Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Stephanie Faddis - Group 5 - Individual Blog Post
The Pepsi Max commercial featured does not really promote the actual product very well. It advertises the Pepsi product to men by putting it on a greater or equal level as sex, the selling point being that it is almost or as good as being with a woman. Most viewers, however, will probably take this lightly as a joke and are not convinced to buy Pepsi unless they know more about the taste of the product itself. Only a small fraction of people seemed to be offended by the depicted stereotypes of men and women in relationships, as seen in comments on the Youtube video here. Most people, though, maintain the claim that the man and woman in the video are a somewhat accurate representation of real life, but aren't necessarily swayed to purchase Pepsi Max because of this.
Individual Post Group 5
Many of the comments on the Youtube video were very angry with how the commercial was shown with the many stereotypes that were portrayed such as men only wanting sex and women being concerned with how the man is good to be a future partner. One comment went into a lot of depth about how they were bothered by the commercial and what it stood for. The person's father had directed Ford commercials and they knew from their father that they pay with people's "ignorance" as this person put it. In other words, people were taking this commercial way to seriously and were even having arguments in some points of the comment section. On the other side, there were many people that enjoyed the humor of this "typical" first date atmosphere. They would quote the commercial during the comedy parts before they bring in the product being advertised. These people did not take the commercial to be stereotypical of people or think that this is how all first dates go. If this is how all first dates were, no one would ever go on a first date with anyone. They know that this is not true about how first dates are and they just took the humor out of the situation which was probably the way it was just meant to be intended to be. Lastly, few people would just go to comment that the girl was hot in the advertisement.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Meet Meredith!- In-Class Public Writing/Blogger Workshop
ABOUT YPULSE
Ypulse Media has developed a unique platform for youth media and marketing professionals, producing an award-winning blog (Ypulse.com), a popular email newsletter (Ypulse Daily Update), a series of informative web-based briefing sessions and the annual Ypulse Youth Marketing Mashup Conference.
Driven by an editorial staff who are passionate about youth culture, Ypulse Media provides independent coverage of youth marketing and media for academic, agency, brand, cause and media organizations.
Ypulse.com is one of the top 100 marketing blogs on Ad Age's Power 150 List, and has been featured in several leading publications including USA Today, Business Week, Forbes and Fast Company.
ABOUT MEREDITH SIRES, Transitioning Editor-In-Chief, Ypulse.com
For Meredith, what began as a love of young adult fiction has grown into a full-fledged passion for the emerging field of new youth media. Along with her professional experience in publishing, she brings a deep, uniquely Millennial understanding of the digital landscape to the Ypulse team.
Under her editorial leadership, Ypulse.com has extensively expanded its coverage with exclusive interviews, firsthand youth perspectives and insightful commentary, among other valuable resources for youth media and marketing professionals. She has helped consult youth oriented brands and non-profits, including Best Buy, Target and DoSomething.org.
Prior to joining Ypulse, Meredith started her career as a junior associate at a New York-based book publishing consulting firm. It was there that she began researching the reading habits of teens and tweens and the potential for extending the reading experience online.
Meredith currently lives in Brooklyn, but she knows that she is a Californian at heart. She graduated from UC Berkeley with a BA in English in 2007, and plans on returning to the Bay Area… someday. Meredith has recently been accepted to graduate school to pursue a degree in Information and Library Science
Public Writing/Blog Workshop Activity 1
Pretend you’re Meredith, and that you’re looking for new contributors for Ypulse.com. Based on your exploration of the website, come up with a sample “call for submissions” and list of objectives (similar to the exercise we did for Commonplace) for Ypulse. Writing Analytically tools like the Method and Notice and Focus might be helpful in forming your analysis. What is important to the site, its writers, and its audience, and how can you communicate this to characterize its concerns?
Tips for Good Interviews
When formatting interview questions, be careful to type the way you would in informal communication. There should be no “LOLs” "I dunnos," but it should still read like a conversation. You need an artful balance.
Interview questions should be more open-ended. Yes/no questions will not get you far, and you will not be able to get the most out of your time with your interview subject. That said, do research on the person/company ahead of time so you do not ask questions you easily could have gotten the answer to yourself. Never make the interviewee feel as if they are wasting their time talking to you. Follow-up questions and clarifying questions are always a good idea.
Example of a good interview question: “Rachel, how did you get your start in magazine reporting?”
Good follow up/clarifying questions might include: “So, do you think your internship experiences or your college class work was more influential in getting your first job?”; “How did you go about actually finding that job?”; “Are there other helpful resources you would suggest for students who want to do more public writing?”
Except for certain situations (like investigative reporting, for example, which we aren’t dealing with in this class) make sure to not ever directly criticize yourself and definitely do not criticize the person you are interviewing. These are informative interviews, aimed to help you!
Speak clearly. HOLD EYE CONTACT—this is a way to show respect, and that you value your interviewee’s time. Do not fidget.
Meet The Editors of The Lantern- Public Writing/Blogger Workshop
ABOUT THE LANTERN
Via Wikipedia: The Lantern is the name of the student-published university newspaper at The Ohio State University. It is one of the largest campus newspapers in the United States.
The paper was chartered in 1881 and became an integral part of the School of Journalism in 1914. At one time in the past, with a circulation of 28,000 papers during the regular school year and readership of 75,000, it was the third largest college newspaper in the country. The Lantern is a laboratory paper that is put together daily by students in the newsroom of the Journalism Building. There are 14 paid editors who change after completion of three academic quarters. The business side of the newspaper is operated by 15 full time employees and 5-7 student Account Executives responsible for advertising sales.
Read information on The Lantern’s current Editor-in-Chief, Zack Meisel’s tenure here. In addition, read four articles from different sections of The Lantern’s homepage in order to get a sense of it’s concerns and ethos. What kind of tone do Zack and his writers maintain throughout the publication? What might be some of the specific challenges of writing for one of the largest student populations in the country? How does newspaper writing compare to other kinds of public writing we’ve read in this class?
Meet Devin! Public Writing/Blogger Workshop
ABOUT DEVIN TOMB
Devin Tomb is the editorial news assistant at Glamour magazine and a reporter for Ed2010.com. She has written for Glamour, CosmoGirl and The Los Angeles Times, among other publications.
Devin is primarily interested in writing news and feature stories about real women. In 2010, she traveled to China to report on the rising cosmetic surgery trend among women in Shanghai, and she regularly blogs for She's the First, a non-profit dedicated to supporting girls' education around the world, as its campaign developer.
Devin is a 2010 graduate of Penn State University, where she was the editor-in-chief of Valley, PSU's women's magazine, during her junior and senior year. She was the first editor-in-chief to put female student leaders on the cover, with the intention of inspiring underclassmen to become leaders in their own way.
Tomb’s most recent responsibilities for Glamour include writing their new fashion column, “Love Your Style,” and developing new content for their iPad app.
Read Devin’s articles from CosmoGirl, Glamour, and the LA Times. How are these articles connected in their style, or concerns? What questions do you have for Devin about how her college experience of public writing prepared her for an even larger sphere at Glamour, CosmoGirl, and O, The O Magazine? Do some research on these publications. Why might they have attracted Devin’s interest?
Meet Rachel!- Public Writing/Blogger Workshop
ABOUT RACHEL MOUNT
Rachel Mount is an assistant editor at O, the Oprah Magazine, where she explores her favorite things: food, wine, and environmental sustainability. Previously, she was the assistant to the coolest Editor-in-Chief in the biz, Susan Schulz at CosmoGirl.
Visit the following websites (from O Magazine and Rachel’s personal blog). All of these are food writing—but how does Rachel’s style vary by medium? How do you get a sense of her ethos, persona, and interests? Do some research on these publications.
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