Gotta Have It!

Have you ever seen a commercial for a product, and felt like you needed it right then? You felt like if you didn’t get that product that the world would inevitably end. Well, that is exactly what the marketer wants you to feel.

Commercialism wasn’t always a bad thing. It originally dealt with commerce, which was a word for trade or how people interacted. That then turned into Commercial, this dealt with specific aspects that involved trade that were apart from other activities. The word Commercialism itself didn’t develop until the middle of the 19th century.

Commercialism has a negative connotation. It deals with a system doing anything it can to make a financial profit. A lot of times the customer is not even considered, except for the fact of how to get them to buy the product.

Today if you watch TV, walk through the mall, or get on the internet, you will be cornered by any number of advertisements. There are so many companies that have advertising campaigns to get you to buy their products. The problem is, is that when commercialism comes into play the companies lose track of making the best product they can, but turn to the product that is most marketable.

H.G. Wells said, “Advertising is legalized lying.” Companies can change how their products look or the slogan of the product, but make little or no actual improvement to their product. If they can make us want the product enough, we will ultimately buy the product whether we need it or not.

Marketing can create a need in our lives. Be careful what you buy. Did you really need that new product, or was that just a really good advertisement?

Joel Heslop
Comm 203

Do Work!

So, we have had a little bit of a bumpy start on working on our paper prototype. A few of us have been absent off and on at different times, so we have been trying to collaborate and work around things to get our ideas together. So far it has been working. We have some cool ideas together, and I think it will be a fun and interesting game to play. We have all been working together, and getting ideas in motion. Now to finish the prototype up, and film our presentation of it on Tuesday.

Go Team Awesome!

NACA

I recently attended the NACA conference. NACA is the National Association for Campus Activities.
This was quite the experience. This conference is designed to educate student leaders and allow them an opportunity to find what types of acts that they want to bring to their College campus.

Musicians, Magicians, Comedians, Entertainers and Educators of all types were at the convention. Their goal was to interest the colleges that sent representatives. Our Program Board at Shepherd which I am a part of sent all but one of our members to the conference. The entertainers and agents/managers of the entertainers were there at the conference to interest us in having their acts out our school.

Along with showing of the acts there was educational sessions. These sessions involved how to do better publicity for events on campus, how to better plan for events, special booking techniques, as well as many other valuable techniques and skills to better help us as programmers.



There was times between the showcases and the educational sessions for what is called the marketplace. The marketplace was a very cool experience. It consisted of management groups, individual artists/entertainers or any number of other groups that had things to offer to campuses for special activities.

Overall this was a great experience. I both enjoyed myself, and learned a great deal on how to book shows and work with agents/managers.

"Localvore"

Being aware of the food we intake, and where we get that food is a growing concern these days. More and more food is being shipped in from other countries thousands of miles away. Being concious of that fact and finding foods that are locally grown or produced is a little harder, but can be much more satisfying and healthy.

"Living La Vita Local" was the title of the "Food Fight" that I attended last week. This event was in connection to the common reading "Animal Vegetable Miracle" by Barbara Kingsolver. The event featured five panelists that would weigh in on their knowledge and perspective of the growing local food movement.

The panelists included: David Ober, a local farmer who raises pigs organically; Liz Gallery, who owns Stone Soup Bistro in Shepherdstown, a restaurant using only fresh and local foods; and Jack Shaw, Shepherd's director of dining services and also Jack was joined by Andrew Manasicaco, one of Shepherd's food suppliers.

Dr. Clarissa Matthews, who is an assistant professor of environmental studies at Shepherd, moderated the event. She asked the panelists questions and introduced ideas to the audience. She introduced the word "localvore," one that lives primarily off of locally produced food products. At the event we dove into the ideas surrounding being and becoming a "localvore."

The panel answered questions posed to them involving what food they use in their buisiness or lives everyday, and how that effects how things go. They were asked what percentage of food the produce or eat is locally grown. It was very interesting to hear the answers.

Fuel prices were taken into effect in the questioning. Everyone realizes that if we do not change how things are done, fuel prices could directly affect the price of the products produced by farmers.

Many people realize that there has been less and less farmers as of late, but people don't realize how quickly farming is declining. I hope that we all can learn to support local farmers and to try to eat more locally overall. In the long run, we will be healthier and our community will be able to thrive more readily.

There have always been growing movements in the world. Everyone has a cause, everyone has an agenda. Recently though, there is a growing movement that is changing how the Internet is run. Globally people have become more and more dependent on technology. The Internet has changed how people run their lives. I know for myself, when I go to a place that doesn’t have internet access it is pretty frustrating and disrupts my normal patterns for the day.


Naturally a countercultural movement happening today involves computers. Cyberpunks are most widely known as computer hackers and science-fiction geeks, but this term is not just confined to those. Cyberpunk is now related to musicians, artists, and a range of technologies, among other things.

Cyberpunks challenge how things are run. They want to gain control in some way and be able to make their mark. Pop-culture is the enemy of most cyberpunks in a way. They aim to go against it at all costs. They make their own subcultures to thrive in. Designing what they want to have, their own ways of life.

Cyberpunks stay ahead of the game through communication. Using massive message boards to keep connected. They organize ways to get across their own ideals, ideals of self-reliance. They don’t just use the internet to check their email or talk with friends. The internet or Cyberspace is their way of life. They use it to live.

Cyberpunks obtain freedom through their writing, and want to spread it through the masses. To have no information held hostage or private. They oppose the government for holding them back.

The future is something that cyberpunks are readily watching and seeking out. Constantly updating and changing they look ahead to what’s new. In the growing age of new technologies we always need to be alert to what advances can help us in our job field. Cyberpunks may be a tad unconventional in a sense, but they have they idea of constantly staying ahead of the game. That is something we all need to be wary of.

Joel Heslop
Comm 203

Have you ever taken a test and did not like how it was set up. Did you know the information but couldn’t convey it the way you wanted and got a less then amazing score? I know this has happened to me.

Schooling has always tested students in almost the exact same ways. Teachers lecture material, and then test students in the same exact ways. For some students this is perfect for them and they excel, for others this is quite difficult. Now, this doesn’t mean that the student is not intelligent; it just means that they process information differently and are a different type or learner.

To combat these problems, Howard Gardner came up with his Theory of Multiple Intelligences. He believed that not all students process information or learn the same way. He believed that there were seven “intelligences.” These intelligences being: linguistic, mathematical, musical, kinesthetic, visual, interpersonal, and intrapersonal. He believed that each person’s mind should not be confined to regular I.Q. tests but that they have unique learning styles and strengths.
I was very familiar with this theory, and have taken a similar test before, but not one that was as precise as this test. I scored my highest scores in Interpersonal with a 36, Musical with a 34, and Linguistic with a 32. I was not very surprised with my results, but it was a great way of seeing how I thought.

Interpersonal intelligence has to do with communication and how to relate with people. I have always loved to meet and help people. I normally can tell when someone is in need or has a problem, and try to help them in any way I can. Musical intelligence pertains to the use and recognition of sound and rhythm. I have always loved music, and have grown up in a house that has always had music around. I love playing and listening to music. I constantly have a song in my head, repeating the lyrics and beats. Sometimes turning information into a rhythm or song in my head helps me remember it. Linguistic intelligence pertains to the use of words and language. It deals with conveying information through language. I very much enjoy speaking and conveying ideas to people. Being able to speak in front of any number of people is always a great opportunity for me.

This test has brought a good perspective on how I view my learning styles. It allowed me to better process my strengths and weaknesses and will allow me to duly note them for the future. I believe that the strengths listed are the exact type of strengths that I want to use in the job field that I am going into. I will need to be able to relate and communicate with my audience on a regular basis, and those skills will help me do that.

For more information and the multi-intelligence test go to:
http://www.businessballs.com/howardgardnermultipleintelligences.htm#multiple%20intelligences%20tests

Joel Heslop
Comm 203