PAF 494 Blog #11 - Maniacal Political Marketing & The Social Media Advertising Revolution

The political ad season has begun making it clear that Halloween is not the only scary thing in October. While all political ads are not all propaganda, the majority of them that gain the majority vote are. Sadly enough, what I call "Maniacal Political Marketing" seems to work for many who use it. The first six letters of maniacal spells "maniac" and some of the tactics being used my politicians to gain an edge are absolutely nuts. When watching the Perry ad about Romneycare I could have sworn I was looking a movie tailer for the next big horror film. It was so dramatic it gave me a craving for popcorn with extra movie theater butter. The fact of the matter is that people are visual, auditory, and emotional. This type of dramatic advertising is effective because it stirs up the emotions in the subconscious mind that in turn ignite human emotion thus provoking action on the part of many viewers. 

Again we see in the Romney for President ad on the Obama Misery Index an approach that is used to touch the human essence and tie into emotion, just in a less dramatic way. If you go to a foreign country the best way to communicate is in the language of the land you are visiting. This ad used a real person to speak in a language that many that are suffering economically can relate to and understand. I think this ad would have been just as effective if it used the same interview, but focused on how Romney has an open ear to this specific community telling people how he will work to make things better rather than painting Obama in a negative light. President Obama needs to accomplish several things in his ads: 1.) He needs to vividly display and focus on any and all progress that has been made in America under his leadership, 2.) He must keep the positive momentum of the message of hope and unity in this country, and 3.) He will have to prove why he is worthy of 4 more years on the throne in Washington by creating and communicating a trademark vision for our country's future. Obama will have to advertise the New American Dream with veracity, integrity, and performance. His job is cut out for him which is to keep his current supporters while managing to gain new ones; this is tactical and strategic marketing combined with customer relationship management and retention speaking in business terms. Obama has to plant new seeds that will grow along side what he has already accomplished. President Obama's first 2012 campaign ad does in fact highlight his accomplishments so far, poses him as a man of honor, power, and courage, displays a message of unity and hope, shows him as a fun-loving everyday type person you would want to be friends with, and is forward reaching by stating that America needs more change that should occur under his leadership. The ad did give me a warm fuzzy feeling which was killed by him riding on the democratic donkey followed by a rainbow at the end. I liked the ad overall, but felt the ending piece was a little cheesy. 

The massive amount of information that can be communicated in thirty seconds or less is nothing short of amazing. What I learned about Michelle Bachmann in twenty-eight seconds was probably as much as I would have learned listening to her deliver a forty-five minute speech. I learned that she comes from a long heritage of Iowans and that she was born and raised in Waterloo, Iowa. She's a mother of five which includes being a foster mother. Michelle has worked to create small business jobs and believes that our government has to stop spending money that it doesn't. I found out that Michelle Bachmann is a former tax lawyer and she was against the bailouts and stimulus that have occurred in America. She firmly stated that she will not vote to increase the debt ceiling again, and she is confident that her campaign is unified to defeat Obama. Michelle Bachmann is not afraid to broadcast her position on the economic issues of this country. When looking back at Perry's, Romney's, Bachmann's, and Obama's ads I would have to say that they were all effective in different ways. It is funny because I think the conservative's ads were more liberal and liberal's ads were more conservative. Perry and Romney formed nooses for their opponents with their ads in different ways while Bachmann and Obama projected the feel good ads that boosted up who they are as people with little sparkles almost coming from their accomplishments. 

President Obama plugged into the power of social media during the 2008 Presidential Election with astounding results. I believe what we are seeing now in social media entities stepping into the political realm is an inevitable evolution of technology in politics. While there are two main political parties in America there is only one American Eagle that represents freedom, strength, and grandeur. Birds of a feather do flock together and Twitter is now rubbing shoulders, or should I say wings with our inspiring feathered friend that serves as our nation's emblem. It makes perfect sense; it makes social sense. For politicians it is going to make dollars and cents. "The early bird gets the worm," on Twitter and other social media sites. Twitter already has an "I will follow you" mentality so it is a good place to be as a presidential candidate or any other type of political candidate. Social media is where people are today and with the sense of community it offers it is the right place to reach both active and passive voters. Facebook is all about connecting, friending, fanning, and liking, and it is where a candidate that wants to present themselves as a real person needs to be. I still think that television will provide a huge platform for political advertising especially to reach passive voters and while I say this we must keep in mind that people are now watching television on the Internet. With a lot of people embracing Netflix to watch their favorite movies and shows, I wonder how long it will be before Netflix gets in on the political advertising circuit. In any case, I think the social media political ads are an excellent strategy and something that was bound to happen. Facebook, Twitter, Google, and Youtube are becoming huge political platforms with political savvy staff members on board; I'm glad that these social media entities are not partisan as they remain neutral in political matters working only as an avenue for information and communication. I'm going to go update my facebook status, tweet on my Twitter page, Google something interesting, and watch a video on Youtube right now so I'll speak with you again later on Deneene Says..."The blog that tells you what's up and what's going down."

PAF 494 Blog #8 - Not All Prisons Have Bars

Today I watched my fifteen year old son lie on the couch with his feet kicked up texting at what seemed like the speed of light as he watched the show of his choice on satellite cable TV. It still amazes me how my disciplinary action towards him when he violates the rules I've set down includes taking away his cell phone for a period of time (which has Internet access), or putting him on facebook restriction. He has a Twitter account also and doesn't want me to be a follower of his in the name of privacy and personal freedom. As a single mother, I consider myself as the governing body of my household. Even in this small arena which in no way compares to national and global government policies, human rights, and politics, I don't read his texts or rule him with an iron hand. At most, I'll let him know if I feel something he has posted on facebook is inappropriate and then he will take it down. Though he has to obey the rules of our house, I respect him as a human being and I allow him the right to communication and expression that extends from his physical existence to his virtual online existence.

I remember thinking as a teenager how it was the coolest thing in the world when I got a pager. I didn't have access to the Internet back then and Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of facebook, was probably but a twinkle in his parent's eyes. I traveled day by day through a time machine called life, and before I knew it I was in the digital age along with everybody else. Just as people have used the radio, television, fax machine, personal computer, cell phone, and other inventions of technology as they have emerged; they will use the Internet and who has the right to restrict his use of technology as long as the person using it is not breaking the law? If I have mice, I'm going to use the better mousetrap someone has built. Just for clarity's sake, I don't have mice, but my computer does have a mouse, a wireless one at that. Technology is made for the progression of humankind, but those in prison are not free to use it the way it was meant to be used. If I'm arrested I might get my one phone call, but I assure you that it won't be on a cell phone. I don't think there are Internet capable computer workstations setup next to the privacy-lacking public toilets in jail cells. 

The Internet offers a global passport to our voices, our thoughts, our visions, our expressed values, our missions in life, and our hopes to create a better living experience. Extreme Internet censorship, restriction, and repression forced upon people by the powers that be are a jagged crack in the liberating sound of cyberspace much louder and more prominent than the one in the Liberty Bell. As I hear the voice in my head of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. saying, "Let freedom ring," I wonder what he would have done or how much more he could have done with a tool like the Internet. The Internet is the world's public space, and my heart bleeds like the virtual backs of those that are beaten and abused who use it for nothing more than relaying vital information and expressing valid truths. Worldwide political bullies continue to police the innocent and cut out the implicit tongues of those who are doing no more than exercising their basic human rights of free thought and expression. The communication power of the Internet helps to facilitate the spread of democracy, but there are authoritarian and communist controlled nations that aren't having it. They are nothing more than watch dogs running freely putting leashes on those that choose to use man's best technology communication friend. 

A little over a week ago I saw one of the greatest sights I've ever witnessed in my life. I stepped into Time Square in New York City at night, and it was beautiful. It was extraordinarily beautiful. It was full of huge and magnificent digital displays, color, excitement, businesses, massive buildings, and people all doing what they do. Though most didn't know each other, they were part of a community of people coexisting in real time. The Internet is our other community; it is our virtual community composed like a symphony from technology. Extreme Internet censorship, shutdown, control, or repression would be equivalent to dropping a bomb on the people interacting, living their lives, and enjoying Time Square. New York was so phenomenal to me I called it, "Downtown America." The Internet is so phenomenal to me I call it, "The World's Community." 

The preservation of Internet freedom is as important as energy conservation, green initiatives, civil and human rights, and efforts to eliminate the extinction of an endangered species. Internet usage repression, censorship, and shutdown by controlling nations that are not thoughtful in regards to human rights attempt to extinct the very reason technology prevails. The protection of Internet freedom and the emancipation for the free use of social media must be a part of American foreign policy if it will continue to hold the title of the greatest nation in the world. The American Nation is a nation of people, helpers, and leaders who care about the world we live in and all people on this planet from the aluminum can you are willing to recycle, to the next well being dug in India or Africa to sustain life by providing clean water.

How important is it to preserve Internet freedom? It is as important as it is to be able to walk out to your car and drive it where you want because you own it and have the keys. It is as important as it was to give women and African Americans the right to vote in America. It is as important as the abolishment of slavery in these United States. If the Internet were to have come about in the days of slavery, slaves would not have been permitted to use it. The people that are in countries that have control over their Internet access are nothing less than slaves to their government. I hope that the American government in its efforts and Internet freedom policies becomes a 21st Century Abraham Lincoln that executes a global emancipation proclamation to free worldwide slaves from Internet repression and the silencing of their voices. 

As creatures that are all alike because we all bleed red blood, eat food and drink water to survive, breathe invisible air, speak in a certain tongue, and will all one day die; we should be free to speak our hearts and minds by using the technology our own kind has afforded to us. Social media continues to affect Internet freedom whether right or wrong. Many people are afraid to report news for fear of the repercussions of doing so. It's like having an armed guard outside your front door and the consequence of death could be your fate at any given time because you aren't free to be you and express what is true. While social media is still an avenue for people-reported news, those around the world continue to look in their rear view mirrors as they drive the Internet Super Highway. The fare that is paid on these tollways may not be fair, but it is real. Real sad! This may seem to be a fight between good and evil, good being the use of the Internet to meet, greet, and report in an online community, and evil being the restriction of it. I think Hillary Clinton said it best when she said, "The Internet is neither good nor bad, a force for neither liberation nor repression. It is the sum of what its users make it." I believe it is time to come together and use the Internet for good as our global cyber community in which we can all make a difference when we are free to do so. We have the power to use the Internet for good and this power should be restricted from no one. My hope is that the Internet does not continue to exist as a prison without metal bars while being one with political bars holding human rights captive. "You have not been given the spirit of fear, but the spirit of love, power, and a sound mind." - 2nd Timothy 1:7

We all have a voice which can be amplified by technology. Hopefully, I'll speak loudly with you again about the subjects that matter on the next blog entry of Deneene Says...Until then tweet like a bird, report the news like a journalist, and facebook like the world is your family album. 

PAF 494 Blog #1 - About Deneene Collins

Welcome: Welcome to my personal blog. I send out special greetings to everyone enrolled in PAF 494: Media and Public Affairs. I look forward to learning and growing with you in the subject matter we are about to dive into together. I hope that my participation in this course helps contribute to your success in some way. I anxiously await all of the discoveries that are waiting to be made by all of us, and I wish you all the very best. 

About Me: As you already know my name is Deneene, but what you probably don't know is that just about everyone calls me Dee, and you are welcome to do so as well. I am taking this class to help enhance my knowledge regarding media and public affairs as I have had an increased interest in the news media, media as a whole, government policies, and how citizens of all societies interact with each other and how they react and respond to media influence.

I am an author and a poet, I have a passion for people and technology. I have published three books in the last month and I have three more books coming out over the course of the next two months. I used to host an inspirational radio broadcast, and I may get back into broadcasting through Internet radio once I complete this course. My interests include ongoing education, writing, music, entrepreneurship, and cooking. My spirituality and my family are the most important things to me in the world. I'm a single mother of two wonderful children. My daughter Aveanie is a senior at ASU studying education and speech and hearing science, and my son Caleb is a sophomore in high school who is an honor student highly involved in sports and music (he plays three sports and five instruments). 

I have a Bachelor's of Science in Psychology from Prairie View A&M University, a Master's of Business from ASU's W.P. Carey School of Business, and I am currently pursuing a Master's of Graphic Information Technology at ASU which I hope to complete this December. I am pretty much your average every day individual working on extraordinary things that I hope will better the world even if only in a small way. I would like to go into business for myself within the next year and I plan to use my education, determination, personal life experience, and the extra time I have from being laid off from my job to accomplish this. The title of my blog is Deneene Says... which is also the title for a book of original quotes I just published. I look forward to meeting and sharing in the human experience with all who dare to open their lives to me. 

           Here I Am!

"Live life grand enough to make it good." - Deneene A. Collins

My Definition of Media Influence: We exist in the thriving Information Age where technology has provided the availability and possibilities of more types of media than has ever been known in history by mankind. Not only do we have newspapers, television, and radio, we have the Internet, film, videos, social media, and more. The way that people get news and gain information has dramatically changed over the last decade even. According to Dictionary.com, influence is defined as, "The capacity to have an effect on the character, development, or behavior of someone or something, or the effect itself."

With that being said I would have to say that I define media influence as the use of any type of medium to cause an effect on what people think, do, or believe. At the rate in which we are all bombarded with new information and news information, I wonder how many of our beliefs, views, and actions are actually truly our own. Having studied marketing strategies, I've learned about the techniques used to get people to purchase certain products or buy into particular philosophies. We exist in a time where branding is big among businesses, and a child that can't even read or write can call a business establishment by name simply by viewing its logo. I can remember jingles from commercials I heard twenty years ago.

My brother used to be an executive at Pepsi and he told me they start targeting lifelong clients with their branding in early childhood. All I can say is that the power and the influence of media is far beyond the average person's comprehension. Once upon a time I learned that to think is to create and we as people generally only spend five minutes a day creating something new in our thoughts. Everything else is via memory; we tend to act and react based upon what has already been placed in our minds. If this is true, we all need to take a serious look at media influence especially as it pertains to political issues, world issues, and government policy. We live in a nation with a government that is supposed to be for the people, by the people, but we may come to find out that it is really for the government by what the media influences people to believe and do. Are our actions our own or are we governed by the subliminally executed tactics of mass media? I don't know, but I'm looking forward to learning more. May freedom yet ring before our eyes and in our ears. 

Contact Information: 
email: deneene.collins@asu.edu
website: www.deneenecollins.com
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