In Response to Rebecca...

At the end of her post Rebecca posed this question, Do you think this commercial was political? If so, do you think it should have been allowed to be aired during the Superbowl?

I watched this ad and have to agree that it is a political commercial. Although it may of not settled with watchers well, the message was strong. I felt this commercial was trying to keep in mind our current economy and that things will get better. Clint Eastwood spoke in this ad, and I felt he was trying to inspire the average american to make changes to better their own lives, and economic well being.  He brings up the term halftime, which relates to our current lives being at a stand still. And I felt from the commerical it was saying we are capable of doing two things. One we could keep going the way we are going and dig ourselves more into debt, depression and chaos. Or second change the way we are living and fix it.

On the other hand however, its hard to ignore that this commerical was always tied back to car company and that I'm sure corporate funding and ideas had a say in this ad. Not to say that it's always a bad thing, but it can create a lot of commerical and ads to be biased and to almost "brainwash" consumers giving them the wrong message.

I absolutely think this commerical should be allowed to air during the Superbowl. The television itself is a popular distraction from our worries of everyday life. On the Superbowl instead of getting sucked into funny dog commercials, drinking beer and yelling at the television, we take a step back and actually see the world we are living in. Regardless of who won the Superbowl or much money you placed on a team to win tommorow we still face all these problems in our society. Commercials like this should be allowed because they bring people back to reality and the actual problems we face. It's a commerical that doesn't prompt consumerism because buying that new car can't bring the economy back.

Do you think that commercials and other distractions are shielding people from all the problems our country is facing? If so, who is at fault??

Keene State College just named one of the top most Socially Awkward Colleges in US.

 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/06/colleges-for-the-socially_n_1256435.html#s665511&title=Keene_State_College

In a recent study by the Huffingtonpost, Keene State College along with 45 other colleges were labeled "socially awkward". Apparently not only is the various technology we use daily getting in the way with our social, but also the college we attend. This article discusses how our lack of communication like small talk and fear of social gatherings creates us to be awkward. 

I don't agree that this study has strong enough sources to label certain schools as awkward, but I do agree that each generation seems to be losing social skills leading them to come off as awkward.

We live in a world where we don't have to leave our house to go shopping or to send a gift. We have the whole world in our hands with our smart phones, computers and tablets. Although it may be very convenient it comes with a price. Instead of creating relationships through face to face interactions, we do it through the computer. We use sites like Facebook and Craigslist to talk to one another and become "friends". We rely on technology so much that when faced with real life with real people we become awkward and don't always know how to act. When faced with real people we don't have all the time in the world to think of that perfect thing to say, like we do when texting. We also fear rejection and become self-conscious when talking to others which is another reason we use computers. With computers, you avoid the outcomes in a face to face interaction and can escape. It seems we almost hide behind our computers and wouldn't know what to do without them. 

On the other hand technology has helped us advance in various areas, but it seems we need to learn moderation. If we don't we lose meaningful relationships and our social skills.

Another thing to consider is emotions. No matter what someone is sending through a email or text, we lose the true emotion behind it. We read into text messaging, give it our meaning based on it's context. To sum it up you can't capture emotions in a text, and it belittles our own feelings that are better expressed in person. We are starting to create relationships with others based on words, from there we give it meaning based on how we feel. With this being the new way to get to know somebody, we lose communication skills. We create a human connection thru a screen hoping its what we want. People often forget though that on the internet your able to be whoever you want to be. Next time your walking down Appian way, take a second and notice how "busy" everyone is on their phones.

Do you think our generations and younger generations rely too much on technology??

In Response to Emma Mchugh

Emma at the end of her post posed the question: Can you think of the last product or service you really enjoyed and may have told your friends about? Do you think marketing by word of mouth has a big impact on sales?

Yes, personally I feel marketing by word of mouth is very powerful. It allows a relationship to form between the seller and the consumer building trust and a potential sale. Since it's a promotion of a certain product thru their own personal words, the seller is placed in a pickle of whether to lie or tell the truth. Although the sale is important, their reputation is just as crucial to keep intact.

I personally as a consumer would want to here the pros and cons to the product so I know exactly what I am buying. the consumer in this case will also be able to ask questions because it's a face to face interaction, making it that more personal.

The last service I used was recommended to me by a friend. I had heard of the service StumbleUpon before, but never had used it. She explained to me the various sites and music you could access and told me how easy it was to use. I had no idea you could customize your stumble to your interests and I soon was using it daily. I found her promotion of the product was definitely the reason I start using the site. Word by mouth of anything espcailly a product can hurt or help a product/service tremendously.

Do you think word of mouth for a product is more helpful or harmful??

Extreme Couponing on the Rise?

It seems ever since the show Extreme Couponing has aired more people have been chasing the thrill of saving a few dollars. If you have ever seen the show it involves shoppers trying to save the most money at the various stores they shop at. They stock their homes with piles of products like toothpaste and paper towels. They trade in their time at home with their families to cut out coupons for hours.

As beneficial as saving money can be, it seems "couponing" has been taken to a whole new level. In my opinion this show glorifies consumerism and buying more then you need. Although these shoppers "coupon" as a career buying 32 cans of Chefboradi isn't smart shopping. Not only is it not smart, but unhealthy. It seems these deals may be only benefitting the stores and their need to get rid of products.
Although couponing can be so beneficial, it seems shoppers now a days are just being wasteful. We use shopping as "therapy" instead of a way to survive.

I found myself asking the question of who these coupons are actually benefitting. It may seem that a buy one get one free deal might seem too good to be true, and that because it just might. It could save you money, but it is the best choice? Are we focused so much on quantity that we overlook quality? Our society is told to consumer and as a result we always want more.

Do the coupons benefit the stores or the consumers more?!