone number (so they can prank call). There are about five character that then harass your friend and let you watch by logging into the site.
So far, my attempt at this has been lame because my boyfriend already knew about this website and so he was already clued into my mischief. Still looking for someone else to prank...(-;
I'm pretty sure that Toyota doesn't use your information, but what they do is subtly put in their car advertisements while you ask questions, the whole thing is meant to be "trendy" and apply to Millenials...specifically those who are in the age group that would by a gas-sipping little orange car. Overall I think it is a great idea, using a prankster widget to advertise for a car is pretty much brilliant.
visit www. yourotheryou.com
They ask you for your name and address ( so far no random junk email from Toyota YESS!!) and then to put in as much information about your friend as possible like: gender, email, address (not recommended by safety panel of myself) and their phone number (so they can prank call). There are about five character that then harass your friend and let you watch by logging into the site.
So far, my attempt at this has been lame because my boyfriend already knew about this website and so he was already clued into my mischief. Still looking for someone else to prank...(-;
I'm pretty sure that Toyota doesn't use your information, but what they do is subtly put in their car advertisements while you ask questions, the whole thing is meant to be "trendy" and apply to Millenials...specifically those who are in the age group that would by a gas-sipping little orange car. Overall I think it is a great idea, using a prankster widget to advertise for a car is pretty much brilliant.
visit www. yourotheryou.com
Citizen journalists...the political hyper-junkie and the celeb stalkeratzi
Professor Regales, I didn't want to cut this up because it was following a train of thought but it is 500 words...aka two blog posts...
p. 46 of Cult of the Amateur describes citizen journalism in a very persuasive and very negative light, calling bloggers and internet writers, "wannabe Matt Drudges--a pajama army of mostly anonymous, self-referential writers who exist not to report news but to spread gossip, sensationalize political scandal, displaying embarrassing photos of public figures, and link to stories on imginative topics such as UFO sightings or 9/11 conspiracy theories" (46). So who are these people and what are they saying? Can they be credible or are their theories and headlines based on the fantastic? Also...is Brangelina really getting married?
I checked out two blogs: one from Perez Hilton the famous pink-haired celebrity blogger and crazy-Republican Matt Drudges blog and links (whom Keen mentioned),
1. Perez Hilton's blog: The first thing that one notices is a GIANT picture of Avril Lavigne the pop-punk singer and "Complicated" singer. The picture shows Avril in sweats shopping with a friend and the words "Pregnant?" scrawled out in Paint application-quality across the photo graph. Perez goes on to describe that she is "...probably just getting fat now that she's finished her disastrous tour and not doing much of anything!". Amazing journalism really...such a logical conclusion could only be made by good ol Perez. Immediately after this picture is a letter that Perez wrote to President-Elect Obama calling for, " [a] cabinet filled with like-minded individuals who are Democrats, Republicans and politicians who are not affiliated with any party". It's an interesting idea to say the least, but the problem is that very few Democrats, Republicans and unoffilliates are "like minded". This blog is good for a laugh if you are very bored...otherwise nothing noteworthy.
2. Drudge's blog: looks like a poorly put together Word Document. The background is white and there are random photos scattered about with random links in that weird old print rectangular print from Star Trek. Some links include Dave Barry's blog...random.... but I had to read a lot of his stuff in my Feature Writing class. The top headline is "Iraqi journalist throws shoes at Bush"...which was a trend across many political blogs...so it's probably true to an extent.
The most "off" thing with these blogs is their lack of real resources. I agree with Keen when he says that most of the things they say they just think up, so it's not like real journalism where facts are referenced and cross referenced for accuracy. As for this being a bad thing, I think it has it's place as an internet or "TV personality" genre. These people are entertainment and should never be used (like Wikipedia) for actual factual content.
p. 46 of Cult of the Amateur describes citizen journalism in a very persuasive and very negative light, calling bloggers and internet writers, "wannabe Matt Drudges--a pajama army of mostly anonymous, self-referential writers who exist not to report news but to spread gossip, sensationalize political scandal, displaying embarrassing photos of public figures, and link to stories on imginative topics such as UFO sightings or 9/11 conspiracy theories" (46). So who are these people and what are they saying? Can they be credible or are their theories and headlines based on the fantastic? Also...is Brangelina really getting married?
I checked out two blogs: one from Perez Hilton the famous pink-haired celebrity blogger and crazy-Republican Matt Drudges blog and links (whom Keen mentioned),
1. Perez Hilton's blog: The first thing that one notices is a GIANT picture of Avril Lavigne the pop-punk singer and "Complicated" singer. The picture shows Avril in sweats shopping with a friend and the words "Pregnant?" scrawled out in Paint application-quality across the photo graph. Perez goes on to describe that she is "...probably just getting fat now that she's finished her disastrous tour and not doing much of anything!". Amazing journalism really...such a logical conclusion could only be made by good ol Perez. Immediately after this picture is a letter that Perez wrote to President-Elect Obama calling for, " [a] cabinet filled with like-minded individuals who are Democrats, Republicans and politicians who are not affiliated with any party". It's an interesting idea to say the least, but the problem is that very few Democrats, Republicans and unoffilliates are "like minded". This blog is good for a laugh if you are very bored...otherwise nothing noteworthy.
2. Drudge's blog: looks like a poorly put together Word Document. The background is white and there are random photos scattered about with random links in that weird old print rectangular print from Star Trek. Some links include Dave Barry's blog...random.... but I had to read a lot of his stuff in my Feature Writing class. The top headline is "Iraqi journalist throws shoes at Bush"...which was a trend across many political blogs...so it's probably true to an extent.
The most "off" thing with these blogs is their lack of real resources. I agree with Keen when he says that most of the things they say they just think up, so it's not like real journalism where facts are referenced and cross referenced for accuracy. As for this being a bad thing, I think it has it's place as an internet or "TV personality" genre. These people are entertainment and should never be used (like Wikipedia) for actual factual content.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Secret Shoppers...well paid amateur spies
If any of you work for a retail or restaurant type of job you have the joy of working with an elite group of taste-testers known as "secret shoppers". They're the reason you have to make sure each and every guest is welcomed into your establishment and properly cared for (aka falsely smiled at and asked if they need anything).
If you are a secret shopper you know that it is pretty much the easiest job in the world...basically you get hired through an agency and they contact you when they want to you shop a place and then you do a short write up about that restaurant or store.
On the flip-side the workers and restaurant receives your evaluation (more getting paid for your opinion...you noble amateur, you!) and then they assess the damage accordingly. As a receiver of many of these evaluations from secret shoppers...they are non-professional, often subjective and very often misspelled and miscounted...in other words--amatuer-ish. The secret shoppers themselves can earn around $40 a shop and keep the stuff they buy or eat.
As a worker...often you can receive incentives for being a good little secret shopper pleaser. For instance I have received many pins and stickers for appeasing the everyday professional amateur and bringing them refills on time or folding tens of thousands of child-sized blue jeans at the mall...it's an amazing program...really. Yes, I got to keep the pins...but I did not receive $40 and secret shoppers don't always tip well.
Instead of having corporate come in and evaluate a store or restaurant these "spies" use their own unique knowledge to assess their opinions, and then send them to a company so that they can have an outsiders view of their service.
If you are a secret shopper you know that it is pretty much the easiest job in the world...basically you get hired through an agency and they contact you when they want to you shop a place and then you do a short write up about that restaurant or store.
On the flip-side the workers and restaurant receives your evaluation (more getting paid for your opinion...you noble amateur, you!) and then they assess the damage accordingly. As a receiver of many of these evaluations from secret shoppers...they are non-professional, often subjective and very often misspelled and miscounted...in other words--amatuer-ish. The secret shoppers themselves can earn around $40 a shop and keep the stuff they buy or eat.
As a worker...often you can receive incentives for being a good little secret shopper pleaser. For instance I have received many pins and stickers for appeasing the everyday professional amateur and bringing them refills on time or folding tens of thousands of child-sized blue jeans at the mall...it's an amazing program...really. Yes, I got to keep the pins...but I did not receive $40 and secret shoppers don't always tip well.
Instead of having corporate come in and evaluate a store or restaurant these "spies" use their own unique knowledge to assess their opinions, and then send them to a company so that they can have an outsiders view of their service.
1-800-355-DRIVE
So your driving along down the road...say I-695...and all of a sudden a GIANT SEMI crosses the lane in front of you making you have to slam on your brakes to avoid a timely death. Just as you are recovering from your near death experience a big blue and white sticker glares in front of you reading "How am I driving?...1-800-355-DRIVE". Is this too a form of interpersonal surveillence. I-Spy talks about how we monitor each other everyday, this seems to me to be a huge way that companies use other drivers to monitor their own so they don't have to...and we willingly do it.
When I worked at Pizza Hut as a delivery driver, we had many calls (thankfully not about me) to the management about other drivers who were:speeding, talking on their cell phone or just being reckless. The fact that one has a GIANT sign on their car reading their place of work, would deter most people from making a jackass of themselves on the road...but still the calls rolled in.
But why would this matter to the company? Who cares if some kid is driving fast around town delivering pizzas? Overall, most companies are extremely concerned with how their name looks to the public...because after all the best form of advertising is word-of-mouth. So companies put those stickers on because they are hoping that the enraged driver, the cautious parent and even do-gooders will call up that number and give them information not only on their drivers but also on their company at large.
When I worked at Pizza Hut as a delivery driver, we had many calls (thankfully not about me) to the management about other drivers who were:speeding, talking on their cell phone or just being reckless. The fact that one has a GIANT sign on their car reading their place of work, would deter most people from making a jackass of themselves on the road...but still the calls rolled in.
But why would this matter to the company? Who cares if some kid is driving fast around town delivering pizzas? Overall, most companies are extremely concerned with how their name looks to the public...because after all the best form of advertising is word-of-mouth. So companies put those stickers on because they are hoping that the enraged driver, the cautious parent and even do-gooders will call up that number and give them information not only on their drivers but also on their company at large.
Monday, December 8, 2008
Bloggers getting paid for advertisements
Irony in a sense is often all around. As I posted my last blog, I got a targeted advertisement labeled "Get Paid for Blogging". Blogger is offering a Google related advertisement pay out to people willing to put "content based advertisements" on their blogs. Basically, you get this account with AdSense and you too can join the ranks of Perez Hilton and get some great advertising on your blog. Why anyone would want to take a personal blog or diary and further advertise random ideas and meaningless blabber to also include whatever advertisement may be relevant I HAVE NO IDEA.
So humor me for a moment and lets imagine this being an actual possiblity...enter...the twilight zone...
`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`--`-`-`-`-`-`--`-`-`-`-`-`-`--`-``--`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`--`-`-`---`-`--`-
So i went to Wendy's... and I had this really great burger. It is called the BACON SWISS BURGER...it is four pounds of awesome plus shrooms and more saucy than Megan Fox. On my way to Wendy's I was thinking about how i need to organize my drawers at home thankfully Easy Closets will help me fix this problem...
`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`--`-`-`-`-`-`--`-`-`--`--`-`--`-`--`--`-`-`---`--`--`--`--`-`-`
WHYYYYY!!!! Who feels the need to advertise for Wendy's and Easy Closets in their everyday life...I certainly don't...but as that i have...where's the dough?
So humor me for a moment and lets imagine this being an actual possiblity...enter...the twilight zone...
`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`--`-`-`-`-`-`--`-`-`-`-`-`-`--`-``--`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`--`-`-`---`-`--`-
So i went to Wendy's... and I had this really great burger. It is called the BACON SWISS BURGER...it is four pounds of awesome plus shrooms and more saucy than Megan Fox. On my way to Wendy's I was thinking about how i need to organize my drawers at home thankfully Easy Closets will help me fix this problem...
`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`--`-`-`-`-`-`--`-`-`--`--`-`--`-`--`--`-`-`---`--`--`--`--`-`-`
WHYYYYY!!!! Who feels the need to advertise for Wendy's and Easy Closets in their everyday life...I certainly don't...but as that i have...where's the dough?
Product Placement
After reading iSpy I feel as if my eyes have been opened metaphorically, to the strange ways that corporations prey on the American public. Schools are owned by either the Coke or Pepsi brand and often fall prey to their offers of a new scoreboard or gym facility for exclusively selling their products. While watching the older film, "You've Got Mail" the other day, Tom Hanks blatantly flashes his VISA card while making purchases for Meg Ryan's character at a Whole Foods-like supermarket. Another blatant stream in media is cars...the recent James Bond movie flashes the symbols of each car as they get blown up and grinded during the risky racing scenes.
Product placement is an obvious and very blatant part of the media. In a recent Verizon commercial, a group of women are shown fawning over their new "love" of Verizon's phone plans. The obvious allusion to the blockbuster hit, "Sex and the City" makes the whole thing look like an episode with Carrie and the girls. The advertisement opens with, "In the greatest product placement flick of the year...". How disheartening that an advertisement can make fun of a movie that advertises. Kind of like the kettle calling the pot black...
Product placement is an obvious and very blatant part of the media. In a recent Verizon commercial, a group of women are shown fawning over their new "love" of Verizon's phone plans. The obvious allusion to the blockbuster hit, "Sex and the City" makes the whole thing look like an episode with Carrie and the girls. The advertisement opens with, "In the greatest product placement flick of the year...". How disheartening that an advertisement can make fun of a movie that advertises. Kind of like the kettle calling the pot black...
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