The Effect of Nice Weather

Fuel Your Writing

While this may be a silly topic to discuss, the weather has a way of persuading us to do certain things and to become engaged as citizens.  This past week the weather has been amazing, especially for this time of the year, and everyone seems to be loving it.  There are more people outside relaxing, playing sports, and just walking around.

However, the weather does more than just get people outside.  It convinces them to do things like go to class.  I don't know about you, but lately it has been clear that more people have been going to class.  In all of the lecture hall classes that I have, it is very noticeable that more people are going.  This is just an assumption, but I'm sure the weather has something to do with that.  I just find it interesting that weather can have such a persuasive effect on us.  When it is rainy and cold, some students do not go which suggests that the benefit or value they get from going to class does not outweigh the annoyance of walking through the rain in the cold.  However, on a nice sunny day, the value of class does outweigh anything else they could be doing with their time.

In this respect, "weather" can be considered to be a talented rhetorician.  Obviously, that is a bit of stretch, but the effect weather has on people cannot be overlooked.  All in all, it is just amazing that people make decisions like going to classes that cost a ton of money based on the weather.

On another note, enjoy the weather while it lasts (which is hopefully forever).  Personally, I just feel happier when it is nice out and I love being outside.  Are you the same way?  Do you find that weather affects any of the decisions you make?

The Price of Fa$ebook

iTechVision

If you were to ask pretty much anyone if Facebook costs anything, they would say no.  The conventional person knows that it is technically free to use for everyone.  However, this is not necessarily true.  While, it is free in terms of money, that is not the case in another sense.  Each and every person that signs up for Facebook is selling their personal information.  Therefore, the true price of Facebook is your value of personal information.  The exigence present regarding this idea is a very interesting topic.

Most people consider Facebook to be amazing tool and I would have to agree.  However, many people do not fully understand or know how to use the privacy settings in Facebook.  This causes there personal information to be available to anyone.  Anybody that knows their name can access their page and view their information.

Also, the advertisements on Facebook take advantage of your personal information.  I do not know about you, but I have seen advertisements regarding information I have on Facebook on numerous occasions.  I have seen ads that pertain to the school I attend as well as other things.  

All in all, while the information you put on Facebook can be secure if you choose to make it that way, you are still giving all of that information to a company.  This company has immense amounts of information about people from all over the world which is pretty amazing.  Considering the fact that knowledge is power, Facebook is a pretty damn powerful organization and they show no signs in slowing down.  It is just interesting to think about the idea that Facebook may not be completely free.  Now that Facebook is starting to transition to using Timeline, you basically sell your entire life story to them in return for the use of their service.

"Going Green"

The Innovation Diaries

Going green is probably something that we've all become familiar with.  It is the process of switching to environmentally friendly products and to try to cut down on our own contributions to the national carbon footprint.  Those two simple words have a lot behind them in terms or rhetoric and civic engagement.

With regard to the rhetorical effect of color, Going green holds a lot of persuasion.  The fact that the word "green" is part of this slogan or even movement is important.  Green has a lot of positive things associated with it and therefore, it has a very positive effect on people.  Green can be used to show that things are natural, healthy, and calm.  All of these things would make a person feel good and it makes going green seem like a really good thing to do.  Also, the obvious of thing associated with the color green is money.  This helps portray the idea that going green can save you money.  While for most "green" products, you do not save immediately, in the long run you will save some money.

The phrase can also be seen as a promoter of civic engagement.  It pushes people to do their part.  A lot of this is done through the use of color as stated previously, but "going" shows that some sort of motion or action is required in order for us to be green.  We have to "go" green which means it is a process.  It is something that needs to be done as individuals in order for an effect to be truly seen.  These two words convince us to do something as individuals.  Going green implies that being environmentally friendly is not only a good thing, but also that taking the steps towards being environmentally friendly is what needs to be done to make an impact.  In this way, I think that these two words really do promote civic engagement and essentially tell the public that unless they are active citizens that voice their opinions on the matter and take part in the process themselves, nothing will really change.

I just thought it would be interesting to look at the effect that just two words can have on people.  Obviously, there are a ton of other rhetorical techniques employed through environmentally friendly advertisements and things of that nature, but the fact that "going green" can have a relatively profound effect is fascinating.

THON 2012 - Don't Waste One Minute

In light of the weekend we are heading into, I thought it would be appropriate to analyze some of the rhetorical techniques used in what I find to be a very strong promotional video for THON.  The video, entitled "THON 2012 - Don't Waste One Minute", is a video that I've seen a few times and each time, it manages to have a powerful effect on me.  For one, it shows the BJC full of students in various sections wearing very bright colors.  The overall purpose of this in THON as well as the video is to portray happiness.

The song in the background is also very powerful.  This song is "Open Your Eyes" by Snow Patrol.  The actual meaning of the song pertains to a couple in love, but something is keeping apart.  The man wants the women to open her eyes to realize their love so they don't have to waste any more time apart.  However, in relation to THON, the meaning is slightly different.  Basically, we, the Penn State community, need to open our eyes and realize that we are all needed.  There are so many families out there that truly love Penn State for THON, and we can't waste one minute forgetting that.  We all have to realize that every minute that we devote to THON truly counts which is an extremely important idea to get across.

Moreover, the text that is displayed on the screen displays an important message.  It shows us how important we can be to the families.  It shows us that we can truly make their lives just a little bit better and that we can make a difference.  The fact that the message is spanned throughout the entire promo helps maintain emotion and attention for the entire video.

Lastly, the constant joy you see on the faces of everyone, especially the kids, makes it clear that THON actually works.  It is not "just a number". It is so much more than that.  It is the gift of hope.  The gift of brightening the days of children and families who deserve a little brightness in their lives.  This joy that can be seen on their faces has such a strong emotional effect.  The video employs the use of pathos to an amazing extent and I can't wait to experience this emotion firsthand starting tomorrow.

Bud Light Platinum

Thrillist

For all of you that were able to catch the Super Bowl this year, you probably saw this commercial.  For those that did not, I'll give a brief explanation.  During one of the commercial breaks, there was a commercial for Bud Light Platinum in which "Levels" by Avicii is playing and you see people dressed up in an office building drinking Bud Light Platinum.  There is a voice talking about how "they" say that you can't mix business with pleasure.  Basically, the purpose of the ad is to prove that you can mix those two things.

Rhetorically, the ad seems to focus on ethos and pathos.  With regard to ethos, the voice of the man is very calm and confident in what he is saying.  This helps make the voice seem believable.  His voice almost reminds of the "epic" voice you hear in the beginning of movies.  With regard to pathos, I'm sure everyone has wanted to make seemingly boring jobs, projects, or something along those lines more pleasurable and exciting.  However, this goes does not really conform to what is expected of you in situations like those.  Therefore, seeing these people having a good time, drinking, and listening to a DJ play Avicii may strike our emotions.  We may feel envious of the people in the commercial and want to go out and buy Bud Light Platinum to have the chance at having the same enjoyment.

Bud Light also had another commercial for Bud Light Platinum which was, for lack of a better word, cool in my opinion.  However, in terms of reaching a wider demographic, I think the commercial that I have previously discussed is much better.  The "cool" commercial showed a very high tech looking factory producing Bud Light Platinum.  While I was intrigued by the commercial and I kind of wanted to try the new beverage after seeing it, I feel like factories and technical things appeal more to guys than they do girls.  I think many girls would see this  and have no real connection at first.

All in all, I think the Bud Light Platinum commercials were pretty entertaining and they did create an appeal to try the drink.  The commercials reminded me of a quote from Talladega Nights:  "Cause it says like, I wanna be formal, but I'm here to party too."  Though this quote is referencing Cal Naughton Jr.'s preference for Jesus to wear a tuxedo t-shirt, I think it can apply to Bud Light Platinum as well.

Groupthink

DCT Advisors LLC

Groupthink is a very interesting subject.  Basically, groupthink is the idea that when people work in a group, the desire to come to a decision outweighs the desire to voice your actual opinions.  People may not say what they truly want to say to avoid conflict within the group and to help with group cohesion.  In a way, I think groupthink can strongly prohibit civic engagement.  I'm sure we've all seen small instances of groupthink occurring.  For instance, if a professor or teacher asks if anyone else needs more time on an exam, you may need more time, but because nobody else raises their hand, you don't either.  However, there may have been others who also needed more time, but they had the same mindset as you and decided to judge whether or not they would raise their hand based on if others did so.

In a broader spectrum, an important political topic may arise in your community in which everyone seems to agree on one side of the argument.  You, however, may feel another way, but decide to keep your opinions to yourself.  Again, there may be others who are doing the same exact thing and because of that, the other side of the argument is never mentioned.  While the people who want to argue against the common view could have very strong points, these points are never brought to light.  Things like this could even happen on an even broader scale for all we know.

I just find it interesting that a perfectly viable opinion may never be heard simply because of a decision we make to avoid embarrassment.  Groupthink could potentially be a major inhibitor of civic engagement and prevent many people from being the "good" citizens that they are obligated to be.  Can you think of any instances where groupthink may have caused a group project or something of that sort to be worse off?  I'm sure we have all probably experienced this in one way or another, even if we did not realize it.

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