Plastic water bottle overuse is a huge problem - for me personally, for Andrews corporately, and for the environment globally. A few statistics from care2.com:
This year more than 25 billion single use plastic water bottles will be sold in the United States alone.
More than 80 percent of those will end up being disposed of rather than being recycled (that’s 20 billion bottles added to a average landfill per year).
Over 1.5 million barrels of oil were used to make the plastic bottles consumed in the US last year–and that doesn’t include the petroleum used to transport them.
To put that in perspective, that’s enough petroleum to power 100,000 automobiles for a year.
Andrews University has embraced the "green culture" as an institutional idea - but fails pretty horribly on the water bottle front. As a student, the most convenient option to get good-quality water at the cafe is a plastic water bottle. The soft tap/fountain water in Berrien does not taste good; its a slimy, mineral taste--like you licked your mildewy, limey shower--and I've even heard rumors that the quality of the water is linked to health problems in the area.
So naturally, busy and intelligent students are drawn to the consistent taste and safe reputation of Dasani or Aquafina or, more recently, Deja Blue. However this creates a lot of unneeded waste. Water bottles are out the wazoo.
WHY AREN'T THEY DOING THAT??
I think a great project for the Andrews administration to undertake is a filtered water system with a strong promotional campaign.
(1) First, set up a soda fountain-like faucet that puts out FREE clean, good-tasting, filtered, safe water. Make sure it tastes good and that it's safe.
(2) Set up tables set up outside the cafe selling sustainable reusable water bottles. Hit it hard the first week. Sell water bottles for profit. $6-8/bottle. Make it clear the value students are saving by buying a reusable container (within 6-8 uses, reusable bottles pay for themselves).
(3) Advertise the program. I'm talking videos in chapel, forums for choices, and posters.
(4) Make the problem visible. Collect old plastic water bottles from students and make giant sculptures on campus that represent how many bottles we use. Make it a monetary issue. Alter the cafe program so that it rewards smart-spending and waste-reducing.
(5) Reframe the project for all plastic bottles--including sodas and juice. Get working soda fountains with reusable cups.
(6) Finally phase out plastic bottles. See how much money we save as an institution.
Normally when one uses the word "ritual," the first thoughts that come to me are those relating to cultural/religious/tribal custom; however, thinking about the actual meaning of it, I've began to realize the many rituals that I have for myself.
One ritual that I've kept since 3rd grade is writing in a journal. I always liked the idea of being able to refer back to my thoughts when I'm older. I used to write in my journal everyday, however that has changed...
I have continued to write in my journal throughout the years; however, my journal has changed in usage. For example, I used to just keep record of my day and what happened throughout my day in my elementary years. In middle school, I started to rant more about my feelings as equality as I wrote about what happened during the day. Later I started to write more about the key events of my days and more about my feelings and thoughts. By high school, my journal has become my escape--like a listener. I've learned to express my anger through writing instead of yelling or pushing my anger onto others near me. Especially during junior year/SAT season, I learned to write out my emotions. Through this, I became more analytical of myself. I've became more critical of myself and tried to figure out WHY I felt the way I did.
I feel that writing in my journal has become a beneficial way for me learn more about myself (as simple as it sounds....). It has also become a way for me to find my own space. Without my journal, I would probably be a little bit more different from who I am today.
"Food, glorious food!" as Oliver and the boys sang in the 1968 musical film directed by Carol Reed. Nurturing, comforting, pleasant, stimulating, . . . food is all these things, and more. Nothing engages our senses as food does; we see, smell, taste, touch, and hear food all the time, and on numerous occasions, food appeals to two, three, or all of our senses. Our relationship with food constitutes more than just a physical connection. On a deeper level, there exists an emotional and psychological connection that is hard to ignore or overcome for many people.
We need food in order to function and stay alive. According to Sharman Apt Russell, author of Hunger: An Unnatural History, "We were hardwired to eat and eat--and particularly eat fatty foods because we didn't get them often." It was a good thing to eat as much as possible when you weren't sure when and where you would get your next meal. But in an increasingly sedentary America, this is not necessarily the case. In a 2008 issue of Time Magazine featuring an article titled "The Science of Appetite," 67% of the U.S. population is either overweight or obese. "Nature never planned for what could happen," writer Jeffrey Kluger states, "when unchecked appetites were suddenly matched by unchecked resources." With the global population rising at an exponential rate and a finite supply of natural resources at our hands, the world will not be able to sustain our demands unless we practice more efficient farming methods, better environmental stewardship, and take control of our own appetite.
In agriculture, one of the most depleted nutrients in the soil is nitrogen, a key component that contributes immensely to a plant's growth. There are several methods to maintaining fertile soil. One method involves treating crops with manure, which is more eco-friendly than using nitrogen in manufactured fertilizers. Another method is using Rhizobium, a nitrogen fixing bacteria that can increase crop yields. Today, more and more farmers are practicing non-tillage farming (turning the soil over as little as possible), reducing erosion of the soil and the depletion of its nutrients when it is exposed to air. Many farmers also plant nitrogen-fixing legumes such as alfalfa then turn them over in the soil instead of harvesting them to replenish the ammonium and nitrate supply. This way, farmers can continue to plant crops in the same soil year after year. Genetically modified crops can dramatically increase crop yields by possessing characteristics that enable them to block harmful pathogens. However, many people object to the idea of genetically modified foods out of fear that they will cause allergic reactions or give rise to resistant weeds. Many of these methods are already being carried out throughout the U.S.
Practicing better farming techniques to produce enough food for the entire world is doable. But controlling our appetites is a different story. For one thing, eating is largely voluntary. Most of us can choose what and when we want to eat. For instance, Earth and all its inhabitants would be healthier if everyone was a vegetarian. But the choice to become vegetarian is very difficult for most people. We eat meat almost every day, sometimes every meal. It is also hard to reduce our food intake. We can't just suddenly stop eating meat or eating less, but if it was a gradual process maybe people would get used to the idea of no meat. When I came to Andrews, I didn't eat a lot of meat to begin with. But I started craving for it after only a few days. Even if I am vegetarian and eat veggie meat, the fact that I am eating veggie meat shows that I still want meat. Veggie meat is just a substitute for the real thing. The only way people can become vegetarian is by personal choice, or if the supply of meat suddenly disappeared from the face of the earth. Perhaps sustainable agriculture is our only hope.
7:30 pm verbal advertisement for food. (A bakesale at a play we went to.)
Sun. 11-22-09
11:30--3:30pm: adverts on T.V. very ineffective because I couldn't hear them and I wasn't actually actively watching the T.V. anyway.
7:30--10:00pm: Pandora. A few audio adverts for government announcements and Honda. Text ads on side.
11:30m--Facebook and MyLifeIsAverage.com: text ads on the sides. Totally ineffective.
On a more typical week, I watch more T.V. shows from Hulu.com which has frequent 30 second adverts. But I recall almost nothing about them. They have a few interactive ones, that I have an easier time remembering, however, not off the top of my head. I think I am much less exposed to advertisments of all kind than the typical American.
00:00-00:30 Last thirty minutes of Roland Emmerich's 2012. Background soundtrack music was probably subliminal. Almost convinced me that the world's going to end on my 23rd birthday. Go figure.
00:30-1:00 Drove home from theater. Listened to Tristen Prettyman, Chevelle, Third Eye Blind, Sanctus Real on the radio. Christmas music pervasive. Passed billboards. Checked gmail at home.
2:30-3:30 Watched Dirty Jobs on the Discovery Channel. 60-minute Comfort Bed ads came on - timing suggests that they want to persuade insomniacs to buy better beds. Changed to World Poker Tour. Saw commercials for Nutrisystem, Mythbusters, Budweiser, Bowflex.
5:50-6:10 Woke up early to get to airport. Watched a few bad ads on TV - one for local erotic dance lessons? NPR on radio en route to airport.
6:20-6:45 In airport. Passed print ads for vacation spots in Florida. Listened to iPod before/after security: Ingrid Michaelson, Coldplay, Damien Rice.
6:50-9:45 On Plane. Sky Mall magazine. Listened to iPod: Skillet, Linkin Park, RED. Watched the Office on laptop.
12:30-14:00 More music. Jason Mraz. Decemberists. Miles Davis.
19:00-21:00 Various net surfing, working on projects and such. Encountered a few minor internet ads - for the new movie, "The Blind Side," and weight-loss regimens...
Monday, 30 November 2009 10:50-11:30 Checked email/facebook/wikipedia in class. More internet ads. Netflix. Ford trucks. Seinfeld-themed t-shirts. Thinking: a Seinfeld t-shirt would probably be the coolest present ever.
16:50-19:30 Worked on graphic design projects - more music. Caught CNN in the cafeteria. Watched an episode of the office.
Over the years, I've adopted a Google-centric eschatology. We're all going to die. Probably painfully. And probably at the hands of a terrifying superbusiness that will grow into a beast of Revolution--with the face of a man with a mustache and a clean fast search engine tailored to your personality and individual pheromone scent*.
It will suck out all our innate natural knowledge and replace it with neatly-tagged, conveniently available information about reality. It is a grisly thing: a slim, trim, sleek steel giant with scales and muscles, powerful visible jugular veins--iron claws of death. It eats things. It is alive, like a sentinel invading the last human civilization, drilling through the elements of the earth with pure mechanistic rage.
I am convinced. Just say its name: Google!! Huzzah, behold the glorious!
The neatness! The simplicity! The power!
This is the way of things.
* * *
Google’s business model is similar to a lot of other web-based businesses—and that is advertising, advertising, advertising. Their product is you. They make money off of you. They sell you. They own you. After they have seduced you through the use of clean, organized information and colorful graphics, they bank that you will return: again, and again, and again. And they sell that certainty to executives and people with lots of money who want to see their name come up first: who want to see their DBA in the little “Sponsored Links” box. Face the reality, friends. Google has you in their steel palms; you are metaphorically encapsulated in little red sacs of amnion, powering their super-intelligent machines.
From Fast Company Magazine:
“Google understands that its two most important assets are the attention and trust of its users. If it takes too long to deliver results or an additional word of text on the home page is too distracting, Google risks losing people's attention. If the search results are lousy, or if they are compromised by advertising, it risks losing people's trust. Attention and trust are sacrosanct...The cardinal rule at Google is, If you can do something that will improve the user's experience, do it.”
“If enough users like it, it will have real power with advertisers. And traffic for advertisers will beget even more traffic for advertisers. Advertisers don't just pay a set rate, or even a cost per thousand viewers. They bid on the search term. The more an advertiser is willing to pay, the higher its ad will be positioned.”
But why all the fluff? Why take photos of every home in the country and make it free, widely available information? Why create a virtual map of the moon? Well, Google, I ask you: why did the machines make the Matrix? Why construct an over-elaborate, unnecessarily complex “prison for the mind”? The answer is seductively simple, of course: to keep our minds and spirits soaring, while they (Google) peddle our internet usage for cash. Oh, that, and they have a hidden agenda to totalitarianly control humanity. You know, just that.
Of course, everyone wants to be Google. Hey, I want to be Google. Web-businesses everywhere are following suit, if they dare. I personally think they are no match for the artful sexiness that emanates from Google's slack jowls. But you never know. Microsoft took a whack at it with bing.com. Gotta say I love the commercials, but the search engine, notsomuch, ggkthx. (By the way 1337-speak is making a (0m3b4(|{!)
Oh, but yeah... Microsoft tries everything once.
Zune? Fail.
I'm a PC? I'm sure you are.
Yeah, never mind. You will sooo never be Google, Microsoft. Back off!!
Ask Jeeves' dropped Jeeves somewhere along the roadside and now is just Ask.com. That's pretty sweet. Ask. Ask me something. Ask. It's imperative. For some reason, "Google" is just not imperative. "Ask" is a little threatening. Google is seemingly goofy and lighthearted. Goo. Like flubber. Goog. Googleplex. A google of geese. Sure, Ask cleaned up their site to look more like Google--but it still just isn't as awesome. Ask.com = fail.
* * *
How will Google's avant-garde approach to business change the face of commercialism forever? Well, I have some ideas:
Firstly, Google has been one of the strongest pushers of the online world as we know it. In the last decade, a commercial empire has risen from the tendrils and loins of "portal sites" such as Google...making otherwise nobody websites easily accessible with just a simple keyword. This means that the success of Google has impacted innumerable businesses with its gateways into the mainstream.
Secondly, email will never be the same. Gmail has kicked the crap out of its competitors. Sorry, Yahoo.
Thirdly, the notion of user-focused industry and colliquial, "we-are-people-too" approach has definitely filtered into other business models--and quite effectively. Just look at Wikipedia, or Facebook. These sites are entirely user-driven, and appear somewhat nice and kind. Much of their revenue is generated through advertisements. This is the Google business model hard at work.
* * *
When I think of the end of the world at the hands of Google, I’m reminded of Winston, when he is about to be executed, sitting before a poster of Big Brother and men with guns. Why did he, Winston, ever think to question the authority of that mustached master? Of course Winston loved Big Brother—just as we love Google. That clean interface. Those harmlessly humorous graphics. The more they give us, the more we are hooked—like Victory Gin, or cocaine. What right do we have to even think that Google could possibly have been the Antichrist! Aha! That’s right—you have no right!
Only we find ourselves warm and cozy, snug inside our ignorance, inside Bradbury’s parlor walls. Technicolor never felt so good.
"He gazed up at the enormous face. Forty years it had taken him to learn what kind of smile was hidden beneath the dark mustache. O cruel, needless misunderstanding! O stubborn, self-willed exile from the loving breast! Two gin-scented tears trickled down the sides of his nose. But it was all right, everything was all right, the struggle was finished. He had won the victory over himself. He loved Big Brother."
* * *
*Dear Google blog patrol, I promise that I love Google and have not committed thoughtcrime. This is just a passive-aggressive outlet for my late-teenage angst.
Dear classmates, if they come for me, I plead the first.
11/22 -Checked e-mail on Yahoo (30 min) -Facebook chatting (45 min) -TV in cafeteria (30-45 min): Subway commercial (sponsor for NFL on ESPN) -Commercial for new Toyota Prius ("Harmony between man, nature, and machine"; water droplets all over car=clean, natural look like dew on grass) -Progressive insurance commercial -Barbie ads (while working on project) -Youtube: Geico commercial, music videos (25 min)
11/23-24 -E-mail (Yahoo) (30 min) -Facebook (25 min) -Vanity Fair magazine: ads for various brands including Gucci, Burberry, Chanel, Prada, Tiffany & Co. -Watching TV while on airplane: movie trailer for Up, The Time Traveler's Wife, Geico commercial (money with eyes), some other commercials -Watched The Proposal and an episode of Reba (3 hrs)
Money cannot buy you everything. That is a reality that must be reckoned with. Money cannot buy me joy or peace. Those things depend on my attitude and surrendering to the will of God. It cannot buy me love, although it can be a sign that I love or am loved. It cannot buy me salvation. As a Christian, I believe that the Bible is true when God says "every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills" (Psalm 50:10). If anyone would have had enough money to save me, it would've been God. But nothing that belongs to Him is worth enough to pay for my salvation except the blood of His Son. Without sacrifice, there is no reconciliation. There had to be sweat, blood and tears on my behalf. That was the example we were given as Christians. That is the example I must follow.
If I die to self, if I offer up myself as a living sacrifice, God is able to use me to show the beauty of reconciliation between humanity and the Creator. There are many wonderful organizations that can do amazing things with my donations, but the donation of a living sacrifice will always go beyond the value of the dollar. All the money in the world would do no good to help the poor if there was not a human being to put that money to the right use. And when I serve, I am served. That is the perfection of the process: God asks me to go out on a limb for His glory and then He forms my character in that process so I can become more like Him. Even then I can only have the slightest understanding of Christianity when I give of myself and not just my money. It is a win-win situation when I serve in a direct way. Jesus knew there was the potential for many win-win situations upon walking this earth. Not only would the person He served be saved, but He would eventually be able to secure their company in Heaven with Him.
As a Christian, and having wrestled with the concept of the Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-20, I have come to the conclusion that my life is about service. In my junior year of college I responded to a call to go as a student missionary with the understanding that I should give God a year of my life. At least that is what I gathered from many of the appeals related to missions. In my time as a student missionary in Austria, I realized that the Great Commission never spoke about serving Jesus for one year of my life or even a few years of my choice. The gospel has always been about complete surrender from Adam to Armageddon. Abraham was asked to surrender the son of his promise while the woman at the well was asked to surrender her five previous lovers and her distorted perspective of love to drink from the Well that never runs dry.
Jesus is the best example of surrender I have experienced although He was perfect while on this earth. One might think that He had nothing He needed to surrender, but even Jesus “grew in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man.” He experienced character development while humbly working around the carpenter shop. His ministry was not primarily about giving money to causes because He had very little money and what He had was under Judas’ care. Even the money He paid for taxes to Caesar was taken out of a fish’s mouth. If someone needed healing, He did not give them money to go to a doctor because He was the highest rated Doctor in town. If Jesus is my example, then the playing field has been leveled out when I call myself a Christian. I am to give of myself and if I happen to have money, I can give of that, too. And perhaps I will be happier if I do, trusting that God will provide for me. What a joy it would be to find out in Heaven that someone there was saved because I served, not just with my money, but with all my means.
As I look at my notes, the major question you wanted us to answer about google is whether their philosophy and/or mission will, and if so how, affect our own consuming habits and that of America - what will our consumption look like in 10 years - less, more, same, different?
While some of their philosophy 10 commandments include "Focus on the user and all else will follow" and "you can make money without doing evil" are very nice, I don't see them effecting anything simply for the reason that I know of plenty of well-run, customer-oriented, moral companies and businesses, but I do not know that these companies have inspired any kind of huge reaction from America. Though I truly appreciate these little known facts about them, I don't see the world being inspired to be more moral or customer friendly - though when companies aren't it usually bites them in the behind, but only after many years of lucrative existence with frustrated customers and guilty consciences.
Each bullet point of their philosophy struck me differently, but two seemed to be quite connected and reflected a trend that Google will have to keep up with if they want to succeed. Though I love the two points made in the first paragraph and I'm sure there are creative, non-detrimental solutions to any problems that will come up when trying to stay ahead of the competition when trying to meet the growing demands of "fast is better than slow" and "you don't need to be at your desk to need an answer", I cannot imagine that Google will take these "good" solutions as their first option to this burgeoning problem in America. "You don't need to be at your desk to need an answer" is a mere reflection of the idea that "fast is better than slow" - since we as a society, as a country are so impatient and need everything right away - hence fast food, cell phones, e-mails, and the list goes on and on - we don't want to wait to go home or to work where a computer is in order to get instant knowledge, instead if we want to know how cotton is harvested in Chile where this shirt we want to buy was made, we just get out our blackberry and get the answer - instantly.
So how do I think this will affect America in the long run - well a generation is already coming up with no skills in planning or researching, just imagine what their children will be like. As my father likes to tell me when he doesn't let me go do things that have been planned last minute by my friends - "If you just have the skills of planning ahead you'll get any job you want with the competition your age". He's right, no one these days knows how to call a day before to say let's go to the movies tomorrow, or to look up on GOOGLE! the times that the movie is playing or how to find parking at the theater, and even then we're still using instant information! So in ten years America will be more chaotic then ever as people try to respond to last minute plans and with it stress levels increase. Buying will be more impulsive then ever, despite the instant information, because no one will stop to truly think and weigh the options, they won't have the time to. But who really knows, let's just hope in ten years we're in heaven!
Sunday I had to study for ochem/genetics basically the whole day. But the media I did experience:
Facebook Games (Mafia Wars, Bejeweled, Tetris) - about 3 hours Facebook in General - about 30 minutes Pandora Online Radio - 4 hours (no explicit advertising there, however) Hulu - 40 minutes, 2 minute Honda Advertisement in between the episode Tennis.com - 20 minutes Gmail - I got a lot of emails about sales this week
Monday This is the day I took all those crazy tests.
Media/Indirect advertising of products via influencing/persuading presentations Bejeweled on Facebook for about 3 hours Facebook videos - about 30 minutes Again, got emails about deals and steals at stores, which led me to check out their websites - 1 hour Saw New Moon (wonderful movie, by the way) - about 2 hours CNN.com - 1 hour
I realized that I am most exposed to the Media via internet. I don't watch any TV on an actual television, I don't really read magazines or newspapers, and I never look at billboards. If the average college student is anything like me, advertising companies should focus on advertising on the internet.
-After going to my 8:30 AM ochem class, I went on my laptop and checked my email. Afterwards, I listened to music while Facebooking and chatting with various friends. I saw some ads on Facebook.
-Before my 2:30PM genetics lab, I went on d2l to look over the lab handout.
-After my genetics lab, I went on YouTube to watch Korean dramas (hehe). I also saw some ads on YouTube.
Friday, 11/22/09
-I listened to music to and from class.
-I checked my email after my ochem class.
-I checked my Facebook in between all my classes.
-I listened to music on my way to a friend's house to bake pie
-I listened to Chris Tomlin on the way to vespers.
Modern advertising is rooted in Aristotelian rhetoric, and it is by applying a knowledge of Aristotle’s three principles of good rhetoric—logos (logic), ethos (credibility), and pathos (emotional appeal)—that we can be discerning viewers. Logos, the use of logic in an argument, is the core of what the advertiser is actually trying to say. Most commercial advertizing, however, whether it is in a magazine or on television, doesn’t focus on this aspect of rhetoric. In order for something to be eye-catching in the fast-paced modern world, it has to immediately appeal to our emotions. This is where most advertisers spend their time; they create a more appealing version of reality for their viewers, trying to convince them that whatever they are selling will make the viewer’s life better. The other main focus of advertisers is convincing their audience that their company has the viewer’s best interests in mind. They want the audience to believe that their product will allow the viewer to achieve a higher standard of living—either physically, spiritually, or intellectually. A good example of this skewed version of Aristotle’s rhetoric in the modern advertising world is with the Discovery Channel’s commercial “The World is Just Awesome.” The commercial uses primarily pathos and ethos, though not overtly, to establish a rapport with their viewers and attract people to watch their television programs.
The commercial begins with two astronauts floating in space, looking down at the earth. One says to the other, “It never gets old, huh?” There is nothing in the beginning of the commercial to denote that it belongs to a specific station. It’s just a couple of astronauts singing about what they love about the world. The message is of a general goodwill towards the earth. This commercial aired during the holiday season in 2008, when feelings of goodwill run high (most of the time).The commercial isn’t specifically about the holidays, though. It isn’t specifically “about” anything; the only words repeated in all of the three choruses are, “I love the whole world,” and “boomdeyada.” By not placing a logo or main characters from shows in the very beginning of the commercial, Discovery Channel tries to catch the viewer’s interest as to what this song will be about.
A few lines into the song, the camera cuts from the astronauts to one of the hosts of a show on the Discovery Channel. From there, it features many characters singing about what they love about the world—from the “Deadliest Catch” men to Bear Grylls. Not all of them are recognizable, but by using a few people from popular shows, the Discovery Channel inserts itself solidly into the commercial. Not all of the singers are hosts or main shows, however. There are scenes from concerts, cityscapes, deep-sea creatures, and African tribal dancers. These various scenes from around the world are an attempt to show the diversity of programming on the Discovery Channel, and are designed to pique a casual viewer’s interest about what other sort of programs the company offers. The placements of these scenes are strategically interspersed between major names on the programs to enhance the viewer’s interest in what the Discovery Channel airs.
Not only do they use characters from their shows and goodwill towards the earth to increase their credibility, the Discovery Channel borrows some of Stephen Hawking’s credibility as well. He appears late in the commercial, during a repeated chorus of “Boomdeyada,” speaking the word through his voice computer. Even if a viewer wasn’t watching during that part, Stephen Hawking’s voice is easily recognizable to most of the educated world. To someone who knows who Stephen Hawking is, this gives the Discovery Channel an air of sophistication and intelligence that might not be recognizable from a show like “Mythbusters.”
At the very end of the commercial, the camera cuts back to the astronauts, and one of them is spinning end over endwith his hands behind his head, in a very relaxed, contented position. The screen fades to black, and large white letters spelling out “The World is Just Awesome” flash across the screen. As they fade, the Discovery Channel logo is finally introduced, with a tiny version of the earth that was reflected in the astronauts’ helmets embedded in the “D.” Waiting to introduce themselves makes the Discovery Channel the last thing the viewer sees, and therefore more memorable. They present themselves as having made this commercial almost purely for the viewer’s enjoyment, and to create a feeling of affection for the earth.
The actual message of the commercial—watch the Discovery Channel—is nearly lost in the catchy tune and the euphoria induced by loving the whole world. At just over one minute, this is an extremely long commercial for television advertising. Its emotional power is not lost in its length, however; The first time I watched this commercial, I teared up. Though it was cut to a thirty-second version several months later, the commercial had amazing popularity. It still does, in fact. YouTube hosts over twenty uploads of the original commercial, some as new as one week old, along with hundreds of remakes and response videos that fans of the commercial have posted. The phenomenal popularity of this commercial continues even though it is no longer aired on television. By creating something that has lasting appeal to a wide range of audiences, the Discovery Channel has established its credibility and continues to attract viewers—the dream of every advertiser.
There is immense power in the art of persuasion-in the ability to influence a person's mindset or sway an individual's decision. For this reason, persuasion, and specifically advertisements, have a potentially negative connotation in our society. Indeed, the history of advertisement is often fraught with gray areas of ethical concern, spaces where knowledge of the human mind are exploited and utilized. It is no wonder that Christians seek to separate this potentially manipulative form of advertisement from the acts of persuasion utilized in conversion. Yet, are we constructing a foundationless division? Is it so unreasonable to find that the same mind-numbing tactics implemented to sell products are used to endorse a pursuit of salvation? In the Seventh-day Adventist Church evangelism has long been the key to unlocking the dilemma of successfully spreading the Adventist message to the world. Such a global goal of persuasion, no doubt, utilizes several unique tactics specialized for each nation, people, and country. In this realization, it would be naive to deny that the tactic of persuasive advertising, which has been so efficient in our society past and present, has not merged with Adventism's acts of influence. Considering that the success or failure of the church's global goal may depend on how well they are able to sell their product, how well they are able to market their message of hope, it is no wonder that there are many common practices between advertising and the evangelistic methods of the SDA Church.
Advertising used to be a way people let others know about relevant things, like events they could attend and products they could acquire to better their lives. Soon it became more of a science, and less of a public service. People advertised strictly to gain customers and earn a profit. As in the more traditional sciences, observations were made and theories were postulated. Now, to varying degrees of success, lots of methods are tested and many used widely.
Some of the methods most frequently employed by companies wishing to advertise are product placement, subliminal messaging, and rituals. Product placement is a relatively simple idea. People watch television shows and movies, so if various products are used in those shows and movies, people will see them. People may want to emulate their favorite characters by using the same products. Maybe most people haven't heard of a particular brand, and seeing it in a good movie or show introduces it to them in a positive light. Product placement can even be coupled with subliminal messaging. Perhaps people who see a product in passing on the screen will have the feeling they should have that product, but they can't remember why. That Coke can sitting on the bench might never be noticed by the average viewer, but suddenly everyone in the room goes to the fridge for some soda. Subliminal messaging can also be used independently of other means of advertising. Subtle images can be inserted in frequently-viewed locations. Auditory stimuli can be so soft that people absorb the messages without knowing from whence they came. Other somewhat subliminal messages deal with other senses. Simply smelling a pleasant scent can encourage people to go places and buy things. Smelling other familiar scents like lemon or pine can urge a person to clean something. Hopefully they'll need to purchase some cleaning products to do so. Smelling something baking, like cookies or bread, might make someone hungry enough to go down the the bakery and buy more food than they actually will use.
Rituals are not always seen as advertising tools, but they play a large role in why people buy things. Many people feel loyalty to one brand because they are used to buying it. They may remember that their parents used to purchase a particular brand, such as Tropicana. Perhaps long ago it really was the best brand of orange juice, and was the most cost effective. People now take these assumptions for granted. The color of the package may look so familiar, the scent of the product bring back so many memories, and the sound of opening the package remind the purchaser that they have the same product they've always had. Using a different product would be like not having something to fill that need at all. Rituals are similar to habits. If every time one goes to the store they always get the same brands, they will likely not inspect the other offerings. In some instances, this perceived lack of choice is comforting in today's fast-paced world.
The afore mentioned advertising techniques are not always 100% successful. In fact, some of these methods barely make an impact in people's choices. Product placement can be too distracting and cause feelings of displeasure, or the movie or show might distract people from the products. Subliminal messages are often so subtle that they are not received. Sensory inputs may encourage people to do things and buy things, but unless there is a very unique sense experience associated with a particular product, these common sensations may merely trigger desire for "something", not a particular brand of that "something". Rituals can last for a long time, but if someone eventually realizes that they buy an inferior product out of habit, they will most likely switch to something better.
These many types of advertising all start with some foundational decisions based on the product being promoted. Marketers must look at what they are selling, who would want it, and why they might choose it. One excellent way to market something is to identify a need for the target audience then convince the audience the product can provide for or relieve that need.
Yet how does this connect to the church? What message are Adventists attempting to sell and who is this message applicable to? Adventists are a community of believers grounded in the words and promises of Christ. Through study of the Holy Scriptures, Adventists seek to implement God's law, love, and promises into everyday life, paying special attention to the sanctity of the Sabbath and the promise of the Christ's second coming. In this religion, the Word encompasses all aspects of life, from diet to exercise to dress to social activities. Furthermore, evangelism is prominent at all levels of church life. Through analysis, one may agree that Adventists are determined to market the redemption, hope, and joy that comes with accepting Jesus Christ as a personal savior. This urgent and relevant message is intended for no single group but for all people across the globe. Furthermore, this type of message- one of hope and redemption and new life- is exactly what people stricken by the tragedy of sin are searching for. It is therefore the church's mission and fate, to bring these longings into the mind's consciousness as well as be available to provide support and instruction.
The fusion of advertisement and evangelism is becoming more evident. This should not come as much of a surprise. One can observe that both advertisement and evangelism identify a sort of need with the promise of fulfillment of that need. Both have "target audiences" or groups of people that they know they can reach, influence, or convince with the utilization of the right resources. Both advertisers and evangelists must also employ the appropriate form of advertisement to succeed.
This last step is extremely necessary, because the church's ambitious global mission requires persuasion in all types of nations and to all lifestyles. For this reason the Seventh-day Adventist Church has expertly implemented different types of outreach. For instance, amidst the informational black hole of third-world countries where the SDA message is not well known, awareness is key and is often accomplished through "hands on" direct missionary efforts. Whether such tactics involve going door-to door with the latest pamphlets or distributing Bibles throughout the community, direct teaching ministries work so well in those types of countries because people are much more receptive to the information. This acceptance has a lot to do with the nature of the information they are hearing. Not only is it a message of hope and salvation, of love and forgiveness but it a new message that they may have never heard before.
Yet, this shock factor is not as prevalent in first-world countries where many have heard similar messages and claims. These selfsame "missionary tactics" that may have baptized hundreds in a village in Niger may be met with resistance and contention on the hostile streets of a major city where a more indirect approach may be required. People are familiar with the general concept of Christianity to the point where they put up walls every time they sense someone trying to convince them to become a Christian, particularly their specific denominational flavor. Unlike activities of the missionary approach, indirect evangelism may have nothing to do with a typical conversion-fest, but can be purely recreational, all of this for the purpose of exposure. When implementing these tactics, the hope is that the receiver will be less wary and more open to the beliefs of the individuals they have spent time with.
The best example of direct evangelism is Adventist media, the combination of television, radio, internet, and print materials used to disseminate the Adventist message. Because of the circumstances surrounding the development of the Seventh-day Adventist movement, the church has always jumped at new ways to share its perspectives. However, quick uptake does not mean a medium is well utilized. The development of the new interactive approach to the internet through social networking (Web 2.0) does not seem to have affected official Adventist institutions to the same degree it has influenced business and government. The Adventist Church has also been slow to embrace targeted marketing methods, tailoring a message to appeal to the particular audience being addressed. Product placement is yet another method that is underutilized by the church, though a religious implementation is admittedly difficult.
In many instances, these delays in the uptake of a new evangelistic medium may be related to controversy within the church on the appropriateness or ethical concerns of the approach. However, such a bureaucratic delay can often have positive results. It gives other groups, like businesses, time to fine tune the application. Thus, when (and if) the medium is used by Adventists, it has been well tested and is put to use effectively.
But, Adventist media are not always used in direct ministry. One of the ways the Adventist church markets itself indirectly to non-Adventists is by extolling benefits of various lifestyle choices which often happen to be part of Adventist beliefs. The Adventist health message has long been a selling point of the church. Most people want to be more healthy so they feel and function better. For this reason, Adventists offer the "solution" to the problem of poor health. People begin to learn about what foods are good and bad for them, as well as other health tips. Meanwhile, they are slowly exposed to wonderful Adventist people and other doctrines in a non-invasive fashion. They become more and more comfortable with Adventists and see that at least some of what they're "selling" really works. This makes people more open to accepting other, more Christ-centered beliefs and practices.
Another common method of getting people more comfortable with Adventists and their beliefs is inviting the general public to fun events sponsored by the church. When the community sees that this particular group really cares about others and does fun things, they are more likely to go to various church functions. This favorable exposure helps to bypass the reflex reaction to barricade one's self when in the presence of religious people. Gradually people will go to more religious events, like the Sabbath church service, and have open minds to the message presented there. In fact, this creation of religious rituals can serve the church well if the affected individuals become members.
Many of the Church's outreach programs contain elements of both direct and indirect evangelism. The best example of this fusion is likely Adventist education. Adventist Education appeals to people indirectly by providing a solid educational experience. Thus, the church presents itself as a community force for good. More directly, Christian beliefs in general and Adventist beliefs in particular are presented within the curriculum. This is part of the Adventist belief in educating the "whole person" which includes spiritual, intellectual, and physical components (Adventist). As students advance through this curriculum they are continually exposed to these materials. However, only when students are judged to be "old enough to make the decision consciously and responsibly" may they be baptized into the Adventist faith (Adventist). This limit stems from the deep commitment the Seventh-day Adventist Church professes to religious freedom and tolerance. The Adventist Education system provides an effective evangelistic ministry by focusing on children. The decision-making power of children within a household is utilized by many advertising industries, most notably cereal companies. At the very least, any child within an SDA school will be exposed to the Adventist message and so influence others as they grow up. In the best cases, the child's presence may lead to the conversion of an entire family or two. Students are encouraged to bring their friends and family with them to church or Sabbath School. Such an invitation to a friend in another school may bring that child's parents into direct contact with the Adventist message, opening the door to future evangelism. As students grow older, the possibility of their entrance into the church through baptism becomes more likely too, thereby directly adding new members to the church.
Evangelism also includes many psychological elements. Ellen White herself says "In order to lead souls to Jesus there must be. . . a study of the human mind." (White 67). One evangelistic technique which especially relies on the psychological state of the target is making the choice for Christ. This event often occurs in the context of an altar call or appeal. While the church believes this final decision should always be about the individual responding to the prompts of the Holy Spirit, there are still many advertising factors that go into a successful altar call. The three most important factors are temporal placement, emotional context, and the psychological nature of the call. The temporal placement of the call affects its effectiveness. Altar calls are generally one of the last features of a service for a reason. As discussed above, the speaker must identify a need in the audience then explain how Jesus Christ can satisfy that need. Only once the groundwork has been laid can the appeal for a commitment mean anything. Analogously, the appeal to buy a product in an infomercial on TV comes only after the demonstrations and testimonies of satisfied customers. Another temporal factor is the need to "finalize the sale". Due to the emotional nature of most altar calls, to be effective a speaker should crystallize the participants' decision with a timely follow-up session. Such follow-up may be prayer, Bible study, a personal visit or some combination of these options. Follow-up should be done before the power of the appeal wears off and rational skepticism takes the place of emotional commitment. If not timely addressed, repeated altar calls can cause programmed non-response, a condition where a subject learns to ignore a particular persuasion method due to its frequent use followed by no satisfying conclusion. Such programmed non-response can make this potential evangelistic method ineffective. A similar situation occurs when people go shopping. Stores want to finalize the sale and crystallize commitment before consumers experience doubts or analyze their purchasing decisions more rationally. Just as important as the temporal location of an altar call is the emotional context within which it is presented. This context is based on both environmental and psychological factors. One major environmental factor is the presence of music during the appeal. In some ways, this music is analogous to that played in stores and malls when people go shopping. It is subtle enough to be secondary to the major messages presented and is thus mainly processed by the subconscious. However, this subliminal link to the subconscious gives the music a powerful role in creating the emotional context of the situation. In stores, music serves to encourage purchasing, discourage theft, and influence decision-making (Lindstorm cites an example of a correlation between the ethnic flavor of music played in the wine section of a supermarket and increased sales of the corresponding cultural variety of wine, 158).
In the church, music is used during an appeal mostly to relax individuals and stimulate their emotions. The music will typically be a soft, simple, religious song played on a single instrument. The lowered intensity and simplicity serve to maintain the secondary status of (and corresponding, primarily subliminal response to) the song. The religious nature of the song prevents cognitive dissonance that could arise from playing a pop song in a church setting as well as focusing the audience on God and the decision for Him being sought by the speaker. In addition to music, other environmental factors affect the individual's emotional context during an appeal. The location where the service is being held, whether outside or inside, can be important. If the service is outside, weather effects like wind, rain, and temperature, though not under the direct control of the speaker, can influence a person's emotional state. If the service is indoors, any decorations within the building affect the emotional context of the audience. Paintings, windows, statues, flowers, candles, scents and incense can all be used to create a relaxed mood suitable for the occasion. The elements that contribute to the experiential aspect of religion are gaining more attention in recent years and are becoming more commonplace. Interestingly, these factors are being considered more closely within the secular marketplace as well. While the emotional context of an altar call sets the background for an individual's decision, the psychological nature of the appeal is the main method of persuasion used by the speaker. There are a few techniques that are commonly used by speakers to psychologically influence the audience. For example, a speaker may hint or out-rightly state that there will be an appeal at the end of the message. This serves to prepare those who may want to come up. However, it could activate the programmed non-response in other individuals and serve to turn them off to the message. Conversely, an alternate strategy is to surprise the audience with an appeal "on the whim of the Spirit". This strategy can by-pass programmed non-response with the spontaneity of the request, yet may still exclude those who desire more structure. When asking for individuals to come up to the front, the speaker will often tell them not to worry about what anyone else is doing. Such a statement can have two effects. It may truly convince some people to get up heedless of what their friends or family may think. However, it may cause some to observe more carefully what other people are doing and base their decision more on that fact. Humans are very social creatures. As Lindstorm mentions in his discussion on mirror neurons, we enjoy imitating other people (53-67). In fact, after the first few brave souls have made their way to the front for others to see, when the pastor repeats his call (a key advertising technique in itself) more people are likely to imitate those up front and come up. In fact, if the appeal is very strong, it is possible to reach a critical mass at the front which pulls the majority of those left in their seats to join those at the front. Another example of such behavior can be the development of a standing ovation after a performance. If the performance didn't immediately elicit a standing ovation, one may develop as more and more people begin to stand as they clap. Eventually, a critical number is reached when the majority of individual stand up to applaud.
Taking advantage of mirror neurons and people's desire to imitate others is a commonly used advertising technique which evangelism shares. In fact, evangelism necessarily parallels various methods of advertising. It is the church's mission to try and help as many people as possible find the salvation associated with following Christ. To this end, the church makes people aware of itself and extols the virtues of being a part of it. Christ called his disciples to preach to all nations, but just standing on a corner talking to the wind is not very effective. For this reason the church sponsors a variety of outreach events as varied as sending missionaries to foreign lands, broadcasting television programs, and inviting the community to wellness fairs and concerts. However, drawing the line between advertising, evangelism, and the ethical concerns related to each will become harder as the three issues continue to draw closer.
Works Cited
Adventist Education. 2009. Web. 23 Nov. 2009. .
Finley, Mark. Persuasion: How to Help People Decide for Jesus. Revised ed. Ministerial Association: General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.
Print.
Lindström, Martin. Buyology: Truth and Lies About Why We Buy. New York: Currency Doubleday, 2008. Print.
White, Ellen G. Testimonies for the Church. Vol. 4. Mountain View: Pacific Association. Print.
Saturday the 21st I went to Chicago sabbath morning so in the city I saw several billboards In the evening I checked my facebook and I saw random ads at the side of the page When we were driving back from Chicago I saw,again, some billboards
Sunday the 22nd While I was having breakfast at the cafe I was watching the news, so I saw different commercials during that time Also I went to Benton Harbor so I listened to several commercial on the radio
I was studying most part of Sunday so I did not see that many media ads
11/18: I began my day and got onto facebook at 7:55 am before class. I went to class and then I came back to the room at 11:30. At that time I checked itunes and checked my twitter and facebook from 11:43 to 11:50. I went to class and then I didnt get back onto the internet until 10:09 and checked Yahoo, facebook, and twitter.
11/19: I got up around 8 am and checked my media outlets around 8:30 am until 8:37, specifically facebook and twitter. I went to class and checked it again at 10:45 and went on yahoo and my andrews account. At 12:02 I googled something for a class project due the following day and then at 2:59 I got onto facebook again. I was busy the rest of the day until it ended at 11:46 when I checked facebook, twitter, yahoo, and my Andrews account.
11:14 am - Before heading to the Pre-med forum, I listened to music on iTunes while I checked my Hotmail account. 1:49 pm - Again, before heading to my last class of the day, I listened to iTunes music while I checked my e-mail. 1:51 pm - I searched for something on Google. 5:35 pm - Yet again, I listen to music while I check my e-mail. 6:09 pm - I go on Facebook before getting dinner.
For the rest of the night, I'm either oustide of my room, hanging out with friends, or inside my room studying for a Bio quiz.
Friday 11/20
10:57 am - I went on the Foundations of Biology website. 1:15 pm - I used my phone to go on Facebook as I waited for friends to finish the Bio quiz. 3:30 pm - We went to the mall. On our way there, we must have passed many billboards, but we didn't pay attention to them. And when we were in the mall, we were bombarded with media, most of which, again, we barely noticed--music playing in the background of the stores we visited, advertisements for sales in the store windows, etc. 5:30 pm - I played Gospel/Contemporary Christian songs as we drove back to campus.
Saturday 11/21
I didn't encounter a lot of media during the Sabbath. Throughout Friday night and Saturday, I played Gospel music on my iTunes. I did go on Facebook some time in the afternoon though.
November 21, 2009. Saw ads all over the Internet, mostly for indie clothing sites and that one really annoying game (Evony?). Later, I saw a bunch of propaganda for the Adventist church (please don't burn me at the stake for calling it "propaganda"). Didn't have to deal with much advertising until that night, when I went to IHOP in Benton Harbor. Then there were signs and advertisements EVERYWHERE!!! Lots of billboards for McDonald's and Bob Evans and the Halloween Store and the Lion's Den (*embarrassed face*). That was actually about the only media that I came in contact with on the 21st, thank goodness.
November 22, 2009. Again, this morning, I ran into a lot of Internet ads, for example, the really annoying sidebar ads on Facebook for Lord of the Rings online, "Sorority Life," and Roosevelt University (and many more which I didn't actually bother to read). Also, since I'm working on my Influencing and Persuading project, I've watched about 12 different Burger King commercials (and now I REALLY want some fries...). Later today, I watched some TV with my roommate and saw commercials for Tresseme shampoo, Snuggies (really! Snuggies!), and a trailer for Avatar.
Truth be told, I don't actually come in contact with that many advertisements--probably fewer than the average American does.
After my first class on Friday Morning, I went on the computer and listened to music on my itunes. I checked my email and facebook.
During my second class I webcamed/went on ichat with someone that was actually in that same class...
After that class I showed my friend how to download songs. I also joined another media/blogging program called tumblr.
Friday afternoon consisted with the most media influencing. I went to the mall, during which I listened to music. Walking around the mall, I cannot remember every advertisement I encountered but many included commercials from the TVs/bulletins/signs: most of which included sales.
Saturday 21st
Being away from the computer for most of this day really took away much of the media. In the evening, I went to the Andrews Orchestral concert. Afterwards, I went to the movies; the place was filled with advertisements and life-sized posters.
Wednesday, November 18,2009: Watched news while eating breakfast and saw commercials between news reports. Checked facebook, saw ads on the side columns. Yahoo! mail had ads for checking one's credit score, rich dad education, and auto insurance. Watched Psych episode with commercials. Searched Google for statistics information and saw related ads on sidebar.
Thursday, November 19, 2009: Watched news with commercials while eating breakfast. Checked facebook and saw ads on the side. Checked Yahoo! and saw news stories about various celebrities. Saw Google ads related to chemistry.
*This media log is rather limited due to the amount of time spent studying for various tests and completing assignments due the week prior to Thanksgiving break. A typical week would include more interaction with media.*
On Wednesday, I didn't interact with media until 4:30 pm. On my way to my job I plugged in my Zune and listened to music. I continued to listen to music when I didn't have a client. At 7:15 pm I began surfing the internet and checking my email. I also started watching Friends and then the season finale of America's Next Top Model.
On Thursday, I began checking my email around 2:30 pm. After I checked my email, I continued typing a story on Googel Documents, I did that for about 2 hours. After that, I went to my room and began watching YouTube and surfing the wec while typing my paper for Materialism and Idealism. Then after that I watched three episodes of "Sex and the City" online. Then, I went to sleep.
I was recently reading an article that was submitted to the school news paper. In this article, the student suggested that Andrews provide a driving service to students. As I read and thought about this idea I began to think that that would be pretty clever.
Andrews is in the middle of no where. There is downtown Berrien Springs, but it only has a few stores that doesn't really cater to the needs of Andrews' students. There are many international students who reside in different places all over the world. Many of them cannot get cars, or it would be too expensive. The closest shopping area that has stores like Walmart, Target, and BestBuy are located 15 minutes away in Benton Harbor. The closest good shopping mall that has many popular stores and the closest good restaurants are located 30 minutes away in South Bend, Indiana. It is very difficult for students to travel and get the basic necessities at a good price.
If the school provided weekly transportation to certain areas it would help the environment, the school and the students. I think it would help the environment because if a service was provided then I think a lot of people who owned cars would not drive, because they could save gas and relax while they travel with friends to the mall or where ever they are going. It would help the school because they could make money off these services. If they charge students $5 going and coming, then they would make a good profit and they would provide more jobs. It would help the students get the things they need.
An event in which food was somewhat spiritual and meant something to me was over Christmas time. During that time I get to see family I haven’t seen in a while and people have time to just relax and spend time together. One Christmas my extended family from England came over and the dinner we had was wonderful. As I looked around the table, all I could see were the people I loved and I was so glad that they were all there and that I could spend some time with them. The food seemed tasted exceptional and it was just so much better heating it with my family. I thought this to be a time in which food really meant something to me as to the spiritual aspect, I was grateful for the food and it did seem like I was viewing/ having a piece of paradise. I really enjoyed myself and the memory stayed with me. I think that it’s so important to spend time with family and I was glad that my family was alive and well. I enjoyed that Christmas very much and it still brings a smile to my face when I remember that day.
When I was a kid I could not go to sleep without my dad having tucked me in first. I would get in bed after hugging and kissing my family and wait for him to arrive to do the task. I could not fall asleep until it was done and he understood this . So he would swiftly appear and tuck in my sheets and fluff up my pillows. Often times he would tuck in my sheets so tight that I could not move, but that was how I liked. Once he was done he would give me a kiss goodnight an turn off my light, leaving my door just wide enough so I could see a sliver of light from the hall. It was a ritual of many years, one (I must admit) I recently grew out of. I think back upon it now and I can’t help but wonder its importance. My father tucking me in was not the essential key to my sleeping, it was the mere fact that I had created a world where his tucking me in was the key. It was a ritual that made me feel comfortable, together, safe and at home. While I was growing a and experiencing new things around me in school and my community, this was a ritual that kept me sane and comfortable. I believe that is where rituals do their part. They help one feel as though they are in control, and consequently this makes them more comfortable with life. Now today I have other rituals that make me feel better about life. All of them helping me to feel in control.
Thanksgiving is coming soon and my job is to think of some new recipes for our traditional Thanksgiving dinner. I wanted to make a bundt cake and not having a recipe book so I had to find one somewhere. So what did I do? I Googled it. Although Google is just a search engine, it has become so efficient at what it does that we have begun to use its very name as a verb. So I type in the name “ bundt cake,” and a list of websites with various bundt cake recipes. There was much more than I could find in a recipe book. I find an Amaretto Bundt cake recipe and I am on my way
Google has created the ultimate search engine. Many people are dependent on it for all information. I probably use Google 10 to 20 times a day just to get information about the world. Anything I need to know the answer is there. Yet you wonder where Google makes their money. The same way most companies do, through advertising. However, many might ask where are the ads? There are no bright pop ups, No dancing people on the side saying they got a free credit report, no flashing banner advertising a free laptop. Instead there is a small column on the right site of the page with advertisements for companies that offer products or services related to your search. Often times those ads can be just as important to your search as the websites that initially come up.
When searching for my bundt cake recipe ads come up for bundt cake pans from HSN, or bundt cake mixes from Target; all things I could use to help me make a cake. Google has even started advertising like this in their email program. When I open an email Google uses key words to link ads to. An email about student government will bring up government ads and student government help sites. Googles ads have turned out to be more helpful than an annoyance.
It is in Google’s list of ten things they know to be true where one can find their philosophy on advertising. Number six of their ten things is a statement that I think evokes the very virtue of Google, “You can make money without doing evil.” With this very statement we can see the goal of Google. They want to produce advertising that is not intrusive. They accomplish it effectively and in the process persuade us to purchase things that are beneficial to our lives at the time. I think that is the way that advertising should be. It should not blast things in our faces that are irrelevant to what we are doing at the time. Advertising should capitalize on what we as consumers are actually looking for and I think that Google has accomplished that aim.
Growing up, cleaning our house was a ritual that our family did every Friday afternoon. We would clean the house in preparation for the Sabbath. My brother would always vacuum the entire house, I would scrub the bathrooms, my mom would clean the kitchen & cook dinner, my dad would clean his study, and we would all clean our own rooms. Although starting the cleaning process was always a drag (it took forever for me and my brother to get off our beds and start cleaning) but once we actually started, we would all do our best to clean and make the house look presentable for Sabbath and anybody who might come over. Being the pastor's family, we often had visitors come over to talk to my parents, so imagine how embarrassing it would be to have them come into a messy house. To make sure that it would never happen, my parents always stressed that we pick up after ourselves and if we didn't, to at least clean every Friday afternoon. After the whole cleaning process, it was a great feeling because everything felt so clean and fresh.
Although this particular ritual probably will not help me overcome the influences of the world, other rituals can. The status quo in this world changes often and rituals could help us in not falling into manipulation because the rituals that we do become habitual. We may end up overcoming these status quo without even realizing it because we sometimes don't even realize our habits that are different to the status quo. I don't really know if this is a good thing or a bad thing...
Something about Google's philosophy that caught my attention is their policy on always trying to serve the users and focusing only on that. The corporation believes that if they've focused on providing the best user experience possible, this will make the perfect search engine. Rather than pursuing after their own personal interests and goals, they make sure that everything they do serves you and the other users. You can see this philosophy in many other corporations and advertisements. Everything consumeristic shouts out: "We're here to serve you!" "Made just for you." And if things aren't going well, they don't change their products based on their preferences, but rather, they try to figure out why the consumers aren't liking it and try to change the products based on the consumers' preferences. After all, why care about your pride of preferences when the pride of your finances are on the line? I took AP Government in my senior year of high school and I learned a lot about how politicians campaign and the majority of their slogans are something to deal with how they're going to change the people's lives for the better. It's never "Oh, when I'm president I will do such and such because that'll make me earn a lot of money and that'll get me fame and popularity, etc." Every corporation has to come off being selfless and focused on the consumer because that is what sells. For example, since people these days seem so busy and never have enough time to do anything, Google is considerate and makes the search engine to be extremely fast and efficient. Since people sometimes need information at the most random time and place, Google has become incredibly mobile. Google's philosophy will allow more consumers to be more dependent on GOogle's search engine because it is apparently served entirely for the purposes of the consumer.
How can I use rituals to be positive and overcome the influences of the world?
I believe that to overcome the influences of the world and to live positively you must make everyday rituals to be able to accomplish this goal. By creating rituals that will help you be healthier, spend less money, or making your community and world a better place to live. By implementing everyday rituals to do these things, they become second nature and we can find ourselves making better decisions almost subconsciously. The more you do positive actions and decisions that easier they become.
An example of this would be ritually waking up in the morning ready to focus on the positive. With each new day, focusing on the positive will become easier and easier, getting started is the hard part - since to begin with it is already easy to wake up cranky and grouchy.
Things like making working out a ritual instead of watching tv - eating salads instead of donuts and smiling instead of frowning. I believe that the little rituals are what really help you overcome the influences of the world. I find that the big rituals, such as your christmas celebration or other holidays only hold the world at bay for a short period of time, while the "holiday spirit" is fresh. When that wears off, the world is there waiting.
But with day-to-day rituals we can overcome the influence of the world, if not completely at least giving it perspective.
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Citizens Needed!
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Are you *tired* of being stuck in the same old routine, living your life in
the constant *hustle* and *bustle* of the city?
Are you a country boy who want...
13 years ago
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Reading Schedule
Week of: 11/8 - Schor
Week of: 11/15 - Schor
Week of: 11/22 (no class on 11/23) Discuss projects
Andrews University has embraced the "green culture" as an institutional idea - but fails pretty horribly on the water bottle front. As a student, the most convenient option to get good-quality water at the cafe is a plastic water bottle. The soft tap/fountain water in Berrien does not taste good; its a slimy, mineral taste--like you licked your mildewy, limey shower--and I've even heard rumors that the quality of the water is linked to health problems in the area.
