The Most Over-the-Top Man in the World

(Video from YouTube)

The basic argument of the Most Interesting man in the World commercials is to buy Dos Equis beer. The implication of the commercial is that this guy is everything a guy would want to be and that the only beer he drinks is Dos Equis, therefore if you were to drink it you would be that much more amazing. The target audience is probably males that can drink. the pathos that the commercial uses is comedy and comparing thier drink to ideas of grandeur and awesomeness. At the very least the commercial should make the audience laugh and when they see the beer in the store or think of what drink they want to buy they will remember that commercial and the hilariousness of it and want to buy that beer. most likely no one actually thinks that by drinking Dos Equis they will actually be able to do any of the stuff the commercial talks about, but by pairing the drink with something so desirable as The Most Interesting man in the World the audience will want to have something that relates them to that idea. The commercial also shows a man who can not only do all these awesome things but who is also very happy, living a great life, held in high esteem and surrounded by people. These are all things that common people search and desire for and the idea, no matter how silly or outlandish, that a beer could bring any of this to you is at least a draw to buy the drink.

Not Quite Futurama's Infosphere

In Futurama the Infosphere is a Death Star-esque space station that stores all of the information about the universe. However, the creatures (giant flying brains) that built the Infosphere set it to destroy the universe once it has collected all the information so no new info arises. Fortunately for us, the term infosphere is used to describe something much less sinister . . . at least for now!

Michael Vlahos argues that the definition of the Infosphere is a culmination of all the worlds databases, networks and any other source of information. He goes so far as to describe it as an ecology, a place, not physical but just as powerful, where people do and will increasingly gather to do business, learn or simply be social. I like this relation of the Infosphere to an ecology. In that sense, each person's personal infosphere as a niche in the ecological system. This means that within the huge Infosphere structure each person has a small area that they work and play within. Just like in nature, some niches have many organisms residing in it, all competing for the resources, or in this case, information and attention.

I am thankful that Vlahos' definition of the Infosphere does not intend to kill us. As I am currently trying to outline my personal infosphere for project 2 it is interesting to see where some of my interests really lie and how much information I really take in everyday. The biggest source of that information seems to be the internet. Vlahos states that he thinks the "Infosphere has the potential to gather all people and all knowledge together in one place" While I do believe the Infosphere is a "vehicle of change" I do not know that the internet is the final and best Infosphere. I think right now it is the best we have but looking at my personal infosphere I do not see the internet ever being able to store all the personal interactions people have, I believe we are just too complex for the Infosphere's current incarnation.

On the upside, the internet is not planning to destroy the universe anytime soon! :)

The Perfect Writing Environment

Writing is definitely something I have to be psyched to do if I want to do a good job. A big part of this is the environment that I write in. I can write anywhere but my favorite place to write is at a desk on my computer. I have a desktop so it kinda limits my options of how easily I can move it or where I can take it, but that is ok because if I sit somewhere too comfortable, like a bed or couch, I will not concentrate. As for my surroundings I cannot have too much noise because other conversations or dialogue easily distracts my brain. However, I do enjoy having instrumental music on. I like classical and jazz but my favorite is soundtrack music. I love movies and sometimes the music from the right film cannot only push me to work but also inspire great ideas. As someone who has over 1000 soundtrack songs I can always find something that will keep me focused and motivate me. 

The other big factor in motivation and focus is the time I write. Now, of course, I can write anytime but I really feel the best about my writing when I am working on it late at night. Anywhere from around 10 at night to 3 or 4 in the morning seems to be when I can really knuckle down and produce some of my best work. I will commonly wait to write until late even if the paper or project is not due for a while simply because I get less distracted and I seem to think more clearly. Food has always served as a distraction for me when writing and while I may have something to drink, like a Dr. Pepper, I do not like to eat while I write. I actually like to use a snack as motivation for a break if I get a certain amount done. When I can write late at night, like right now, at my computer with some soundtrack music playing (in this case it is Sherlock Holmes by Hans Zimmer) I am mentally at home and the writing process can take over. 

Everyone is Yelling, No One is Listening

The Web 2.0 is certainly not all good and for an opposing view to the previous post I look to Andrew Keen and the first chapter of his book The Cult of the Amateur. Overall Andrew Keen argues that the new version of the internet is destroying our trust in information and lowering the quality of the products that develop from it. His argument is an argument of cause. The first chapter centers around how the anonymity of the Web 2.0 allows people to publish lies and parade them around as the truth. This causes a severe loss of trust in anything you read on the internet because there are no editors or fact checking before something is pushed into cyberspace. The effect is that truth has become more of something that is decided upon by the majority instead of a true fact. On top of this the ease of copy and paste on the internet has slimmed creativity and caused a lack of ownership on ideas and products on Web 2.0.

The first chapter eludes that much of how the new version of the internet is actually doing all the opposite things that it says it will do. The hope was to expand creativity and truth but instead it smothers them. Keen  has many arguments of evaluation that go over how many of the movies, art, music, and writings that we now see all over the internet are not near as good as the creations we used to see. The new web has allowed amateurs to steal away the eyeballs of people from professionals and businesses.

Keen also had an argument of fact when he discusses that there is no longer a true audience, that instead of a group of creators / publishers and an inactive group of watchers / readers there is only one group of constantly interactive participants. Keen describes this as a flattening of our culture. In some ways it can be good to have everyone function as an active part of the machine, but the fact that everyone is yelling their version of the truth on the internet means that there is not really anyone listening.  And if no one is listening, what is the point?