Assignment #4

Ad Nauseam:

In section 3, there is a chapter which discussed non-physical communities. The word community is widely used to describe groups of people with similar affiliations that may live on opposite sides of the planet, and have never met one another! These sort of virtual communities are similar to the groups or cults associated with brands that were discussed in the film, The Persuaders. People will feel as though they belong to something, like a community or group, just because they have a certain value, take a particular stance on an issue, or buy certain brands.

On page 197, in section 4, there is a list of made up holidays. One that was particularly interesting: February is National Boost your Self-Esteem Month. WHAT?? Yes, having a healthy dose of self-confidence is great, but it has become a holiday that we can consume! This sort of reminds me of the part in the film, The Persuaders, when it said that advertisers appeal to consumer’s emotions, even those that are subconscious. Whether or not this monthly holiday is a marketing scheme, I don’t know. It certainly does pull at people’s heart strings, and make them feel, ironically enough, like their self-esteem needs improvement.

Get Smarter:

Thesis- Humanity can solve global issues by utilizing technologies to boost our intelligence.
Disagree:

“Intelligence augmentation decreases the need for specialization and increases participatory complexity.” Technology increases our access to information, but it doesn’t make us any smarter or better at our jobs. If anything, more access to information and growth of technology will lead to jobs that are more specialized and exclusive. There are far more people than there ever have been, far more industries, and much more information to be had. This makes for a competitive job market, where it may be difficult for individuals to find a niche, especially if they are underprivileged in terms of access to internet.

“Strengthening our fluid intelligence is the only viable approach to navigating the age of constant connectivity.” This is a weak way of viewing advancements in technology, and society in general. I assume that by ‘strengthening our fluid intelligence’, we become better at surfing the web and absorbing only what we think to be important. I can’t imagine that to be a helpful skill at all. There is no need for a person to be constantly connected, or even to be good at internet navigation. This argument assumes that everyone wants to “keep up with society”, for lack of a better term.

Agree:

“These tools enable our brains to do things that would once have been almost unimaginable: …real-time data from satellites, global environmental databases, and high-resolution models allow geophysicists to recognize the subtle signs of long-term changes to the planet.” I would have to agree that, in terms of the environmental movement, technology can be helpful in gathering lots of information and analyzing it on a large, comparative scale.

“Yet in one sense, the age of the cyborg and the super-genius has already arrived. It just involves external information and communication devices instead of implants and genetic modification.” Unfortunately, this is true. Although people don’t seem to be getting that much smarter, many of us have gadgets in our pockets all day that can tell us basically anything we need to know. For example, I don’t need to know the bus schedule, because I can just text “Blirpit UVM” to service number that will text me back within seconds with the wait times for on and off-campus busses. Some of my friends have cell phones that can access the internet, and so they can look up anything, at any time. They can even go to UVM’s webpage and see what is for dinner, anywhere on campus!

The Persuaders Film:

1) In the early 1990s, a new approach to advertising ensued. In order to “Brand” consumers, advertisers would appeal to the emotional desires of the viewer. It has gotten so far the people’s spiritual and aesthetic values are associated with certain products.

2) Advertisers have studied cults in order to better understand the physiology behind human desire to belong to a certain brand. Turns out, the two are quite related. In fact, people join cults for the same reasons they are loyal to certain brands: they want to feel like they belong to something, and have meaning in their lives.

3) With programs like Tivo, people can skip commercials, and thus aren’t taking in as many ads. As a result, advertisers have incorporated their messages directly into television shows.

4) Consumers buy things for unconscious reasons. They go into a store, potentially not having any specific needs, and end up buying things that they think they ‘need’. They make up reasons to justify purchases that seem to make sense.

5) Every word has an imprinted message that is different for each individual. When we see ads, we think of other things that are associated with the words, images, smells, or textures.