Do You Want to Hear a Secret?

I just found this awesome site, which I would totally invest in if I had the finances to do so. I think this will be the next ratemyprofessors.com if these developers have the gall to continue what they're doing.

It's a website called:

www.schedulesnatcher.com 

...and it's pretty revolutionary.

If you've gone to college, you probably remember the nights staying up late waiting for your priority registration date to come along, so that you could snatch the classes you needed before other people did. Well, this is exactly what Schedule Snatcher does, except it does it automatically.

This is nothing compared to the best feature. Schedule Snatcher will (and I've already had it for for me) let you tell it which class you want and wait till a spot opens up in the class (day or night), snatch it, and add it to your schedule!

Like I said, I already tried out the site and it snatched my Comms 332 class with Professor Robinson, one of the legends in the Advertising department, which class was previously full. So cool.

The way the site makes money (at this point...later, it might try advertising on its site, etc.) is an option called the "Premier Account." For a fee, you can get your name at the top of the list for a year.

At the current moment, Brigham Young University is the only school which schedule snatcher is activated, but hopefully, with our support, the site will soon expand to other schools.

Mustard Popsicles

Why do we do the things we do? Why haven’t you jumped out of a plane without a parachute or punched someone famous in the face with brass knuckles?  Why haven’t you robbed a bank (assuming you haven’t…) or made mustard popsicles for your friends? You might be saying, “Well, because those things wouldn’t be normal…and the mustard popsicle idea is just gross.” If we look closer into our societal norms, we will see that we do things because of the consequences that follow, and, for that matter, we don’t do things, like offer our friends mustard popsicles, because they might not consider us friends anymore.

Consequentialism is defined as “the theory that the center of value is the outcome or consequences of the act.”(Pojman 247) We do things because we think about the consequences that will follow. We oft times do things because they are beneficial to the greatest number of people. This philosophy is a branch of Consequentialism called Utilitarianism, and is what I would like to focus on.

Utilitarianism is “the greatest goodness for the greatest number- and not merely the good of the agent.”(Pojman 102) When asked whether to help five people or just one, a utilitarian wouldn’t ask whom the people were. He would help the five (assuming the same or more good was done this way), because there lays the greatest number. Jeremy Bentham articulated the original concept of Utilitarianism and John Stuart Mill later built upon it.

They recognized a few strengths to this theory- the first being it’s simplicity. In a world full of complexities, it’s nice to be guided by an ideal that doesn’t have loopholes or exceptions. It is an absolute system that potentially has an answer for every situation. The next strength is that Utilitarianism goes hand-in-hand with morality. Utilitarianism is virtuous because it supports that morality isn’t so much about keeping the rules as it is about helping people and alleviating the suffering in the world. The last strength is that it proposes a solution to the problem of posterity. We have an obligation to look out for future generations, as prior generations have looked out for us. Utilitarianism advises helping the greatest number, even if that number includes people that haven’t been born yet.

Don’t get too comfortable just yet. As Newton’s Third Law states, “For every action [and ethical theory] there is an equal and opposite re-action [and dispute]” and Utilitarianism has some weaknesses of its own. The first is the very definition: “The greatest goodness for the greatest number.” So which is most important- good or number? Though simplicity is typically a positive aspect, here it inhibits our understanding of what we’re striving for. Another crucial problem with utilitarianism is the lack of foresight that we, as human beings can see. The results of action A will bring action B, etc. In the end (if there be an end), will this decision bring more happiness to more people than the other option? Pojman captures the next problem, “Following utilitarianism, I should get little or no rest, and, certainly, I have no right to enjoy life when by sacrificing I can make others happier.” (Pojman 112) There is always a better option to do greater good for more people than what we are currently doing. Economists call this “opportunity cost,” and it’s near impossible to know what the best thing to be doing is. Relativism is another objection to utilitarianism- that what’s important to one community might not be to another.

Even with all of these concerns, I feel that utilitarianism is our greatest option when deciphering what to do in any given ethical situation. So the next time you want to make mustard popsicles for your friends, don’t ask yourself, “Is this weird?” Instead, ask, “How many people can I make these for and how nutritious would they be?”

1. Pojman, Louis P. Ethics: Discovering Right and Wrong. Australia: Thomson/Wadsworth, 2006. Print.

Philosophies On Life

    As I was with a friend on a date this past Saturday, we got to talking about philosophies on life. I thought the conversation was worth repeating, so I'm blogging about it! :P

     I had an epiphany when I was a young teen. As I looked around myself (while in middle school), I saw all the hurt and confusion that the world held. I found myself uncomfortable because of the lack of concern that kids had for others. 90% of the student body was concerned about looking cool, and in turn, many feelings were stepped on and relationships were severed.

Then it hit me.

    Cultures act differently. Different sexes deal with issues in different ways. Material possessions are more important to some than others. Different age groups care about different fads, but among all these differences, one thing remains constant. Every single person, no matter who they are, wants to feel loved and cared about.

    Aristotle had a similar philosophy. He believed that the root of all we do is happiness. If we do something, we do it to ultimately gain happiness.

    Let's take an example: You brush your teeth every night. Why? It's a burden and it takes away time that could be used doing others things that would bring you instant pleasure. Well, in the long run, you have cleaner teeth that won't cause pain; you don't get nagged by your parents; and that girl that you like might actually kiss you.

    Speaking of girls, my date, Amber LeBaron, had a great philosophy too. She said she likes to think about the fact that everyone is trying their hardest. I agree with this. In one aspect or another of every person's life, they are trying their hardest to do their best. More of their time and effort might go into one thing or another, but they are trying their hardest and putting forth energy. This is why it's so important not to judge one another. We also don't know what their circumstances are and what they're personally going through.

Anyways, this was my thought for the week.

Everyone wants to be loved.

Everyone is trying their best.

Pullover Gone Well

Brandon Bishoff, a 22 year-old BYU student, may have just screwed up his life forever. It all came down to this point of anxiety.

“He said that he was nervous about the black car that was following us,” said Brandon’s girlfriend, Kristina Austin. They were driving on their way to pick up the most important symbol of their love. Little did Kristina know what was about to happen.

Sirens blared and lights flashed as Kristina exclaimed, “Those darn undercover cops!” Brandon muttered something under his breath- trying not to let Kristina hear.

His acting skills from high school would finally come in handy. “Everything is going to be alright,” he said through clenched teeth. Beads of sweat collected on his forehead.

“License and registration, sir.” The officer did not look amused and his tone just reinforced the fact. He walked back to the patrol car and returned within the minute.

“Sir, would you step out of the car, please,” the officer kindly, but sternly asked Brandon. Thoughts started storming Kristina’s mind and she felt clueless. She later remarked, “I didn’t know whether he had forgotten to pay a parking ticket or what.”

A few minutes went by. She decided to turn up the radio while she waited.

Looking in the rear-view mirror, Kristina saw a startling sight. Her boyfriend of three months had his hands in the air and the officer was searching him. “I felt bad staring, so I looked back down at the ground for a few seconds,” Kristina recounted.

There was a soft bang on the back of the car, so Kristina looked back. Brandon was handcuffed and shoved against the car! By this time, anyone would’ve been an imbecile not to know that something was wrong.

The officer walked Brandon around to the side of the car and asked Kristina to step out.  Kristina was almost in tears as the three of them walked around to the back of the car.

The officer then proceeded to handcuff them together and told Kristina, “I’m handcuffing you together so that he doesn’t run away. I’m getting something out of my car. Stay here.”

What was happening? Who wouldn’t be confused by the turn of events?

Brandon decided to come out straight. He said, “Kristina, I think I’m about to go to jail for a long time. I might as well come clean. There’s something I need to ask you before he takes me away.”

Brandon got down on one knee.

“Will you marry me?”

The officer, also known as Brandon’s uncle, came from the patrol car with a small box. “Here, you might need this,” he said. Kristina caught on, “You little PUNK,” she exclaimed, “of course I’ll marry you!” Brandon opened the box with Kristina’s engagement ring inside.

They were supposed to be going to get the ring, which was an hour away. Without Kristina’s knowledge, Brandon had convinced his roommate, Kyle Hollenback, to make the drive and get the ring earlier.

“It was probably the most fun thing I’ve ever been involved in,” Kyle later said, “I felt like I was contributing to something big. They’re really in love and I’m glad I could help.”

Brandon later said, “I’m really pleased with the way things turned out. My dad had suggested using my uncle for the proposal and I thought that was a great idea. I was expected her to catch on sooner, considering she’s met him before.”

Kristina retorted, “Yeah…I knew I had seen him before, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. Not very many 40 year-old men have braces.” She smiled at her fiancé Brandon, chuckled and it was made apparent that they were in love.

Brandon and Kristina will be married in the Mount Timpanogus temple April 23^rd, 2011.

The Jimmer Epidemic

         The Jimmer fever has swept the nation and I've found myself in the midst of it. I've even become a big fan (shhhh don't tell anyone) and I make myself available to watch all the games now. It's not too often that a basketball prodigy comes through BYU. I suppose the last one was Danny Ainge ages ago.

         So this girl named Michelle Peralta, a fellow BYU student, got fed up with the attention Jimmer was getting and decided to do something about it. She wrote a complaint to a newspaper and it got published. Apparently, dozens of people wrote comments after her article almost ridiculing her. They made clever Jimmer jokes, and told Michelle to stop crying in essence.

        I decided to join the fun. Why live in a place if you're not going to get into the culture?

      I created this for Michelle Peralta, Jimmer Fredette, and Chuck Norris. 

Don't hate.

Rockstar Advertisements

These are the advertisements that I created for my Communications 230 class at Brigham Young University. My group's product was Rockstar Energy Drinks and our objective was to diversify Rockstar from the other types of energy drinks.

English Blog Assessment

 This semester at Brigham Young, I've had the opportunity to attend a Freshmen English class. In this class, I was asked to make a blog and post periodically. I've greatly enjoyed the assignment and have used it as a way to share some of my feelings. It has helped me to realize my thoughts and share them with others.

If I had the chance, I'd do it again. In fact, I'll keep this blog going and continue to build a portfolio.

It's a Beautiful Life.

 I'm sitting here in the CougarEat listening to a jazz band play Christmas songs while I eat a scrumptious Turkey sandwich. How could life get any better?

I think most times I fail to sit back and "smell the roses." I have such a blessed life and I should be happy all the time.

Procrastination

Procrastination is the name of the game.


Although we may think we're keeping up during the semester, we fail to realize the work load that comes at the end.

With projects, papers, and finals, as University students, we find ourselves over whelmed at the end of the semester. Even the best of students aren't perfect at doing their work beforehand, because throughout the semester, we had a constant pace of work. Not anymore. The time has come for the overhaul.

The time has come for Finals.

Sorry, I don't have much time for this post. I need to go finish a project...

Philmont Finished

            The breeze swept my face lightly on that mild summer day, as we continued the gruesome hike across the New Mexican mountains. The day was a beautiful one, garnished by birds chirping and the sounds of authentic wildlife. A ninety mile hike had never seemed so hard, and yet so peaceful. Fortunately, water bottles were available and none of us were deathly ill, yet.

Our scout troop from San Antonio, Texas had decided two years earlier to go to Philmont High Adventure Camp. We had prepared over those two years for a two week hiking extravaganza that would soon kick our butts. Averaging 7.5 miles with a 40 pound backpack would prove a lot harder than it seemed.

             In our troop, there were 5 scouts and 3 leaders that attended, all ranging in ability and athleticism. Some were marathon runners while others played the trumpet. One was a weight lifter while another was an accountant. From San Antonio to Philmont, we drove from 700 to 10,000 feet above sea level in elevation. Altitude sickness would be a key player in the trek.

“Bishop, I’m not feeling too good,” is never a phrase that a boy wants to hear from his father, especially at the beginning of a 90 mile hiking adventure. I sat by idly and listened as my Dad and my bishop who happened to be a physician spoke. Mumbles came, and at the end, I heard the words “altitude sickness.” My father suffered the whole trek with a sickness that couldn’t be cured. One day ended up especially bad.

            We had been hiking since five a.m. and now it was noon. The Sun was beating down and one of the scouts had wimped out, refusing to go any further with his backpack, so the rest of us split up his stuff and carried his pack for him. The steep incline of the mountain had seemed especially difficult this day, as we had no downward hike. Brandon and Marshall had gone ahead, leaving me about 100 yards back and the rest of them close behind. The water supply had been exhausted and we found ourselves in a bit of a tight spot. I was all alone, walking and thinking of girls left at home. Time seemed to stand still as I reflected on my sixteen year old life...

               ...Where were the others? Reality set in as I found myself completely alone. Looking up and down the path, I could see no one. I couldn’t catch up to Brandon and Marshall, so I decided to backtrack down the mountain to find the others. After about ten minutes of descending, I found them. They were towards the side of the path with what looked like a tarp covering one of them. As I walked closer, I found that my dad was on the ground under the tarp. His eyes were closed and I knew something was wrong.

                “What happened to my Dad,” I asked with a trembling voice. Bishop Parsons spoke up, “he is... well...” My mind raced for the worst. Had something tragic happened? Was he still alive? Reality set in as the bishop finished his sentence.

                “He is resting from the altitude sickness, but we are severely out of water. Do you have any?” My mind raced as I thought about my primary water supply. “I don’t have much, but you can have it.” The few ounces I had left ended up moistening my father’s dry and chapped mouth. (Later that night, upon looking through my backpack, I would find two unopened nalgene bottles full of water.) After waiting by his side for what seemed like at least an hour, the other leader suggested we wake my Dad and move on.

                We started up the mountain and were met by Marshall and Brandon, who had turned back when the lack of our presence was noticed. By this point, I was carrying my backpack with that other kid’s stuff and most of my father’s pack. I was downtrodden and weak. I felt close to fainting and couldn’t have continued, had it not been for Brandon.

“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Brandon had come back for us and showed his compassion by taking most of my load. He had literally lifted my burdens. I no longer had to imagine an application to that scripture, but had an actual experience.

               Brandon had been my personal Saviour on the mount. I came to love both him and my Messiah a lot more that day as Brandon delivered water to my father. Brandon had shown a Christlike love that I will never forget. My father recovered and the day was saved. Peaceful times came once again to Philmont.

Family and Philmont

 This is my unfinished personal narrative.

    The breeze lightly swept my face on that mild summer day, as we continued the gruesome hike across the New Mexican mountains. The day was a beautiful one, garnished by birds chirping and the sounds of authentic wildlife. A ninety mile hike had never seemed so hard, and yet so peaceful. Fortunately, water bottles were available and none of us were deathly ill, yet.
    Our scout troop from San Antonio, Texas had decided two years earlier to go to Philmont High Adventure Camp. We had prepared over those two years for a two week hiking extravaganza that would soon kick our butts. Averaging 7.5 miles with a 40 pound backpack would prove a lot harder than it seemed.
    In our troop, there were 5 scouts that attended and 3 leaders, all ranging in abilities and athleticism. Some were marathon runners while others played the trumpet. One was a weight lifter while another was an accountant. From San Antonio to Philmont, we drove from 700 to 10,000 feet above sea level in elevation. Altitude sickness would be a key player in the trek.
    “Bishop, I’m not feeling too good,” is never what a boy wants to hear from his father, especially at the beginning of a 90 mile hiking adventure. I idly sat by and listened as my Dad and my bishop who happened to be a physician spoke. Mumbles came, and at the end, I heard the words “altitude sickness.” My father suffered the whole trek with a sickness that couldn’t be cured. One day ended up especially bad.
    We had been hiking since five a.m. and now it was noon. The Sun was beating down and one of the scouts had wimped out, refusing to go any further with his backpack, so the rest of us split up his stuff and carried his pack for him. The steep incline of the mountain had seemed especially difficult this day, as we had no downward hike. Brandon and Marshall had gone ahead, leaving me about 100 yards back and the rest of them close behind. The water supply had been exhausted and we found ourselves in a bit of a tight spot. I was all alone, walking and thinking of girls left at home. Time seemed to stand still as I reflected on my sixteen year old life...
    ...Where were the others? Reality set in as I found myself completely alone. Looking up and down the path, I could see no one. I couldn’t catch up to Brandon and Marshall, so I decided to backtrack down the mountain to find the others. After about ten minutes of descending, I found them. They were towards the side of the path with what looked like a tarp covering one of them. As I walked closer, I found that my dad was on the ground under the tarp. His eyes were closed and I knew something was wrong.
    “What happened to my Dad,” I asked with a trembling voice. Bishop Parsons spoke up, “he is... well...” My mind raced for the worst. Had something tragic happened? Was he still alive? Reality set in as the bishop finished his sentence.
    “He is resting from the altitude sickness, but we are severely out of water. Do you have any?” My mind raced as I thought about my primary water supply. “I don’t have much, but you can have it.”

New Approaches to Advertising

Flash mobs are the cool new thing.

Advertisers could use this technique to enhance their public relations.

This one was to the Sound of Music.




They can be used in any different way, but more importantly to us, as advertisements. Take this one for example. It could've been used to promote the movie Ghostbusters.




There are many new social media examples, but this one could trump them all if used correctly.

T-Moblie took the charge and put out this mob flash that they tagged their name onto:




Pretty fun stuff.

Now to start planning one for the BYU campus...

Advertising Ethics

Approximately how many advertisements do you see each day? What would you guess? 20? 50? 100? According to the Media Awareness Network, each and every day, North Americans are exposed to 3000 ads! (http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/parents/marketing/advertising_everywhere.cfm) This includes advertisements that are on shirts, billboards, toothbrushes, and bicycles, just to name a few. We are surrounded by advertisements everywhere we turn. In the room in which I now sit, I can’t count the number of visible advertisements. With all these persuasions around us, we are brought to ask, “Is it ethical?” Does advertising fit the American standard and do those advertisements we see and hear inhibit our ability to choose? In this scholarly research paper, I intend to point out some of the negatives and positives to advertising, and show my audience why advertising is indeed ethical.

Many people consider advertising as a means whereby dishonest people can connive their way into an unsuspecting victim’s head and place little triggers that go off when this victim sees a product or service. These people have an excellent point. Advertising, especially soft sell advertising, is meant to help consumers to have a positive view of a company, also known as the company’s brand. Advertising is persuasive. There is no getting around this fact. Persuasion is probably the main objective of advertising.

Not only is the main objective of advertising to manipulate the viewer’s mind, but oft times the advertisers are wicked people. Most of them do not have standards and therefor, the advertisements take the blame. With such a greedy world, it is hard to find advertisers with morals, so we get ads that contain scantily-clad women, drugs, and inappropriate content. We find problems today that would have been unthinkable 50 years ago. With the debauchery of our society, we see things that not only would be indecent to the LDS population, but also to the general public.

As with every profession, there are people that have low standards, and then those that rise above the scum. The key is to find those people and then help them to become more influential. Advertising is not evil or unethical in itself. There is also much good that comes from advertising, mainly informing people of things they weren’t aware of. How would you know that the iPod was even invented unless you saw a friend using it or an advertisement for it? This is the argument I take sides with.

Let’s take a look at the history of advertising. William M. O’Barr says, “long before America was colonized, commerce flourished in the Old World where various methods were used to promote trade. Notice boards placed outside houses indicated what could be had within. Wine sellers gave free samples in the streets. And actors paraded in the streets attempting to entice onlookers into theatres (http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/asr/v006/6.3unit02.html).” Advertising has been around for many centuries and has played an important role in society. Even our opposition will agree that advertising played an important role long ago. It helped entrepreneurs to show consumers what they had to offer. This helped to establish better communities where free trade could flourish. Free trade is a principle that is associated with Democracies. Communist countries do not enjoy the same privileges that we have here in the United States. Since advertising has contributed to the free trade system, I think it's fair to say that it is partly responsible for the positive government that we have today. We are very blessed to be in a time where we live under such favorable circumstances.

According to the Constitution of the United States, anyone living inside the country has unalienable rights. One of these inevitable rights is freedom of press. In the first amendment, we read “congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” Contained within that law, we see that we have the ability to print and say what we please. Especially in the case of advertising (assuming situations slander or libel is not being used), this right is just that- a right. We are entitled by law to advertise as we would like to. Having established that fact, we still are left to the question, “is it ethical?”

Mike Catherall of American Chronicle says, “On one hand you have an industry bent on persuading consumers to buy things they don't need by prying into their insecurities, reinforcing oppressive stereotypes and pouring gasoline on the fires of capitalism. On the other, you have an industry with a sudden new desire to make the world a better place.

Where these values intersect is the latest boom in the advertising world: ethical advertising. Targeted at Conscious Consumers, ethical advertising taps into the residual idealism and guilt of activists at heart, and Boomers who have rediscovered their romantic 60s values lost or replaced temporarily by vapid consumerism, only to see the light again in their twilight years” (http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/10795). Opportunity for growth and improvement in the advertising world has presented itself. There are chances for things to become as they once had been through wholesome advertising. Companies are taking these opportunities. For example, take Dove. Dove is a company that has made beauty products since 1979 and continues to influence people everywhere. They are owned by Unilever and they have some positive advertising techniques. One of their most recent is the campaign “Evolution”, which has won two awards at the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival, and continues to influence women and girls around the world (www.dove.com). The campaign is meant to show females that they are beautiful no matter what they may look like. It has helped to build confidence in young women and has also gone against the grain as far as advertising goes. Ads with morals like this are becoming more prevalent as time goes on. Hopefully, we can continue to see an increase in these uplifting ads. One of the ironic things about the Evolution campaign is that Dove makes products that help to beautify women. The advertisement definitely reflects a positive light on Dove and it's brand. This is a prime example of a soft sell campaign. The objective here is not to sell lotion to people right away after they see this commercial. It is meant to shed positive publicity on Dove. Some would even argue that the campaign was a public relations project, and there is a lot to be said for that. Maybe the day has come where advertising is starting to shift into public relations.

One of the main reasons I believe that advertising is ethical is because the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints uses it.

In August 2008, the LDS Church launched a campaign called “Mormon Messages”. These short films were designed to share prophets' and apostles' stories with visual representation. Over time, many have been made and the total viewership has reached over 10 million views (http://beta-newsroom.lds.org/article/mormon-messages-on-youtube-reaching-millions)! Currently, there are an assortment of different topics that you can watch and enjoy. This is a form of advertising for the Church. Missionary work could also be classified as advertising. Without that initial exposure, we wouldn't have the truth and light that we do. The LDS Church is a prime example of an organization that has used advertising to bless the lives of others. Advertising isn't unethical; it's a form of communication. It has helped to bring the gospel to many converts' lives and continues to affect the Church positively.

There are things that can be improved on in the advertising world, but overall, the industry is improving as a whole. The principle of advertising is ethical, although some of it's representatives are not. We see examples all over the world of good advertisements that redeem the industry. Examples like Dove's Evolution and the Latter-Day Saint's Mormon Messages are becoming more predominant as time goes on, and hope is coming back to the American public. The demise of the society has not completely consumed our American living yet and with the addition of strapping young lads like myself, the advertising realm will continue to brighten. Advertising is meant to inform, giving us knowledge and a greater understanding. Usually, the products that advertise well are the ones that perform well, so we have little need to fear being coerced into buying something that wouldn't help us. The product will sell itself. Advertising just helps to make it known. With the 3000 advertisements we see each day, we are merely picking up 3000 more bits of information.

Works Cited Page

Advertising: It's Everywhere. November 14, 2010. http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/parents/marketing/advertising_everywhere.cfm

Dove Evolution, November 16, 2010, www.dove.com

Ethical Advertising at a Glance, American Chronicle, November 15, 2010, http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/10795

Mormon Messages on Youtube Reaching Millions, November 16, 2010, http://beta-newsroom.lds.org/article/mormon-messages-on-youtube-reaching-millions

O'Barr, William. A Brief History of Advertising in America. November 15, 2010. http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/asr/v006/6.3unit02.html

Mac Attack!

Is this a common sight for many of you? Have you been around the BYU campus and seen the influence Apple has established on campus? Here, in the library, I took a picture of a regular day. Out of the 12 computers I can see in this picture, 8 of them are Macs! 67%!

I have always loved the uprising of Apple. It has always intrigued me after watching a movie called Silicon Valley in high school. After watching the movie, which depicted the former partnership of Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, I felt a loyalty to Apple that I never had before.

Apple continues to produce moving advertisements, like this campaign:

Apple is continuing to gain market share. I am excited for the day when they will surpass Windows in sales. In 2006, Apple owned about 4.6 % of the market share for laptops overall. Not very impressive, but it has been steadily growing. In 2007, it grew to 5% and in 2008, it kept growing to 5.6%, and Apple continues to grow!

Go Apple!!!

Climbing a Rock?

     Why do people feel the urge to climb things?
Especially in the case of climbing rocks and mountains, why do people do it?

I've decided to use this as a research project for my writing class this semester.

To give you my opinion, here are some pictures I took yesterday from a 600 foot climb my buddy and I did.

Simply beautiful.

You look cool.

And you're safe... for the most part. ;)

Those are a few of my reasons for climbing, but I'm interested to see what others' reasons for it are.

"The Devil Can't Make You Do It" by President Boyd K. Packer

"The Devil Can't Make You Do It"

President Packer

General Conference October 2010

    Bold as he was in the October General Conference, Boyd K. Packer made some enemies. In the morning session of General Conference on October 3, 2010, President Boyd K. Packer talked about the sanctity of the family and bravely presented his feelings on the Family Proclamation and the sins of homosexuality and pornography. He answered my questions and although no new doctrine was presented, his message brought about a protest on Tuesday because of how straight forward and logical he was, not beating around the bush.

    The night before, I found myself asking my date why she thought we, as a church, were so against the gays having an opportunity to get married. It was a question that had bothered me, because I felt it went against the LDS philosophy of agency. Luckily, the Lord knew that this concern would be on my mind and had President Packer give a talk on it the next day (I love how that works). President Packer gave me the answer I had known all along, but never connected. From the Family Proclamation, he quoted “marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and that the family is central to the Creator’s plan for the eternal destiny of His children.” Wow, it's so simple. Marriage is something that only applies to a man and a woman, not a man and a man or a woman and a woman. Your agency allows you to be gay together, but don't call it marriage. It's not marriage. Marriage is ordained of God and perpetuates life and the family.

    Apparently, the gay community along with a few disgruntled members of the Church weren't spiritually ready to hear this message. On Tuesday, a group protested against President Packer's conference address. It's funny, President Packer addressed people like this in his talk. He implied that you wouldn't vote on absolute truths, asking “what would a vote against gravity do?” His clever remarks helped me to realize that God's truth can't be altered or voted on.

    President Packer couldn't have been more bold in his remarks. He used a great sense of logos to present his message in a way that answered my questions, and I'm sure others' as well. His speech couldn't be taken any other way than the way he intended it to be. Great talk, President Packer.

Puffery

    Puffery is a technique commonly used in the advertising world. It refers to an over-exaggeration of a product or service. Examples of this would include saying such phrases as "the best", "the most satisfying", or "the greatest". These phrases don't even necessarily need to be true. They could have the worst, least satisfying product out there. The way that advertisers can get away with phrases like this has to do with proof. There is no calculation that can tell me if your product is "the best." Although the company can't prove that it's the best, you can't prove it's not. Best in what? Even though quantitative claims can be proven wrong, qualitative ones can't. Puffery is present in many companies.

This probably isn't the greatest value in the world, but you can't prove its not.


Even modern advertisements that you'd never guess, use puffery. Take, for example, Kellogg's Frosted Flakes. They're what?? They're gr-r-reat!! Really?

Look at the ads you see today and notice how many of them use puffery.

My Bold Move

  I've been on a few dates since being home, but none were initiated quite like this one.

  Friday rolled around and I found myself sitting on a bench outside the Wilkinson Center. A girl came and sat down on the bench next to mine and I heard my thoughts say, "wow, she's really cute." I couldn't keep from looking at her and I knew it was a problem, so I decided I was going to do something about it. You only live a mortal life once, right? So about half an hour went by and I didn't act. I kept waiting for her to approach me (like that ever happens) and nothing came of it. Finally, as class was about to start, I decided it was now or never. Music influences our irrational decisions and I think I was listening to Muse, so I was pumped.

   I went up and introduced myself, nervous at the thought of what was to follow. She told me her name was Laura and I said something to the effect of "Well, I think you're really cute and I was wondering if you wanted to go on a date with me some time." Warning signs started shooting off in my brain as she paused, smiling. I had to blurt out "I would never do this, but something told me to." She accepted and gave me her number, telling me she normally wouldn't say yes, which made me feel a little better and boosted my confidence back up a little bit.

  We went on a date Saturday night, which was a lot of fun. She came to my apartment to pick me up (lame, I know) and when I opened the door, I was surprised by how beautiful she was [with these situations, you never know if you're just feeling that way in the moment]. We went to the malt shop and then to Comedy Sportz (which was pretty hilarious). She seems really nice and interesting. From California, and has two older sisters. Parents are converts, which is really cool. Overall, it was a great date. There will be a second.

Cadbury?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wy52yueBX_s

I am going to attempt to critique the advertisement "Gorilla Drummer", by Cadbury.

The video starts off with a Phil Collins song, beginning with no drum beat, just synthesizers and lyrics. The audio starts off slow, but gradually builds. The video that accompanies it is composed of close up shots of a gorilla on a drum set. You can tell that the gorilla is emotionally attached to what he is about to do. The tension builds as these shots continue. I think this would have been a perfect time for the editor to slow down the video and make some slow motion shots. I think moving panoramic camera shots would have made this beginning sequence more emotional.

The camera shot then is zoomed out as the monkey bangs on the drums and the beat comes into the song. I almost feel like it took too long to get to this climax. It takes one whole minute to get to that point and I feel like some people would have lost their interest in it by then. You usually only have about 10 or 20 seconds to make a lasting impression. I do love when the drums come in though. There's a sense of "coolness" that hits you.

Lastly, I've been trying to figure out what this ad has to do with Cadbury Dairy Products. They flash their name at the end, but it's easy to forget because the ad does not utilize the product or company at all. Ads like this bother me. Yes, they are fun to watch, but you're not going to remember Cadbury here. You're going to remember a gorilla on a drum set. Over all effective ad? Probably not. It doesn't draw me to Cadbury eggs.

College Success

There has been a new craze on YouTube over the past few months started by a man named Julian Smith.





   He has created funny videos that appeal to the college-aged crowd. Interestingly enough, the videos make little to no sense, and yet he has about 35 million views.
   The slogan that Julian has made for himself is "I made this for you!" Thus, he makes the viewer feel important and improves his brand. With such an influence as he has, he should be getting into the corporate world and using his fame to spread some product or service. I'm sure he has had many offers at this point, and shouldn't feel like a "sell out" for making money from his talent.
  His videos remind me of a small production that bloomed years ago, David Lehre productions. He was a young college student that produced similar shorts and had spots with Nesquik, Nokia, CareerBuilder.com, and various rappers. I'll include one of his videos as well.





   Hilarious shorts like these give college students hope at a bright future without the time restraints that graduation makes. Many of us have been inspired by the creative genius that has come from both David Lehre and Julian Smith.