Sun, 19 Sep 2010

Corn Sugar . . . American Ingenuity at Work!

So, if something is bad for you, contributes to the obesity epidemic, and is generally frowned on by the health establishment, what do you do? Do you conduct extensive research and trials to find an alternative? No! You put good old American Ingenuity to work, conduct extensive research and RENAME IT! Given the state of American society, that will do the trick. You can continue to make millions from something which does harm to society because you have given it a new name -- and, of course, that makes everything better.

posted 07:43 [/Media] permanent link

Mon, 06 Sep 2010

Pandering to the Popular

Here is article an about the New York Times use of analytics to drive their news stories. The use of analytics can help the bottom line at a news organization, but is this the only measure of the value of news? Here's an interesting quote from the article:

He said the data has proved highly useful in today’s world of shrinking newsroom budgets. Mr. Narisetti said that when he had to reduce his staff last year, he looked at what kind of content was not performing well with readers. He discovered that long-form video had a low audience, so he reduced that department by a couple of people.

It's interesting because it removes the detail from the information leaving the general public with a sound bite on which to base their opinions. A sound bite leave the news organization with the ability to form opinion simply by the information that they choose to leave out, let alone the way that they present the information that they choose to include.

And does the mere fact that X-thousand people view something mean that it's important? Millions watch reality television and, although it's good for the advertisers, it isn't important. Millions hang on every nuance of their favorite actors' lives, but that definitely isn't important. Few really follow the important things in the world, and it's sad -- except, of course, for the advertisers.

It would be a shame to see the NYT or other major news organizations choose their content based on popularity. Otherwise, we would all be stuck with nothing but some meaningless drivel about people who have accomplished nothing more in life except being lucky enough to be born into rich families.

posted 07:23 [/Media] permanent link

Sun, 29 Aug 2010

The Cult of Celebrity

I'm not a fan of the famous. I think our obsession with actors, musicians, and the rich is harmful. An entire industry exists just to follow their every move, and to what purpose? To make money for the industry that follows these celebrities is the only answer that I can find. But, what is the effect of promiting a lifestyle of excess? Promoting the thought that having more stuff makes you successful. We tell young people that it's what you have rather than what you are what makes you successful. It's sad.

posted 07:06 [/Media] permanent link

Mon, 09 Aug 2010

Certified by WHOM?

I was struck by the words on a UPS store while out for a walk today. Here's the words from their website

The Certified Packing Experts at The UPS Store can pack almost anything.

The bolding is mine. Certified by WHOM? Is there some sort of "national packaging certification agency"? Is this part of the U.S. government's effort to provide better packing services? If you went into the store and asked to see the clerk's certificate, could they show it to you?

We seem to run into these meaningless advertising words all over the place. I found the following on my shampoo:

Nutritive fruit micro-oils

and the conditioner is

Professional Salon Forumula

as if there is an amateur salon somewhere out there where people just cut and style your hair as a hobby. By the way, the conditioner is "ultra luxurious" as if being simply "luxurious" isn't enough or is somehow inferior.

These nutritive fruit micro-oils are interesting, especially since hair is dead. I'm wondering what sort of oils are small enough to be called "micro".

You really wonder what promotions people think when they come up with these sorts of things. Just how stupid do they feel the public is -- don't answer that!

posted 15:51 [/Media] permanent link

Thu, 20 Aug 2009

Turning Words Around

I heard a story this morning about an athiest group which put signs on busses:

Don't believe in God? . . . You are not alone

Their point is that there are others who don't believe in God. But their simple statement got me to thinking that these same words could be interpreted differently by someone with doubts.

This could mean:

Don't believe in God? . . . You are not alone . . . God believes in you and is here

Just because you don't believe in God doesn't mean that he isn't waiting for you. All you have to do is open your heart/mind to the possibility . . .

posted 06:31 [/Media] permanent link