Dec. 23rd: Spineless

All through elementary school and middle school, I was that nerdy kid who could be counted on to have a book in hand. Everywhere I went, I would have to have something to read, to keep me busy, to entertain me, and to get me engaged.  It continued on to high school, although a problem arose: as I got older, books became bigger, heavier, harder to whip out at a moment’s notice. I began to shift my reading from a constant activity to a very much controlled one. I would read for a half hour before bed, or a few minutes right after school. I began to develop routines.

But, as is always the case, as the world around me got more complicated, so too did finding time to read. All of a sudden, I found myself in front of screens more often than pages. It was increasingly difficult to not only find the time, but also the motivation to whip out a book. With the limited free time I have, a book isn’t necessarily the way I want to spend it.

Throughout college, though, I have made it a point to always read a little bit before going to bed. There is no better feeling than reading a book you simply can’t put down. More so than any other media, books can lead to hugely creative entertainment.

Finally, I decided to make a change to my reading habits. I decided to invest in a Kindle. For years, people had been telling me that e-Reading was perfect for me, and I had refused every time. I like the feel of a book, the smell of it, the way I can track my progress. After years, though, I decided to make the not-too-expensive decision and cave.

It didn’t take long for me to regret my years of resistance. All of my opposition to reading had an answer. I could track my progress not only through page numbers but also percentage of the book, time remaining in a chapter, and chapter headings. I could transition from one chapter to another almost as easily as if I flipped the pages.

The quality of the reading is perfect. Plus, I never had to worry about running out of content. I can preload books when I’m getting close to being done with one, and get all set to pick up right where I left off in a series, or start a new endeavor immediately. I don’t even need to go to the library.

All of this innovation, though, led to an interesting consideration: does digital reading lead to an increase or a decrease in reading? Does it mean that libraries will meet their demise? Do we have a reading problem on our hands and, if so, are e-readers part of the problem or the solution?

After a little time with my e-reader, it is pretty clear that e-reading offers a multitude of solutions to the reading issues that are becoming all-too-popular. The ease with which reading becomes accessible offers the consumer a whole new opportunity to interact with different texts and different media. We can continue to use screens, but this time, we will be doing more with that technology.

The consumer side of the market is better, growing, and easier. That doesn’t necessarily bode well, though, for the book industry as we know it. Book sellers and libraries face a difficult reality. They will either have to change the way they play the game, or choose to remove themselves. As we see them now, bookstores are locations for buying hard-copies of books. You can get new digital copies on the internet. Same goes for libraries. Under the current system, there is no need for these institutions if a digital download is available.

Yet, both bookstores and libraries are making shifts. Many libraries offer online libraries, where patrons can download copies of books and return them online, just the same as hard copies get returned to the library building. The same goes for bookstores. Barnes and Noble has created the Nook, their own version of the e-reader, and offers their books both online and in-store. While this won’t necessarily help the stores themselves, the company is prepared for the future.

The world of reading is changing, and so must the locations where reading is stimulated. That doesn’t mean, though, that reading is going to struggle. To continue to allow reading to be competitive with other sources of media, the industry needs to move to continue to allow consumers to get their hands on material.

After years of waiting, I decided to buy into the future of reading. It didn’t take long to realize just how limitless the possibilities are.

Dec. 10th: Fear Itself

This past Saturday was the anniversary of “a date that will live in infamy.” 72 years ago, Pearl Harbor was attacked, launching the country into a war that, to that point, we had avoided.

Now, as we reflect on the events of December 7^th, 1941, I can’t help but remember another famous statement by Franklin Delano Roosevelt, this time one eight years earlier on his inauguration for his first term as president. He boldly stated that “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” This came at a time when living in America was a potentially terrifying notion. The Great Depression raged and a country in need of some courage was able to put their fear at bay by the words of their newly elected president.

American culture today is not that different. Our society is based almost entirely on fear. We go through every day in a perpetual state of discomfort and unease.

We fear what we do not know. Between homophobia, Islamaphobia, and even our fear of foreign cultures, we are trained to be scared of people who are different from ourselves.

We fear that, simply by their existence, organizations such as the Traditionalist Youth movement will become the norm. It doesn’t matter that their opinions and ideals are a tiny minority, the fact that they exist terrifies us.

We also fear being judged. An inordinate amount of time is spent worrying about what others think of us. We worry that we will be shamed, analyzed, critiqued, laughed at. We don’t want others to judge us, therefore we start campaigns against slut-shaming, gay bashing, and all other forms of criticism. While none of those things are acceptable in the society in which we live, they receive far too much of our attention, because of our constant fear that they will become our tags.

The result of these campaigns, though, is not less fear: it is more. We become afraid to say anything for fear that someone will be offended. We lose ownership of our own actions because we are so afraid of the ways that our behavior will be received by others.

The bottom line is that we all will be judged. We all will be put in situations that make us uncomfortable, force us to interact with different ideas and different kinds of people. Rather than retreating, then, and avoiding these situations, we have the opportunity to reflect on what makes us scared and actually do something about it.

During the Great Depression, fear was an incredibly real and contagious notion. That same concept of fear is no less real today. The difference is that the thing we fear most is ourselves. We are afraid to be who we are because we are worried that others will not take it well .We are afraid that, if we are who we are ,someone else, some “other,” will step in and attempt to take our identity away.

So what can we do? How can we avoid the crippling fear that permeates our lives? The answer comes in the form of information. We are most afraid when we are at our most ignorant. By learning about others and learning about ourselves, we can be less susceptible to the fear that has become culturally normal.

The fear in the aftermath of the Great Depression and World War II was followed by an era of great American growth and learning. America can learn just as significantly today from the fears and strength of our past.

December 4th: Polar Pops

One of the most successful advertising campaigns of all time just got a whole lot bigger.

Introduced for the first time as early as the 1920s, the polar bear has been a mainstay in Coca-Cola’s advertising campaigns. The ads spun off into a campaign with the World Wildlife Fund to help protect the bears, creating something of a symbiotic relationship between the advertisers and the furry friends that have helped to launch the company into the hearts of billions of people around the globe. Through the over 80 years of polar bear-based Coke ads, the animation and characterization has changed and developed, advancing as technology allows. Now, they are ready to take yet another step forward in the hopes of selling their iconic brand.

A short, six minute movie has been produced, featuring the Coca-Cola polar bears. Yes, that is how they are introduced. At first glance, it would be totally reasonable to believe that it is simply a children’s movie with polar bears as the protagonist, but within moments, Coke removes all doubt of their stamp on the film.

This is a brilliant move on the part of the Coca-Cola Company for several reasons. The timing is also pretty well scripted. The film trailers were featured in new releases such as the Hunger Games, which hit theaters just a few days after Coke announced their intentions to donate their advertising budget for the coming period to disaster relief in the Philippines. While donating their money in such a public way is definitely doing good work for the world, it is also a form of free advertising. The money that Coke sent to the Philippines also helped to create a positive media buzz that can’t hurt Coke’s bottom line. Having a six minute advertising movie can’t hurt their case.

It is also interesting to note the target audience for the short film. The expectation is not that older media consumers will stumble upon this film. The most significant demographic for this movie is children, who will seek out some screen time with their new favorite white friends. I’m sure there will be stuffed animals, t-shirts, and other merchandise running in parallel to the movie and even further infiltration into our homes. What this does is get children hooked on a brand before they are trained to understand the complexity of advertising and how it affects them. By getting them while they’re young, Coke is maximizing their ad profits, because they have the potential to create a connection with the individuals who will be their target audience not only now, but for the rest of their lives.

As one of the most innovative advertising companies in the world, Coca-Cola continues to find new ways to get their names out there and into the homes of consumers. Without analysis or thought, it can leave consumers completely at the mercy of the corporation.