I was watching TV the other day when a beer commercial came on, I though nothing of it until the end of the commercial.  Only due to the fact that at the beginning of the commercial it said to drink more to be more classy or something along those lines and at the end it tells us to drink responsibly.  Now you tell me how that matches up?  It becomes a double negative telling us to drink more but drink responsibly.  Your company is using beautiful and in shape people showing them having a good time drinking at a party.  Usually people who drink and party a lot don’t look like that.  You are making people think that this is what they are viewed as when they drink your product.  Alcohol is already a big problem in America. People always feel like they are missing something when alcohol is involved because they have an excuse to act stupid.

The college student can encounter a lot of problems with alcohol. Being pressured to drink when they should be studying for a test or doing something productive.  There are also long-term effects, the next day they stay in bed all day with a hangover delaying work even further.  These problems can also occur with people with a career, possibly leading to them losing their job.  I really would like to see your company advertise in an honest way, telling people to drink responsible from the beginning and target a responsible crowd.

http://www.budweiser.com/public/agecheck.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2fdefault.aspx&AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1

From the time I walked in to my final steps out the door I was overwhelmed with advertisements, products, t-shirts, you name it they were throwing it at you!  As I was taking notes to see what stands caught my eye and changed the way I was thinking I saw people in a different way.

The marine core stand was the first advertisement I walked up to; they had people doing pull-ups making them feel like a marine.  They had marines walking around the setup to try and recruit men and women to join the core. Even though they are marines they are also the core’s public relations department also, they sell a way of life.

I then was attracted to a stand, which was selling a fruit that was from the Amazon that guaranteed to make you healthier and unleash your natural energy. The whole thing sounded like another scam to me, but I just observed the people hovering around this stand sampling this berry.  Representatives would be very positive and upbeat telling these people you must feel better, and people would shake their head yes and buy the fruit.  I was completely amazed how someone else could tell you that YOU feel better?  It was a tactic to make people believe that it really worked. They probably didn’t even realize that they were being told how they felt.

In conclusion to this event, I really enjoyed my time there but the most amazing thing was viewing the event from a research perspective.  It is amazing how people are influenced and swayed by colors, sights, smells, sounds and other people!

http://www.pghfitness.com/

Under Armour is a company that uses all these platforms trying to attract one big audience, but target different age groups with different products.  Personally I wear under armor every Saturday when I suit up for games here at Towson.  The university athletics are sponsored by under armour, so every thing we wear must be from them.  When we wear their gear we are in a way advertising for them.  This also works for companies like Nike and Adidas who sponsor football teams.

I believe these company’s strategies and opportunity is unlimited.  They are able to use every single platform to sell their products.  My example for this entry is when you drive into downtown Baltimore the first thing you see is a giant billboard of Ray Lewis advertising Under Armour.  That also ties into the advertising technique known as the famous person approach.  Ray Lewis is paid by Under Armour to wear their gear on Sundays and that attracts people to buy their products.

http://www.underarmour.com/

Every time me and my brother would speak on the phone he would ask me if I got the book yet.  He was persistant on gettting me to read this book.  I finally got tired of hearing that so I went and bought it for myself.  Now every time we talk it’s not about if I got the book, it’s about topics inside of the book.  We have had countless intelligent conversations about this book. One great dicussion you can have about this book is attitude, and how it is the building block to daily life. I hold things I have read in this book very closely and put them to use in everyday life.

This book has effected me in a variety of ways from my attitude when I wake up in the morning to having a basic conversation with someone. After reading a book like this and by this author I have become interested in other books of his.  Usually books I want to read  now are related to this genre.

www.tonyrobbins.com author Anthony Robbins

I grew up right in the heart of the Disney era.  Total immersion of the Disney was unavoidable!  Disney is what you and all your friends talked about, and thought your lives would end up being like.  Well we were all wrong!  I can see the clear picture now, Disney has no relation to my life presently, nor did it ever come close to preparing me for life.  Yes, it taught me how to ride a magic carpet and how to turn a pumpkin into a carriage, which might not help me in the real world.

Parents on the other hand I feel get immersed also in Disney culture.  They feel that these are the only movies that will protect their kids from what is really going on in the world.  They are hiding them from the truth untill the have to find out form themselves.  Does it make any sence? Not to me it’s like studying for a test and having none of that material on the test at all!

Disney does a great job of sheltering kids from the real world.  When they finally grow up, they are not prepared for some of the situations to come.  It’s heartbreaking to see the real world for what it is after being brought up on Disney.  Not everyone is a kind, good person willing to help you. Rather they will laugh at you and would not help because it’s one less person to compete against for a job. Parents need to think about the future effect this will have on their kids.  The world will push you down and try to hold you there, but Disney movies hide that from you.  When life finally presents its first challenge, see if a Disney movie helps you then. (Mielke, 2009)

 Works Cited

www.associatedcontent.com/article/2143911/does_disney_have _a_negative_effect.html (Mielke, Mark)

As we have discussed in class people have begun to live a separate life online.  People constantly checking their MySpace and facebook pages, to see if the person who probably sitting next to them left a comment on their wall.  We all have fallen into this life style, but people need to realize when enough is enough. 

In the article that I read the major focus was on how we can have your friends knowing what you’re doing at all times.  The founder of facebook came up with the idea of having a live feed where everyone can see your current status right as you post it.  People that I know say things on facebook that there normally wouldn’t say in person due to the fact that they are shy or just can’t communicate when it counts. This is where the major problem is at.  Many people are getting used to speaking their mind on facebook, telling people how they feel and even asking someone out on a date. The reality is that those two people will never go on that date or even meet in person because they will not even know how to talk to one another.

Which brings me to the next major focus of the article, being in a relationship on facebook.  Some students voiced their opinion on how they felt about facebook relationships. Students who were surveyed said if it’s not on facebook then it’s not official but others said I could care less who is dating who. 

We are begininging to replace real human interaction with facebook and texting, which is absolutely pathetic. The only way we can change this is us, and if we continue this we will have zero human to human communication skills. This all going back to where I said people have to know when it’s gone too far.

While I was watching the Pittsburgh Steelers game this past Sunday night, I knew it was the perfect opportunity for my blog assignment.  During the game I browsed through the website, giving it a thorough exam.  I opened up the site during the first quarter going through each player’s biography.  Each player had a unique story leading up to joining the Pittsburgh Steelers, which was very interesting.  

The site is very interactive, giving you the chance to vote for the player of the game and even tests your knowledge on the team with Steeler trivia. You also have the entire Steelers organization at your finger tips making you feel more involved and informed.  I was even able to find out where pre and post game activities were going on.  The website also played a very important role in the Steelers merchandising, during the game there were specials in the online store.

Information was not lacking on the website, every page you would visit had something to say. The facts that the website provided were phenomenal.  I was able to get a live feed of stats to find out how players were doing.  With the information provided you felt like you got to know the players by having a better understanding of who they are and where they come from.

The website was very professional and very well designed.  There was not a boring page to be found on it!  A site that represents the defending super bowl champions must be excellent and it does not disappoint.  If I were to leave a suggestion to better this website, it would be to have a highlight video roll before entering the website to get people pumped up to learn about their Steelers!

Two days of recording my media use proved to be quite simple from someone who is as lethargic as myself. Being that I am a busy athlete, I don’t have too much time to worry about media. My usual day is as follows.
I wake up and blare my favorite tune to get going, “I just can’t wait to be king”, from the Disney film The Lion King. Imagine that! Next I shower and make my way out the door for breakfast. During my drive to campus, my music media begins. My favorite station, 98 rock blares. Time for my morning workout. As I enter the weight facility, 98 rock continues to air while the team trains. Following the training session, I arrive at campus. During my walk to class, I whip out my handy dandy Blackberry to check my e-mail. I scroll through my e-mails, of course I have several from the athletic department  informing me of work out times, ticket information, and practice changes. On I go to class.  Unlike most students, I pay attention in class and take tons of notes. Therefore I bypass the textbook media. After three classes I head back to my car to drive to practice, of course on goes the radio. I endure four hours and finally head home. I plop on the couch, recline, and veg to the travel channel. I suppose at some point I manage to do my homework being the over achiever that I am. At that point I turn on my tunes again while completing assignments. The is best part of the day. Sleep.

Break it down now!

During a 48 hour period, my media use remained pretty much the same. Jamming out to my radio media, browsing my internet media, and vegging out to my television media. So here we go, the percents of my usage. My following percents are all approximations. Newspaper media only took 2 percent, yet, 6 percent of my media use was on text books, as well as my phone.  18 percent of my media usage was on the television; I can’t miss my travel channel, or my ESPN games.  The largest media I partook in was the radio. It took up 45 percent of my two days.

I never realized how much music was a part of my life. After keeping a journal I finally was able to see how often I need music in my daily routine. From my waking moments to the end of the night, music helped though the day. Maybe I’m a music media addict? I don’t know what I would do if the radio ever subsided… I’d probably loose my mind. I was definitely not looking forward to my next 48 hours without media.

The day the music died.

Two whole days without media was too bad… except for the “no radio factor”. It was surprisingly hard to wake up in the morning without my typical Lion King routine. Embarrassing I know… My drive to school proved to be even more excruciating. It was a deafening silence. I felt so lost  without my Mickey and Amelia morning show (98 rock broadcast).  Once I arrived at football training in the morning it was a relief to hear the music playing in the weight room. It turned out that my involuntary media use turned out to be a benefit for me! I kept my promise with my voluntary non-media use. I almost missed a football meeting because I was unable to check e-mail with m blackberry. Luckily my roommate/teammate Blair informed me about the conference.  After classes passed, I refused to do my typical veg out session and went right to homework. Once again, I hated the silence while completing my assignments. Without my music playing in the background, I found myself almost falling asleep while answering my math problems. Finally, I went to sleep.

Pros and Cons of media.

Lets start out with the good things. Media informs society with what goes on in the outside world. News for instance. It also gives you the advantage to prepare for the upcoming day. For example it will: inform you of the weather, notify you of the traffic repots, and even offer entertainment. Media pretty much is essential for one to have a well balanced life

Media also has a few disadvantages.  Media can often distract someone from the task at hand. For example, using my blackberry to check my e-mail while I should be taking notes in class. It can also bring about addictions. Today it seems like there are always new addictions emerging that are media related. Addictions such as: internet, cell phone, and television.

All in all it wasn’t too hard to go without media except for the music factor. I thoroughly enjoyed this experience. Without this assignment I never would have done this. It made me realize how very important media is.