#I hate the anti-vax movement with so much passion; but I understand the logic of it and how irrefutable that logic can be

[the-trans-dragon]

I found a documentary series with an episode titled “The Next Pandemic” from November 7, 2019.

Pre-covid.

Really bonkers to watch. Various professions talk about their biggest concerns and priorities. Bill Gates gives his opinions a couple times.

I’m going to bed 💜

#the show is called Explained. on Netflix #I don’t really wanna advertise for Netflix so… idk. #that kinda broke my brain. I’m halfway howling in anguish and ranting in frustration—and halfway utterly speechless #what is there to say? ‘wow I wish anti-vaxxers let us utilize our technology.’ #did it occur to anyone to put funding into public education? did anyone worry about the way capitalism doesn’t allow us to trust products? #did anyone think all their hard work would be useless because people didn’t believe in the plague? #I hate the anti-vax movement with so much passion; but I understand the logic of it and how irrefutable that logic can be #some of it is just nonsense conspiracy theory but some of it is legitimate fear. we are suffocated with advertisements. ‘you need this!’ #‘buy this blender or you’ll never be healthy!’ ‘buy this purse or you’ll never have friends!’ ‘use our shampoo or you’ll kill the planet!’ #‘buy our pain meds because they’re safer!’ ‘use these bandaids or you’ll get infections!’ ‘wear these shoes to prevent permensnt foot damage #‘get this vaccine or you might get sick!’ like… #something something automimicry. something something boy who cried wolf. #99% of the time it IS a scam when someone tells you that you need something. and how do you establish trust in a society like that? #I know the data and I know how vaccines work and I know the risks because I’ve studied it extensively #but I haven’t studied cars at all. and if a mechanic said ‘buy this or your car will explode’ I don’t think I’d take his word for it. #sigh… okay bed time for real now. #sorenhoots

[bisexualhobi]

am i the only one who doesn't get why bts do all of this with the UN? i understand they are huge worldwide so they can spread awareness but the things they say are usually so broad that it's a miss for me :/ if you compare it to other youth leaders f.e malala she had her own experiences that people related to, some more than others of course but girls definitely take inspiration from her. whereas bts are millionaire singers that only their fans follow and most of them recite a formuleic speech they read on stan twt? i am glad they spoke about vaccination though since i have seen anti-vax, anti-mask, republican armys on twt 🤐 but i find them very ??? as "youth leaders" because any of the things they have done at the UN, they hadn't extensively talked about/campaigned for before, if that makes sense. and before people come for me and say they do donations in private, i think they should do the most they can publicly so they can really "inspire" and influence people with the power and audience they have (like the blm donation that armys matched, although i understand people can be iffy about that given the context and the sample situation). it's obviously deeper than this because they got invited and went with the president, but to me it seems like they do these things to cross them off a list and never bring it up again so to sum it up it's disappointing that they don't seem passionate about the campaigns they are the face of. i love the boys though! it's not hate against them, just "criticism" i guess, my own personal opinion i wanted to share.

this requires a much more nuanced and broader explanation than what I can come up with rn but like. it boils down to kpop is a political tool of soft power. that's what it is. it blew up beyond the govt expectations with bts so the logical next step for a soft power strategy is to take the faces of that movement and apply them as mouthpieces for the message that South Korea wants to send across.

I think there could be way worse things for bts to do than make a mindless self love campaign with the UN (and I'm calling it mindless not bc of the message but bc UN campaigns are 95% of the time symbolic with little value or agency in the real scheme of things) so like yes ofc they're not Malala yousafzai but they're still prominent celebrities with a hugely dedicated fanbase so whatever they do needs to be as harmless and generic as possible. the baseline is loving yourself. there's literally no politics or nuance attached to that - across both sides of the political aisle encouraging the youth to love themselves sits more or less in the same level as puppies and babies. it's perfect for them and for South Korea

#asks

[theenthusiasticblogger]

BLOG

Alex’s Enthusiastic Blogging  Peer Profile

Who are you?

Hi I am Nik and am currently studying Prof Comm at RMIT.

Why are you here?

I chose prof comm because it was the only subject that combines the various disciplines of communication into one course. It will allow me to choose and experience which aspects of communication I want to pursue in the future. Right now I am most interested in the advertising and marketing aspect of prof comm. I have no experience yet, however I hope to get into a couple internships over the summer.

What are your expectations for the course?

Well, I think that it will help me narrow the type of communication I want to pursue as a career. I am preparing to go into advertising as a major for year two, so I am hoping that it will be exciting and will help me learn lots.

What sort of career do you imagine?

I want to be head of marketing or advertising for a fashion brand.

What is something unique about you?

I hate Guzman Y Gomez for no reason. I have over 2000 hours on League of Legends. 

Power of Belief

‘The Power of Belief’ is an interesting reflection on how humans can achieve success. Eduardo cites Waitzkan who was a successful chess player who turned from that to martial arts, he highlights that what allowed such a dramatic change and success in such a ne medium was that he did not feel “special” or like “a prodigy” which let him be fresh in the face of a new challenge to master. In my opinion I believe that while humility is good, having a strong mental perception of yourself is integral to achieving your goals, especially in the face of adversity. In David Ly’s article “Tips on how to use your ego” he outlines how people can use their ego to face fears. Thus while you should still be open and accept criticisms it is often self doubt that results in someone failing, rather than a hubris. Eduardo explores the idea of a growth mindset and a fixed mindset. While he highlights the clear differences between these concepts, he fails to understand that a dualistic perception of a mind is not useful as a blanket concept on all humans will never work. However if you combine these concepts into a more well rounded ideology I believe it will result in a greater success rate. Eduardo goes on to explain that providing praise to kids will only make them fearful of challenges. Personally I find this completely wrong, in my experience validation makes me want to keep the same level of success and results in me trying harder. In an article written in the Australian Parenting Website, it is stated that giving “praise to kids” will “nurture self-esteem”. Thus while I agree with some points from Eduardo’s lecture, largely I believe his ideas are flaws as they are monolithic in nature and in applicable to each person.

The Future of Media and Communication 

The rapid emergence of social media has allowed for people to develop an online brand. If you use social media you have a brand whether you know of it or not. By creating a profile, letting people know your likes, letting people into your “personality” through music tastes and photos, you are painting a picture. In an article written by Katarzyna Szymielewicz she describes this picture as a “caricature” which envelops one's identity on the online realm. While it may see incredibly superficialI I for one enjoy the fact that I can “curate an identity”. However there are inherent risks with this, one being you are not really that person (as much as you would like to be) and people expect you to act the way your online persona does. People who use social media and their brand as a way to create a monetary source must consistently uphold a fake profile online and in real life. This can only lead to issues to mental health with the need to be someone you are not. In an article written by Mark Millian he highlights that online personas are rarely matched in real life. He also explores the psychology behind validation online through likes and followers. All of his findings exemplify how people often have to lives, one offline and one online, and often this can lead to people becoming incredibly self-conscious that they adhere to their own online creation. 

Josh Stearns Projects 

“How Black Lives Matter Uses Social Media to Fight the Power” is an article written by Bijan Stephen which attempts to highlight the way social justice movements, particularly the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement which has sprung from the recent injustices committed by white police officers, have utilised communication throughout the years. In contrast “Greenland is Melting Away” the piece written by Coral Davenport writes about how Greenland is slowly decaying due to climate change. Davenport attempts to convey the immediacy of the issue through using various primary sources and quotes from scientists as well as scientific papers. Similarly to this Stephen uses primary sources and statistics to persuade viewers of the way in which  social media helps to garner a greater amount of attention to such issues. This is paralleled in Davenports article who explains how social media has been able to contextualise the issue for audiences who are less familiar with the issue. In an article written by Divikah Khandelwal she explains how social media has expanded and revolutionised the way social justice and awareness campaigns are conducted. Thus it is evident that while Stephen and Davenport have different subject matters and are not both social justice explicitly (apart from Stephens) it is the “marriage of social media and justice” that connects both articles and issues together. However they both pretain in their audiences, as both articles are targeted towards those who care about world wide issues and the concept of morality, whether it be towards people or to the environment. 

Why I am passionate about advertising

To me I find advertising fascinating as it pertains to how we, as a society based species, reflect upon stimulus from brands. In each century, decade, and even year the way advertising evolved is radical and always reflective of how society at the time operates. Recently their has been a surge in ‘Brand Activism’ which is a relatively new term. The 2010’s has seen globalisation and social media in particular expand exponentially, this has allowed for people to become more aware of current events and issues that they become invested in. In a paper written by Jen Barrel it is stated that brand activism has increased by 63% this year. This reflects how advertising is an ever evolving industry and is able to identify with the current ‘wave’ effecting society. Another recent advancement in Advertising which intrigues me is the use of Data in targeting specific ads to specific people. Previously this would be found through suburb targeting or traditional demographic analysiation in specific areas. In a paper written by Joseph Clift he explains how “data can be programmed” at will, and is able to target people down to their personal habits and tendencies. Such specific and detailed profile of individuals allows advertising to be incredibly more effective and efficient. Firms can now target car ads to people who are specifically thinking and talking about purchasing a car. This is in contrast to the “blanket” technique used in things like TV ads (despite being able to choose the channel and time). 

Research and Ethics, when is the line crossed?

Last century information was controlled by few, it was let out through specific streams, individuals could not be respected as real and trustworthy sources of information whether it be scientific or other. In the every expanding process of globalisation and the incredible rise of the Internet, information has become diluted, and any person with a following can become a figurehead for an issue even if they have no credentials or sources for their findings. In a paper written for the University of Hull it is stated that verified papers and books are often the most trustworthy source of information in this age. However at times even these mediums can be false, this has been exemplified in the 1998 case of a paper published in a respected medical journal ‘Lancet’, where Andrew Wakefield created false data to support his claim. This paper has led to an increasing trend of anti-vax sentiment which is dangerous and wrong. Thus the ethics of such things must be questioned, we may consider the morality of posting such papers and the outcomes they have caused, Wakefield may have taken the utilitarianism approach, where his work would have caused a greater amount of questioning to what we are injected with my medical professionals. However it remains that the data was false. This leads us to a greater and more current issue, with the availability of social media, the concept of validity of someone often comes from their follower base, as such those with high amounts of followers are usually trusted, often by impressionable teenagers. In an article written in the Crunch it is stated that “Followers do not trump all, and followers do not equal credibility.” which highlights the issue nowadays, that anyone with a large following can project information to an impressionable audience, which is in fact false and often harmful to their following. 

What is News?

‘News’ as a concept is one that is hard to define, especially with the sudden and galvanising rise of social media and the drastic shift from news media being spread through physical and now through the medium of the online realm. Stephen Lamble states that news is “in the eye of the beholder” which is an interesting perspective on the way people nowadays can ‘perceive’ news. However it may be argued that Lamble’s hypothesis highlights a large issue, this being that by this logic anything can be news (news is perceived as inherently factual), which means people can present false ideas and information and create misinformation in society. This phenomenon is becoming known as “Fake News”. Thus is news really a mirror to society, or are journalists “gatekeepers” to successful democracies, and this is the problem, the news is not as simple as it was last century, and the indefinability of it allows any writings to be upheld as newsworthy. Therefore the traditional way of determining what is news has shifted to it being whatever society deems to be valuable information. This is problematic as people like Donald Trump who is in a position of authority, and his word is respected and taken as fact by millions, has often shared sources of news that have proven to be false. With information that is false being spread through channels of authority, the people are being misinformed. News in my opinion serves one purpose, this is to inform people of facts and opinions (each must be labeled explicitly), everything else, clickbait titles, random articles about surgery being performed on a grape, these are not news, these are ‘Stories’. The differentiation between the two is blurred and has led to a mountain of so called “news” being spread. In this respect I disagree with Lambles paper which outlines how news had been spread by “cavemen talking to one another about events”, to me such things are stories, but they cannot be news, and defining this is incredibly important in an age where we are drowning in information. 

Pepsi’s Amazingly Bad PR Campaign

In 2017 Pepsi released an advertising campaign that sought to “to project a global message of unity, peace and understanding," through using the stage of a protest to highlight how Pepsi brings people together. It was aimed to engage the political youth of today, this was done clearly through images of young protesters, and their poster child for the ad, Kendall Jenner, who seems to be there young adult of choice for this ad. This ad was pulled 24 hours after its release due to the tremendous amount of critics and social media outrage. This campaign was the definition of an out of touch administration. Pepsi naivety was their failure to realise the awareness and seriousness of the real protests and issues going on in the world. The new trend of Brand Activism has become so widespread, and is often to transparently for profit. Pepsi fell with the others who have tried brand activism, with their “join the conversation” slogan which was so surface level and inoffensive to any part. Social Media could see that they were merely trying to capitalise on the rise in protests, rather than taking a stand for anything. The real failure here was that Pepsi tried to hard to be relevant, by hiring a Kendall and trivialising a protest, their team behind the ad failed to realise that people can have their say online, and that by taking a risk on the topic of the ad, they fall to the mercy of the online stampede that happens whenever a brand is called out.   

Design Thinking

Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype and Test and is most useful when you want to tackle problems that are ill-defined or unknown. This is design thinking, a process in which you are able to solve complex problems by diluting them into 5 separate solution methods. I think it is especially good for today as it allows for firms and people to react upon the rapid changes in society and the environment. The design thinking process has become increasingly popular over the last few decades because it was key to the success of many high-profile, global organizations companies such as Google, Apple and Airbnb who have wielded it to notable effect, for example. This outside the box thinking is now taught at leading universities across the world and is encouraged at every level of business. For university projects it is a perfect introduction into how firms develop and establish their brand portfolios and projects.

Interdisciplinary 

Last century it was enough for someone to be an advertising agent, or a PR person, it was simple times. Nowadays professionals must adapt to the ever changing and often erratic atmosphere of societal trends. In terms of the purpose of what these professionals now do, the plane has changed dramatically, we are needed to perform in multiple fields across communication to successfully and genuinely engage with the audience. Thus the purpose of each fold of communications (Advertising, marketing etc) has melded into one and we want to do this to achieve a holistic perception on engaging audiences. However at times this may mean that our skills are too spread out and not focused on a single discipline. However I would argue that there is no one discipline, advertising is PR, marketing is journalism, and vice versa. This is the context we live in, which is why it is needed to learn and know about all communication strategies, today's landscape is described by Russel Howcroft, a reporter at Sydney Morning Herald, “as a marriage of creative and commercial content”. The two have become indistinguishable and the message of today’s communication has suffered as a result of it. It is harder and harder to get a message out to the masses, and for it to be successful is a whole other issue. By having awareness of each realm of communication we have a better chance of reaching people, by encapsulating each medium that people engage with media and communications, we can wade through the mess and fluff. Especially when the message is not just a price, and rather a story, trying to tell it is incredibly hard. A combination of journalism and advertising may be suitable in this case, as brands cannot simply be price tags anymore, they have to be constantly engaging entities who are fresh and relevant, or they fall into the chasm of repetition and failure, e.g Blockbusters. 

References

Canvas.hull.ac.uk. (2019). Determining Source Reliability: Being Critical. [online] Available at: https://canvas.hull.ac.uk/courses/611/pages/determining-source-reliability [Accessed 15 Dec. 2019].

Howcroft, R. (2019). Journalism and advertising - a marriage of convenience necessary for both. [online] The Sydney Morning Herald. Available at: https://www.smh.com.au/business/journalism-and-advertising--a-marriage-of-convenience-necessary-for-both-20081205-6sir.html [Accessed 15 Dec. 2019].

https://moderndiplomacy.eu/2019/01/18/the-marriage-of-social-media-and-social-justice/. (2019). [online] Available at: https://moderndiplomacy.eu/2019/01/18/the-marriage-of-social-media-and-social-justice/ [Accessed 15 Dec. 2019].

Khim, D. (2019). 6 Tips on How to Use Ego to Your Advantage. [online] The UP Lab. Available at: https://theuplab.wordpress.com/2013/07/08/ego-use-to-your-advantage/ [Accessed 15 Dec. 2019].

Phys.org. (2019). Online personas rarely match real-life behavior, observers say. [online] Available at: https://phys.org/news/2010-05-online-personas-rarely-real-life-behavior.html [Accessed 15 Dec. 2019].

Raising Children Network. (2019). Praise, encouragement and rewards. [online] Available at: https://raisingchildren.net.au/toddlers/connecting-communicating/connecting/praise [Accessed 15 Dec. 2019].

Rmit.instructure.com. (2019). MyApps Portal. [online] Available at: https://rmit.instructure.com/courses/70878/files/9793959/download?wrap=1 [Accessed 15 Dec. 2019].

Szymielewicz, K. (2019). Your digital identity has three layers, and you can only protect one of them. [online] Quartz. Available at: https://qz.com/1525661/your-digital-identity-has-three-layers-and-you-can-only-protect-one-of-them/ [Accessed 15 Dec. 2019].

The Sydney Morning Herald. (2019). Pepsi pulls Kendall Jenner protest advertisement after mockery and backlash. [online] Available at: https://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/pepsi-pulls-kendall-jenner-protest-advertisement-after-mockery-and-backlash-20170406-gvenhi.html [Accessed 15 Dec. 2019].

West, T. (2019). Credibility, Trust and Authenticity in Influencer Marketing. [online] Scrunch.com. Available at: https://www.scrunch.com/blog/credibility-trust-authenticity [Accessed 15 Dec. 2019].

Link to the Media for the blogs which could not be added to the tumblr