~Whimsical Reasoning~

Ah yes, the advertising industry, it never ceases to amuse me. Everywhere you look, there is some kind of ad. Apparently, CNN has taken advantage of yet another aspect of the "New Frontier", AKA the web. Because of the Internet, it has become so easy to get your ad out to just the right people. In the case of CNN, they market their T-shirts to those who regularly read their stories, instead of just putting up an ad on a billboard. But really, the scariest part in my opinion, happens on facebook. When I first joined, the ads displayed seemed random, but after awhile, and after filling in my interests and such, the ads became somewhat 'personalized' for me. For example, in my interests, I stated that I like running. BAM! I constantly see ads for sites with training programs, running shoes, and the like. I also seem to get gender specific ads as well, makeup, shoes, clothing. This is creepy if you ask me. In the COTA buses, on the handholds, there are little ads advocating against smoking. Now who is the typical rider of the COTA buses? Teens, and those with lower paying jobs. Is it a coincidence that these are also the targeted demographic of cigarette companies? I think not. I have even heard of ideas for companies to sponsor city sidewalks, so each concrete block would be filled with an advertisement for Pampers and the like. America is definitely a corporate country.

Posted in: on Sunday, May 11, 2008 at at 2:49 AM 2 comments    

Race, although we hate to admit it, has always been and always will be, and issue. Sure, we've gotten over the slavery part, but there is still a rift in the tide. Racial profiling happens more than we'd like to admit. It is very aggrivating, in a justice system like ours, there is such a flaw. One of the most controversial cases in recent times is that of the Jena six. Even though Linworth is a dominantly white school, I cannot imagine a community that shows such hate to a particular race because of their skintone. Now I'm not saying that race is the only factor that causes people to be wrongly accused, because gender also has a role. Generally, when you think of crimes, you think of men. Obviously, we are now in the 21st century, and that is not the case. Since we now have the tecnology, I think cases in court should depend more on solid evidence more than anything else, such as eyewittness accounts, as those can be biased. Something else with race I have found is that if a little white girl went missing, it would be all over the news. In contrast, if it were a little black girl, not much is thought of it. Even though it is estimated that eventually all of the human population will become one skintone, I belive then we will find other things to separate us from others, it is just a part of human nature.

Posted in: discrimination, race, racial profiling on at at 2:27 AM 1 comments