One Web Day

On September 22nd, 2008 people gathered around the world to create awareness about the internet. Well, apparently they did. I didn’t. And everyone I know didn’t. But hopefully some did, because creating awareness about the internet is an important subject these days, especially for our youth. I constantly hear on the news about children being abducted or harmed by someone they met on the internet. I have even heard of situations of internet bullying that have ultimately led to suicide. I even know people back home (still in high school, quite obviously) that create fake MSN or Facebook accounts just to spread gossip or torment someone they dislike. Not only is it extremely pathetic to see such kids waste their time on such a terrible cause, but it is also a despicable thing to do to another. Because of all the crime that occurs on the internet, I think there should be more days devoted to internet awareness, especially in elementary schools and high schools.
I sometimes wonder how different my life would be if the internet never existed. It would be a sort of Stone Age, almost. I can’t even begin to think of what life would be like without Facebook or Youtube, let alone the internet all together. How would we do information research? Oh, right. Books. Encyclopedias. Remember them? Despite the accuracy found in books, typing in a subject on Google is a hell of a lot easier, even if the resources aren’t 100% legit. If the internet were nonexistent I don’t think I’d have too many friends. Unlike most of my friends while growing up, I never once had an internet friend that wasn’t, at the very least, a friend of a friend. But you know how Facebook works. “Oh, hey, there’s that guy I see everywhere around residence, and I think he might be in one of my classes.” Add. Throughout high school I don’t think I would have met most of my friends at my school who were a year or two older than me if it weren’t for Myspace. The internet has replaced so many activities that I used to have to get up off my ass to do. I can talk to friends and family on the internet, and I can even see them if I wanted to. I can research absolutely anything, whether it’s for school or personal curiosity. I can buy things without going to a store, and even organize delivery of the purchased items. I am constantly learning about new things one can do on the internet, even to date. I just recently found out that people can do their groceries online. Srsly. Is that really necessary? Unless you are paraplegic or suffer from an illness that legitimately makes it difficult to do groceries, GET OFF YOUR ASS.
I wish it were easier to imagine a life without the internet, but unfortunately it is not because of the major influence it has on todays and future cultures. “A world without internet is like a world without sunlight.” Yes, my friend once said that (you probably think I have a lot of stupid friends by now). I’m not quite sure if she was joking or not, but there had to be some truth in it. It’s actually heart-breaking...

Media Log on my Media Blog!

I feel as if I should be documenting two media logs; one being recent, as in within the past 2 weeks, and one being prior to moving into residence. The media log prior to moving to Guelph will be far more diverse, considering my current means of media exposure are limited to only that of the internet. Nevertheless, like most, I can spend countless hours on the net, so don’t you worry – I WILL have something to talk about.

A TYPICAL DAY OF MEDIA EXPOSURE

A typical day on the internet consists of four necessities: Facebook, MSN, iTunes and Youtube. I wake up in the morning (on a good day, usually it’s early afternoon), turn my computer on and then sign onto MSN. Once MSN is open, I can view my e-mail account to view my Hotmail messages as well as my Facebook messages. Regardless of whether or not I have Facebook mail, I always proceed to sign into Facebook. I scroll though my home page on Facebook to view what is happening in other people’s lives – and by this I mean who is now listed in a “complicated relationship”, who is attending Ali’s 19^th birthday party (because a party isn’t legit these days without a FACEBOOK invite) and who wrote what on whoever’s wall. And if I have several hours to waste, I will go as far as lurking friends’ photos and walls to some degree. (I swear I’m not a creep show, everyone does it. Maybe even YOU!?). My iTunes is always open because I cannot be on the computer without Sublime or Bob Dylan (or anything in my library) playing in the background. If I’m not listening to music on iTunes, I am playing specific songs on Youtube. I also usually surf through Youtube’s featured videos, and sometimes I will return to the Youtube Classics. One of my best friends from back home is a Youtube vlogger, so if I miss my friends I will view a few of her couple hundred videos. I know, I’m so sentimental. She’s a serious vlogger, too. She has a couple hundred subscribers! Pretty impressive, eh? Anyways, back to my day. I usually check my Guelph mail, as well as Blackboard once a day, but OBVIOUSLY that isn’t as important as Facebook. LOL J/K!!1! (translation – just kidding. I don’t think I’ve used that one yet).

If I were still living at home my uses of the internet would not vary too much. I’d still be using it for communication and information (okay, so I didn’t talk about using it for information above, but I swear it happens), however, probably not for as an extended period of time. Why? Because I am a TV junkie. Or I was, at least. I had about 400 channels back home, so there was always something to watch on TV; Arthur (I’m still 8), Sex and the City, the OC (shut up, it’s a hilarious show), Big Brother (guilty pleasure), Seinfeld…and the list goes on. Like I stated in an earlier post, I also watched the news at least once daily.

How do I participate in media economies, such as the listed above? I, like millions, waste a ridiculous amount of time on the internet, watching TV, and reading about celebrity gossip. Perez for Prez!

Analyzing a Magazine Ad : Dolce and Gabanna

Dolce and Gabbana is known as one of the most pretentious and prestigious fashion lines to date. Us regular folk likely do not own Dolce and Gabbana merchandise, unless, like my friend Sandra, spend about four months pay on a single skirt that a store such as H&M mimics for a mere $40.00. And of course when I make fun of her for it she’ll say “But Vikki, it WAS $1800.00, and I got it for only $1200.00!”…OMG, HOW AMAZING. SHE SAVED $600.00. WHAT AN EFFING BARGAIN! Dolce and Gabbana specializes in outerwear, however also makes beachwear, jewelry, eyewear, fragrances, purses, etc. Dolce and Gabbana’s corporate whores include Madonna, Christina Aguilera, J.Lo, and many, many more. And let’s not forget the new addition to the list, Matthew McConaughey. He advertizes one of the many fragrances sold by the company. The commercial for it is absolutely hilarious, too. He is walking down a dark street wearing a suave suit and sunglasses (AT NIGHT, I may add) being photographed by the paparazzi. He then walks into what appears to be a fancy hotel, takes off the sunglasses, and is still being photographed. He continues to walk into a hotel room, removes his shirt and lies seductively on a couch. And obviously, he is still being photographed. The commercial ends with “The One. A new fragrance for men.” Fragrance? I thought this commercial was either advertising sex with Matthew McCohaughey or simply a statement that reads “OMG OMG LOOK, IT’S MATTHEW McCONAUGHEY! LOOK AT THE PAPPARAZI BOWING DOWN TO MATTHEW McCONAUGHEY! LOOK AT HIS SMOKIN’ BOD! OMG@ MATTHEW McCONAUGHEY!!1! I’m going to wrap up this rant now, since this is not the ad I have selected to analyze. I just thought I should ramble about Dolce and Gabanna’s advertising tactics before I rip apart another one of their ads.

Okay, so take a look to right, and what do you see? I see a bunch of sexy…sweaty…shirtless men that are portraying a stereotypical gay steel mill sort of vibe. I see abs, awful hairstyles, and a man in the fetal position. I certainly do not see fragrances, jewelry, or enough clothes to be considered a fashion advertisement. I suppose those jeans (that could easily be purchased at Old Navy), sandals, and vests could be sold at Dolce and Gabanna, but their lack of luxury causes me to believe that Dolce and Gabanna is simply trying to advertise a lifestyle. To me, the ad states “Buy Dolce and Gabanna’s merchandise and be sexy. You don’t have to WEAR the clothes to be sexy…but you do have to own them.”

This magazine ad makes me laugh. A lot. Dolce and Gabanna, however, is not the only company that uses this marketing tactic. In fact, the majority of fashion companies use sex to sell their products these days, and this is because we are living in a generation where sex can even sell deodorant.

Magazine ad in the year 2009 – “EAT THESE POTATO CHIPS AND GET LAID!”

I want YOU...to stop spending.

The course outline for this class just informed me of something shocking… November 25^th (Yes, it is a little early to be discussing November 25^th) is BUY NOTHING DAY. Buy Nothing Day? WTF. I have never in my life heard of such a day, but according to Wikipedia, this day, which is apparently worthy of capitalization, begun in November of 1992…1992? Buy Nothing Day has been around for the majority of my lifetime, that being 16 years now, and I am only hearing about this now?! And now I’ll take this opportunity to confirm that I DO, in fact, watch the news at least once a day. Well, I did. I haven’t watched TV since I moved into residence, but before I got here I watched the news quite frequently. I wouldn’t call myself an avid newspaper reader, but every Saturday morning in the past my mom and I would eat breakfast while skimming through various sections of the paper…Okay, so I usually went straight for the comics, puzzles and entertainment section. But regardless, I think between the televised news, newspaper, and even those usually insignificant news updates on my internet homepage (msn.com), I should have some idea of its origin. This leads me to believe that A) Buy Nothing Day hasn’t been advertised as well as it could be or B) I’m not as smart as I think I am. Both are possibilities. If Buy Nothing Day is not as well advertised as it could be, then what’s the point?

Buy Nothing Day is a day to examine over-consumption, as well as create awareness amongst consumers of this very issue. Consumers, those who are the culprits of over-consumption cannot participate in this protest if they are not made aware through advertising in the media. However, even if made aware through the media of Buy Nothing Day, one has to wonder how effective the day’s purpose would be. The vast majority of consumers would not take this day into account if they needed to purchase something…or even if they merely wanted something that isn’t a necessity. In fact, I’d be willing to bet a large sum of money (which I don’t have, but I’m speaking figuratively) that a store such as Wal-Mart makes 75% of the average amount of money made daily on Buy Nothing Day, if not more. Unless Buy Nothing Day was considered a civic holiday, meaning malls and stores were closed, consumers will likely purchase what they need at the current moment being November 25th, thus disregarding the objective of Buy Nothing Day.

PS – Wikipedia states “Despite controversies, Adbusters managed to advertise Buy Nothing Day on CNN, but many other major television networks declined to air their ads.”

I don’t watch the CNN news (despite the fact that it’s probably the most legit of all television networks). When I watch the news it’s usually on Global, CityTV, or CTV. Thank you Wikipedia, for confirming my intelligence, if you want to call it that. Woohoo!