Medium is the Message

I was recently watching a press conference after a baseball game. The game was between the Phillies and the Giants, and was during the National League Championship Series, so the expected viewership was high. During the conference, Jimmy Rollins of the Phillies was talking. In front of him sat two Gatorade bottles and a Gatorade paper cup. All of the objects were facing forward in a way that clearly depicted the world-famous G across the TV screens all across the country.
This blatant form of advertising is just one example of the thousands of areas in which we see similar product placement and ad manipulation. In the movie the social network, products ranging from Jose Cuervo to Mountain Dew, Gap to Under Armour ran rampant, displayed clear enough to see, yet so hidden that nobody would actually remember seeing.
Media has the ability to advertise without letting on to the viewer that they are being played. I learned in my Media Analysis class that we, as consumers, are most susceptible to advertising when we are least paying attention to it.
I personally feel as if I have been hoodwinked. I am just starting to notice all of the placed ads in the media that I consume, and am realizing that it has been going on forever, and that I was never noticing it because I wasn't truly paying attention.
Being able to look objectively at what we are seeing a truly taking it all into account when viewing is vitally important. It is so easy for us to be manipulated by advertising when we are oblivious to it, but the instant we open our eyes, the better equipped we are to avoid being played. Rather than being a passive watcher or viewer, become more active in analyzing what we are seeing.
This extends beyond simply the world of advertising. In fact, advertising is a depiction of what is really going on around us. There are so many times that we go through life with our heads down, only seeing what we are looking for. Stopping at taking in everything around us will not only allow us to have a better understanding of what is happening, but also a better appreciation for it.

All-star Selection

I am a huge baseball fan. I watch as many games as I can. I check all of the box scores online the day after. I follow almost every player and every stat.

One of the most fun things about baseball is the All-star game. Voting for the players that perform each and every day simply excites me. I love logging on and voting over and over again for my favorites. This year, I was an avid fan of my favorite player, Josh Hamilton. I voted the 25 vote maximum for him, as well as many of his peers.

Selection Sunday brings two very different emotions. The first is excitement. I can't wait to hear which players won the vote, and which were selected by their peers. The second emotion, though, is often one of confusion. People don't understand why player A got in and player B got "snubbed".

I can understand when people are strong advocates for certain players who SHOULD have made the team but didn't. What I don't like is when TV shows, editorial articles, and fans question why certain players DID make the team.

Case in point: Omar Infante is a utility player for the Atlanta Braves. He was selected to the All-Star team for the first time. When he was called by the General Manager of the Braves to be told he was selected, he thought he had been traded and thought that it was a cruel joke to have made the team. Once he believed it though, he was thrilled. Why is it, then, that ESPN should take that joy away from him by telling him he really isn't good enough to have made the team? Why is it acceptable to tell a man that all the work he has done has finally payed off and now it is called into quesiton?

Let the guy have his day. Don't take away one man's excitement just because there may have been a better candidate. Joey Votto, the Reds' first baseman was really snubbed. He should have made the team. He didn't. And although it is great to chatter over who should have gotten the nod, it isn't right to take away someone's pride just because of a game. Let's not forget that baseball, and really all sports, are just that, a game. This game is supposed to be for fun, not for tearing each other apart.

During the game and Home Run Derby beforehand, I hope everybody, fan, player, and even Umpire, simply enjoys the festivities,rather than wasting the fun by slamming certain players.