Blogger Critique

    I decided to critique the blog, Gawker. This blog is known for its satirical new writing and many quips whether dealing with politics or entertainment. One of my favorite journalists, Cord Jefferson, is the West Coast editor of Gawker. He writes interesting articles on race relations and politics. I always enjoy reading his opinion. The blog as a whole is well run and meets the highest standard within the blogosphere. It is not surprising that Gawker is constantly placed on top blogging lists year after year. They excel at all the requirements that are listed under the ‘demands of the audience’ in our book.

    Our textbook states that web surfers have come to expect certain things from sites. Gawker is has great speed. There is little time wasted between clicking the link and gaining access. The site has impressive visual logic and is very navigation able. It has a very clean design that makes the user feel as if they can find any article without trouble. However, they still maintain their depth. The articles are lengthy and have a wonderful mixture of wit and factual information. All of these things come together to make one of the most relevant news sites on the internet today.

React and critique "The Persuaders" video

While watching "The Persuaders" I had a range of emotions. At first, I was fascinated by how detailed and well thought out marketing departments were. Then I was shocked when I realized how invasive it all was. I had not thought about how many ads I consume on a regular basis. It was eye opening and educating to learn about "the clutter" that I was inhaling.

The video is narrated by a journalist named Douglas Rushkoff. He goes to various companies and media gurus to get to the bottom of the advertising world. It was fascinating for me to see the thinking that goes behind everything. I was captivated by Song airlines. Song, a low cost branch of Delta was created in order to compete airlines such as Jet Blue. Delta wanted a young, more hip version of its own self. Song would have different features from Delta:

• The offered organic, fresh meals.
• All the planes had a lime green theme.
• The airline featured singing flight attendants.

The only problem is that Delta has been losing money. So Song is a risk that Delta can not afford to have fail. The video showed meetings with designers and how detailed the process is. You never really sit down and think about how much thought goes into a commercial you've just seen or a magazine ad you glanced over. That was the most astonishing. In one scene they sit down with the co-creator for Kate Spade and pitches them a commercial idea for Song. Every single second is broken down and analyzed. Each frame of the commercial was plotted out.

A lot of the commercials they played in this video were still memorable to me. There was a specific Tide commercial that played which I remember loving so much years ago. It had a song with it and I would hum the song. When the commercial appeared within the video I didn't recognize it, but then the song started playing and I knew that I had experienced this commercial before. The documentary reveals that it was meant to appeal to African-Americans. It is scary to me how it worked.

Now that I am more educated I will definitely be mindful of how many ads I allow myself to intake and the way they affect me. Since watching the video I am more aware of techniques these advertisers use. The documentary referred to mass advertising as clutter. It is important to note that we have allowed them to also literally clutter our own lives.