Ok so here's what I've decided. Since changing the location of my blog will most likely destroy my readership I will only be having both blogs at once. I feel really sad that I cannot just use this one. However I do think it's great that at least I have an alternative. I will be asking a very close friend to take the responsibility of posting on here, everything that I post on Wordpress while I'm away. This should help keep things running smoothly as long as it actually happens.
Anyways, now to the actual purpose for this blog post!
I have settled on a topic for my newest blog series. It is called "JD's favorite things". Now I know this is veering off of the subject of advertising and public relations a little, but I think that with the traveling aspect and the fact that my serious posts rarely achieve high levels of viewership I feel it can be handled. Not only that but it is me. Many of my favorite things have to do with advertising and PR.
I will occasionally still be posting solid strategic comm. posts, but my hope is that this series will give readers something that appeals to a much larger audience.
During the series I ask that people post comments and ideas as much as possible. This will allow me to better understand what you like and dislike about my blog. Thanks.
Friday, December 30, 2011
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Interesting insight on Young Americans values!
I was reading this Forbes article just a moment ago that was talking about my generation and how our attitudes toward ownership makes the future of the housing market look grim!
Honestly this does not surprise me at all. It is hard for me to imagine that my friends and peers think much different from myself. That means that if they are thinking like I do then they know fully well that their lives for the next 20-30 years are going to be completely different from their parents and grandparents first 40-50 years. We as young Americans can already see how ridiculous an idea it is that we will be able to just go out and get a job at 25, buy a house, get a couple of cars, and raise our families. We know that is not how our lives will work because humans have evolved past that. We aren't lazy anymore. So many of us have been diagnosed with ADD and ADHD because our parents were terrified of our independent and free spirited nature. Yet, we cannot hide from it. That is simple who and what we are. As humanity evolves people become less and less dependent on those that they have grown up around. We don't have the strong hometown pride or the drive to participate in the neighborhood picnic that was the community social event of the season fifteen years ago.
Why have we pulled away from this?
Because we are more flexible now. Many of us have had great opportunities to see the world and become a part of many different societies, learn about many different cultures, and by doing this we've noticed that in our future we won't want to just buy a house in one city. Rather, we know that in order to be competitive we will be forced to explore various careers and always keep our option to better ourselves open.
Our parents view this as a dangerous ideology because to them flexibility is so foreign that they build up prejudices to the idea. Often they have attempted to beat this personality out of us like their beat new personalities out of them. Well instead of being beat down by this a growing number of us are just more inspired.
These trends of youth turning away from the family unit and to third parties for help and advice is speeding up the rate of mental evolution. Children are quickly learning that there is no set way to solve a problem, but instead there are many different ways. They are growing in their ability to rationalize and determine what the best course of action is. And they are finding that life is not easy, but it can be fun.
The article in Forbes said that more than any generation studied ever before, our generation values its ability to have a good time regardless of the circumstances. This is right! Why should we worry when we don't have too! Worrying all the time did absolutely nothing for our parents generation except destroyed it. You remember all those late nights were mom and dad fought over how even though they were both working there was no way for them to pay the mortgage that month.
Our generation saw that almost every night. Let me rephrase that to avoid severe generalization. 'Some of our generation saw that almost every night' and knowing that why would they dream like their parents of the day they can own their own house? Simply put! They won't!
Many of us really don't want to even think about owning a house. I know that is a far off idea to me! Why? Because I'd rather be free to change my life anytime I need too than fret over how I can sell the house.
Don't get me wrong. This does not mean that I and my generation disdain the very thought of owning a house. This means that many of us disdain the way our parents bought them. For example: I would love to own a house. But why would I want one now? No I don't care at all for the idea of settling into a worthless career, with a worthless family, and a worthless house. I know that the chances are I have at least forty good years of work left before I die. A lot can be accomplished in just twenty of those years. So the thought of buying a house before I'm forty-five is stupid to me. At forty-five my children will be raised yes. At that age my career will be stable, yes! At that age my mind will have developed as far as it can go before it begins to deteriorate, yes. That is the time when having a home could begin to be important. Never before that! And that is why I think my generation is going to take some time to rebuild the bubble.
The thing that I think is most interesting is that anyone wants to rebuild this bubble. I mean, I know millions of people made bank off of construction and sales, but don't we learn from our mistakes ever? I would rather see people investing in making the living environments we already have more livable than trying to continue selling more and more. Let us take care what is important first. The rest will fix itself given time.
Honestly this does not surprise me at all. It is hard for me to imagine that my friends and peers think much different from myself. That means that if they are thinking like I do then they know fully well that their lives for the next 20-30 years are going to be completely different from their parents and grandparents first 40-50 years. We as young Americans can already see how ridiculous an idea it is that we will be able to just go out and get a job at 25, buy a house, get a couple of cars, and raise our families. We know that is not how our lives will work because humans have evolved past that. We aren't lazy anymore. So many of us have been diagnosed with ADD and ADHD because our parents were terrified of our independent and free spirited nature. Yet, we cannot hide from it. That is simple who and what we are. As humanity evolves people become less and less dependent on those that they have grown up around. We don't have the strong hometown pride or the drive to participate in the neighborhood picnic that was the community social event of the season fifteen years ago.
Why have we pulled away from this?
Because we are more flexible now. Many of us have had great opportunities to see the world and become a part of many different societies, learn about many different cultures, and by doing this we've noticed that in our future we won't want to just buy a house in one city. Rather, we know that in order to be competitive we will be forced to explore various careers and always keep our option to better ourselves open.
Our parents view this as a dangerous ideology because to them flexibility is so foreign that they build up prejudices to the idea. Often they have attempted to beat this personality out of us like their beat new personalities out of them. Well instead of being beat down by this a growing number of us are just more inspired.
These trends of youth turning away from the family unit and to third parties for help and advice is speeding up the rate of mental evolution. Children are quickly learning that there is no set way to solve a problem, but instead there are many different ways. They are growing in their ability to rationalize and determine what the best course of action is. And they are finding that life is not easy, but it can be fun.
The article in Forbes said that more than any generation studied ever before, our generation values its ability to have a good time regardless of the circumstances. This is right! Why should we worry when we don't have too! Worrying all the time did absolutely nothing for our parents generation except destroyed it. You remember all those late nights were mom and dad fought over how even though they were both working there was no way for them to pay the mortgage that month.
Our generation saw that almost every night. Let me rephrase that to avoid severe generalization. 'Some of our generation saw that almost every night' and knowing that why would they dream like their parents of the day they can own their own house? Simply put! They won't!
Many of us really don't want to even think about owning a house. I know that is a far off idea to me! Why? Because I'd rather be free to change my life anytime I need too than fret over how I can sell the house.
Don't get me wrong. This does not mean that I and my generation disdain the very thought of owning a house. This means that many of us disdain the way our parents bought them. For example: I would love to own a house. But why would I want one now? No I don't care at all for the idea of settling into a worthless career, with a worthless family, and a worthless house. I know that the chances are I have at least forty good years of work left before I die. A lot can be accomplished in just twenty of those years. So the thought of buying a house before I'm forty-five is stupid to me. At forty-five my children will be raised yes. At that age my career will be stable, yes! At that age my mind will have developed as far as it can go before it begins to deteriorate, yes. That is the time when having a home could begin to be important. Never before that! And that is why I think my generation is going to take some time to rebuild the bubble.
The thing that I think is most interesting is that anyone wants to rebuild this bubble. I mean, I know millions of people made bank off of construction and sales, but don't we learn from our mistakes ever? I would rather see people investing in making the living environments we already have more livable than trying to continue selling more and more. Let us take care what is important first. The rest will fix itself given time.
Friday, December 16, 2011
What did my final project actually look like?
Check out my complete final project for graphic design.
Struggles with visa continue/new video blog intro.
For those of you who are viewing my blog and do not know who I am you may not be aware of the fact that I am preparing myself for the studying experience of a lifetime. I am a very big fan of travel and I love seeing new things so I have an extensive knowledge of travel. However, I am about to embark on a journey that all of my life I have only been able to dream of. This coming January, I will be leaving the United States for six months. I will be living in Shanghai, China and will be going to school at the Sydney Institute of Language and Commerce. There I will have the opportunity to experience life in China at the most intimate level, and hopefully I will finally be able to say with confidence that I speak Chinese.
This will not be my first time in China. I have been to China twice and both times I was able to spend a nice amount of time there, but this time will be very different. In the past I went and just played for three to four weeks with my girlfriend and friends there, but this time I will have school to focus on. This fact makes me a little nervous.
In spite of my nerves I am very excited. I love China and I love my friends over there. They have always been such good people and it will be great to be able to hang out with them again.
There is one thing that is putting a bit of a strain on this program however. The Visa! I must get a formal acceptance letter from the university over there in China before I can apply for the visa. Yet, I have now been waiting for the letter for like 3 weeks. I am beginning to get a little frustrated about it.
Anyways enough about the sad status of my visa. The real reason I wanted to write this blog was to introduce my youtube miniseries idea. While I am in China I will be picking a variety of different blogs that I write and instead of actually writing a blog I will make a Video Blog. the videos will then be posted on Youtube for people to watch and be a part of my travels. I will be doing the videos for you guys. So that you can see what life in China can be like for an american. Each new episode will be including more and more Chinese language, I hope, and will be centered around either shopping in China, or cooking in China, or something like that.
I will warn you. I have never done a video blog before so it will be a learning experience for me. I just hope that my viewers will give me feedback and allow me to make it better as time goes by.
This will not be my first time in China. I have been to China twice and both times I was able to spend a nice amount of time there, but this time will be very different. In the past I went and just played for three to four weeks with my girlfriend and friends there, but this time I will have school to focus on. This fact makes me a little nervous.
In spite of my nerves I am very excited. I love China and I love my friends over there. They have always been such good people and it will be great to be able to hang out with them again.
There is one thing that is putting a bit of a strain on this program however. The Visa! I must get a formal acceptance letter from the university over there in China before I can apply for the visa. Yet, I have now been waiting for the letter for like 3 weeks. I am beginning to get a little frustrated about it.
Anyways enough about the sad status of my visa. The real reason I wanted to write this blog was to introduce my youtube miniseries idea. While I am in China I will be picking a variety of different blogs that I write and instead of actually writing a blog I will make a Video Blog. the videos will then be posted on Youtube for people to watch and be a part of my travels. I will be doing the videos for you guys. So that you can see what life in China can be like for an american. Each new episode will be including more and more Chinese language, I hope, and will be centered around either shopping in China, or cooking in China, or something like that.
I will warn you. I have never done a video blog before so it will be a learning experience for me. I just hope that my viewers will give me feedback and allow me to make it better as time goes by.
Sunday, December 11, 2011
12/9/2011 - SUU Adds New Popular Language Offerings | University Relations | SUU
The biggest step SUU has ever taken towards meeting the demands of globalization. Here's a link if you want to read a little bit about it.
Friday, December 9, 2011
Study Abroad Enables Deeper Understanding Across Cultures?
I will be leaving for a study abroad program in China in about one and a half months. There, I will be studying in a business school and taking classes on international advertising and global business strategy. Because it will be my first time actually studying in a foreign country I am both excited and nervous about how it will go for me. I have received very positive feedback from friends and educators but I am still trying to determine if it will truly be a benefit to my educational future and if understanding another culture so well will really help me in the work, or if it will set me back.
Because I have been struggling with this I know there must be others out there who ask themselves the same questions. That is why I have decided that I will do a little research project while I am away that will relate to my major and help me to see if studying a foreign culture really helps you promote better to them.
Here are the questions that my research will answer:
Because I have been struggling with this I know there must be others out there who ask themselves the same questions. That is why I have decided that I will do a little research project while I am away that will relate to my major and help me to see if studying a foreign culture really helps you promote better to them.
Here are the questions that my research will answer:
- Is the relationship between the effectiveness of Strategic Communication in a region and that region's culture a direct correlation? Why?
- Does this correlation/lack of correlation influence media choices?
- Do global corporations like Apple, Sony, Disney, and Armani adapt their advertising in such a way that the message might be received in one culture and barely understood in another, or is the correlation such that a well crafted message will be received easily by either culture.
While looking at these questions I cannot help but present my assumptions at this time as well.
- There should be a direct correlation between the culture of an area and the effectiveness of Strategic Communication in that region. The reason is that in one culture the color pink might incite cute, adorable, girly, and playful ideas in the consumer's minds. Yet, in another culture on the other side of the world the color pink could be viewed as a docile, wimpy, or unwanted color. The color is exactly the same, and even the general idea of the color is quite similar for both cultures. Yet, the feeling that is brought on by the color is quite different.
- Because the assumption is that there will in fact be a correlation I definitely believe that it already influences the media choices of the regions.
- The assumption here is that global corporations do in fact adapt their advertising to match with their different region's cultures. However, there should be certain products and styles of promotion that can translate into any culture. Sex is one of these that should be easily transferred from culture to culture.
I will spend the next six months doing a series of studies, observational and computational, and at the end of my study I will publish the results of my findings here.
Also if any of my readers are interested in seeing what it is like to study abroad in china I will do a video blog on youtube while I am there.
Sunday, December 4, 2011
"Red Coke World" coca-cola loses favor over a color change.
In today's world there are so many serious things on the minds of the average American. We have the economy, gas prices, school prices, but one problem seems to have stood out among all of these. Many of you are probably thinking that this Occupy Wall Street stuff is the most dramatic thing of the year. Well then you would be wrong. In he last month a new crisis rose. It was so damaging to the hearts of the American people that the entire country was in an uproar! That is until this week when Coca Cola Company announced that they were going to listen to the people and revert back to the classic red cans and throw out the white ones.
The new white cans were designed for this years holiday season, and just like in the past when they released cans with trumpets and polar bears on a classic red background they expected the new cans to boost sales. This is not what happened however. In fact there must be something evil lurking within this white can because since its release thousands and thousands of Coca-Cola fans have lost their minds. they have been going absolutely crazy! But can you blame them. Imagine living in a world where you could not find your favorite beverage because the color of the label had changed. Think of how stupid you must feel if every time you go to grab your wonderful can of Coke you have to take pause because that familiar can you know and love is not there. 20-30 minutes later you finally realize that the bizarre white can next to the silver diets is in fact your Coca-Cola Classic, but by then the damage is done. This is what Americans have had to deal with for weeks now, but thanks to the efforts of so many great Americans who have fought so valiantly for what is truly most important to them over all else, we will be returning to the "Red Coke World" that we know and love next week!
http://gawker.com/5864185/jihad-against-white-coca+cola-cans-succeeds
this is a link to an article with more information if you are interested.
The new white cans were designed for this years holiday season, and just like in the past when they released cans with trumpets and polar bears on a classic red background they expected the new cans to boost sales. This is not what happened however. In fact there must be something evil lurking within this white can because since its release thousands and thousands of Coca-Cola fans have lost their minds. they have been going absolutely crazy! But can you blame them. Imagine living in a world where you could not find your favorite beverage because the color of the label had changed. Think of how stupid you must feel if every time you go to grab your wonderful can of Coke you have to take pause because that familiar can you know and love is not there. 20-30 minutes later you finally realize that the bizarre white can next to the silver diets is in fact your Coca-Cola Classic, but by then the damage is done. This is what Americans have had to deal with for weeks now, but thanks to the efforts of so many great Americans who have fought so valiantly for what is truly most important to them over all else, we will be returning to the "Red Coke World" that we know and love next week!
http://gawker.com/5864185/jihad-against-white-coca+cola-cans-succeeds
this is a link to an article with more information if you are interested.
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