Definition: Hot Mess

Supposedly, this hot mess aka Kesha will be coming to big D this coming April.  Yes, I admit I am quite excited to see someone with such fame make their way to my small campus.  And I'll admit that her songs are very catchy and I may or may not play them all the time.  But Kesha just baffles me.  How can this trashy, nose-ring wearing, glitter-infatuated, drug abusing drunk ass can get so famous while singing about partying?  And she's so famous that her music is played all over the radios, giving young children the chance to hear these terrible messages.  It's hard to keep children's minds clean when these songs become so overplayed that parents don't even think twice before letting their kids listen.  Kids really pic up on lyrics too.  They seem to be able to hear a song once and can sing every word.  That is what worries me the most about songs like this.  I realize that there is and has been some very riskaay artists, but as of now, Kesha fits that definition.

Hand Love

How adorable is this?  Something that makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside.  I really hope this does get to the lucky lady.  No more love letters or home-made tape mixes, the thing to do is make a Youtube video.  I even had a friend proposed to via Youtube.  He made a video and at the very end popped the question.  Does this mean that the world is becoming so entirely consumed by media that we are losing our personal touch?  I don't think so.  It is merely just another way to express ourselves.  And what better way to share a love video to someone far away?  I enjoy all the things that make you say "aww" and this was one of them!

Scenic Interstate Stores...

On my 7 hour drive home this past week I was yet again disgusting by something.  Every time I drive through the darling state of Missouri I am bombarded by these awful, revolting stores.  What am I referring to?  Adult Super Stores.  Why is it that every 10 miles through the state does there need to be another bright, red and yellow sign hanging over some dingy, run-down shed without any windows?  I am truly appalled at the number and hope to God that it isn't like this elsewhere, even though I bet it is.  Can there really be a need that great to keep these businesses running?  I can't imagine that people actually stop while traveling through (because people just go through Missouri, they don't actually want to stop and stay a while - hence the nickname: Misery).  This is a serious problem that needs to be taken care of before it gets even more out of hand.  There is an over-abundance of XXX and Pleasure Zone shops.  Crappy hick towns get enough of a terrible rep without these "stores" darkening their doorway - or entrance to the interstate.  In my opinion, state representatives should want their roadways to be scenic and enticing to travelers, not overrun by shitty garages that look as though a murder took place inside.  I know that I am not the only one bothered by these adult super-disgusting-stores.  Will the day ever come that they are banned?

SCAM!

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/28/business/28borker.html?_r=1&scp=4&sq=advertising%20google%20fraud&st=cse

Everyone should read this article!

Today, my English professor, a few other students and I had a very interesting discussion about this article.  A quick overview of the article: A man has beat the Google system.  He runs an online company that sells eye wear, but he has no inventory of his own.  (I will refrain from using the site's name just in case it creates more publicity for him.)  Once consumers order from him, he goes to places such as Ebay and buys what his customer requested.  This would work, except for the fact that all of the sunglasses that he sells are cheap knock-offs.  Customers realize the scam so attempt to return their orders.  Unfortunately for them, this man is aggressive.  He threatens them, most of the time causing the angered customers to post reviews of sites.  All of the reviews that mention his company's name, whether positive or negative, get his site boosted a little higher on search engines like Google.  He found that the more people he pissed off, the more they complained, which lead to more service.
How a scam artist as popular as him wasn't caught sooner blows my mind!  The internet is a scary place, especially when someone unknown acquires all of your information.  We all need to be especially careful when using our names, addresses, credit cards, etc online.  Also, I now understand Google a little better - even the "more relevant" searches could only be high up because of negative popularity.  Watch out for the scammers!!

"Like"

http://adage.com/digital/article?article_id=147272

Facebook and Twitter are huge in today's world.  Personally, I check my facebook multiple times a day and have notifications sent directly to my phone.  According to this article, Facebook has over 500 million users and Twitter is growing to close to 200 million.  Companies are taking advantage of all of these free opportunities to connect with people.  They can make a page and have fans "like" them and give them chances to comment on posts.  The user feedback is incredible.  In this article Oreo was used as an example.  They posted questions such as "Ever try dunking an Oreo cookie with a fork or anything else?" which received 8,200 likes and 2,300 comments and "Pick a flavor, any flavor! If you could create a new Oreo cream flavor, what would it be?" which received 7,100 likes, 12,500 comments.  All of these people engaging in your product for free!  The likes aren't too beneficial, but when consumers comment and become involved with the product, that's where the money is.  Facebook is important in many lives and the things/products on pages have an impact on many.

World AIDS Day

I love to see celebrities using their fame for the better.  As soon as Wednesday, a bunch of celebrities will be lost to the social media world.  They will be signing off of their Twitter and Facebook accounts for World AIDS Day and won't return until $1 million has been raised.  This idea was started by Alicia Keys for her charity, Keep A Child Alive.  Included in this project are Lady Gaga, Justin Timberlake, Ryan Seacrest, Kim and Khloe Kardashian, Usher and a few more.  http://www.adweek.com/aw/content_display/news/media/e3i34a063bb249a3cf2bd315f944e8b1283 says that Lady Gaga alone has 7.2 million Twitter followers - there's bound to be a movement!  All the celebrity deprived out there will be bound to help the cause so they can stalk their favorite stars.  The thing that I think is interesting is that technology has come so far that all the donations can be accepted through text messages and bar-code technology.  No need to send in a check.  Save on postage and just shoot out a text.  Can the celebrities make it without any form of social media?  For this good of a cause they should.

Cartoons vs. Jesus

Last year in my psychology class we watched a study about children and their ability to identify pictures of people.  Unfortunately, I couldn't find the video, so I hope that my description will be sufficient.  Basically, a group of elementary age children were shown pictures of famous historical figures and pictures of cartoon characters for restaurants/products.  Almost every single child knew who Ronald McDonald was.  Many knew characters such as Tony the Tiger and the Trix bunny.  Only a handful of the older children could identify famous presidents such as George Washington.  The most surprising (and the part that made my jaw drop) was that when a picture of Jesus was presented to the children, not a single child was able to identify him.

Children are bombarded with advertisements all day every day.  When they watch their favorite TV shows, companies reel them in.  Commercials with silly cartoons dominate children's channels.  Why?  Because kids will remember these characters and base all of their wants on the best advertised product - the one that intrigues them the most.
I find it sad that children almost idolize places such as McDonald's all because they cater to children and are fun.  In the kindergarten class where I tutor, almost all the children have written multiple short stories about McDonald's.  If only we could have the success of Mickey D's and get more important things to stick in our youth's minds.  Maybe then children would be able to identify more presidents than restaurant cartoons.