Read-Think-b4-u-Write

FindFace is a facial recognition app developed by two Russians that boasts a 70 percent reliability rate. Why is such an app necessary? According to the creators using social media proiles it can help find missing people, your friends, or men or women that look like actors. In the case of the ersatz-famous you can send them a friend request and ask for a date. Talk about harassment?! "It works by comparing photographs to profile pictures on Vkontakte, a social network popular in Russia and the former Soviet Union, with more than 200 million accounts. In the future, the designers imagine a world where people walking past you on the street could find your social network profile by sneaking a photograph of you, and shops, advertisers and the police could pick your face out of crowds and track you down via social networks.           In the short time since the launch, Findface has amassed 500,000 users and processed nearly 3m searches." Harassment is exac...

Most of us don't usually read those emails you get from your doctor that tell you to sleep more, drink less (alcohol), and get plenty of exercise. But since I have seen a steady rise in vapor clouds coming from the various quads around campus, I have been wondering if e-Cigarettes are safe? So when this infographic popped up in my in-box I was intrigued and after reading it, all I can say is "JUST SAY NO!" E-Cigarettes contain known cancer-causing agents. I don't even need to read the rest. According to a letter published in the New England Journal of Medicine: "We've found there is a hidden form of formaldehyde in e-cigarette vapor that has not typically been measured. It's a chemical that contains formaldehyde in it, and that formaldehyde can be released after inhalation," the writer, Pankow, said. "People shouldn't assume these e-cigarettes are completely safe." WT? Formaldehyde? And what about those essential oils? Vanilla ...

This is a great infographic entitled Psychology of Color - Analysis of Brands Color over at uFunk.net. Remember advertisers are experts at the use of rhetoric and color is just one aspect.  What do you find most surprising to learn about your favorite color?

You go about your life unaware of the Digital Shadow you cast_   Your life is measured in gigabytes. Data comes at a cost_ Algorithms can predict your interests, your desires, even your fantasies_ These are some of the ominous calculations Digital Shadow performs using your digital footprint. Want to know who is secretly stalking you? Want to know who your pawns are? Don't think you have a very large digital footprint? Well, guess again.  Among other things Digital Shadow will tell you about your "Liabilities" or people that consistently post about you making you vulnerable to attack. It also lists your "Obsessions" and "Scapegoats" -- people you would sacrifice if you had too. Digital Shadow looks at your online Facebook data and provides a psychological profile of the digital you.  Perhaps the digital you is "Neurotic and exhibits high levels of self-absorption and insecurity"...

What is power? According to Hunter S. Thompson, Gonzo Journalist extraordinaire, "Power is language.  Power is being able to use language. "Power is the ability to help people. "Power is taking risks. "Power can be ruthless. "Power is doing the right thing at the wrong time" This thirty-second commercial was created for Macintosh in the 1990s when Steve "Jobs waxed lyrical about the 'crazy ones, misfits, rebels and rule breakers?' No surprise, then, that Apple decided to burnish its rebel credentials by hiring none other than the father of gonzo journalism to star in one of its TV spots." But more than Fear and Loathing , Thompson was notorious not only for his drug-induced road trips, but also for his temper . . . and he was no techie. According to Open Culture , "Presumably, simply having Thompson in the ad gave Apple enough countercultural cachet, since he never mentions either the company or its product. T...

One would think that Leonardo da Vinci, the guy who invented the helicopter, created the most famous picture of man (you know the guy in the circle holding out his arms), and painted the Mona Lisa , wouldn't have to create a resume', but then one would be WRONG!  Before da Vinci was the toast of Renaissance Europe, he was a nobody, a student, just like you, and just like you he had to send out a resume' or two. Marc Cenedella posted a translation of DaVinci's resume as follows: “Most Illustrious Lord, Having now sufficiently considered the specimens of all those who proclaim themselves skilled contrivers of instruments of war, and that the invention and operation of the said instruments are nothing different from those in common use: I shall endeavor, without prejudice to any one else, to explain myself to your Excellency, showing your Lordship my secret, and then offering them to your best pleasure and approbation to work with effect at opportune moment...

In April 2012, The UK Guardian ran a story entitled "How to Download Your Data From Google and Facebook" and offers the following step-by-step instructions into your digital life. Google The Google user data which you're able to access through the site's transparency services are split across three places. Dashboard: The dashboard is the principal place to get information on all your Google services – and includes data from Picasa, Gmail, YouTube, search histories and more. You can get to it at www.google.com/dashboard/ – expect to have to re-enter your password, even if logged in. Account Activity: The dashboard has been going for three years now, but Google have added a new monthly monitoring feature with a few extra bits of information in the last month. Called Account Activity , it gives info on how much you've used different services, from which computers and browsers, and some extra bits of information. It's delivered to your inbox after si...

...and I do mean direct!  In the 2002 movie Minority Report starring Tom Cruise, the protagonist enters a mall, is scanned, and then targeted by a variety of direct marketing ads. See for yourself! Today you are scanned the moment you sit at your computer and begin shopping on the internet.  As Michael Learmonth says in "The Pants that Stalked Me on the Web," after shopping for a pair of shorts he began receiving internet ads aimed at his desire to buy summer pants.  Being a marketing executive he "know[s] why I'm getting these ads. But as a consumer I'd be creeped out by it, and definitely a little annoyed." On the other hand, Miguel Helft and Tanzina Vega report that "this form of highly personalized marketing is being hailed as the latest breakthrough because it tries to show consumers the right ad at the right time."   So internet advertisers are doing us all a favor, we aren't inundated with ads for products we aren't interes...

When you think of the Japanese you may think of pachinko machines, but when the Japanese think of Americans they picture Nicholas Cage square dancing? Do Japanese people think every American drives a pick-up truck while singing along to Beethoven? Cage played his "American-ness to the very hilt. When pachinko machine manufacturer Sankyo recruited Cage, they went all-out, getting him square-dancing in the middle of a lonely southwestern highway with a pack of metal ball-headed aliens" says Open Culture . But the Japanese aren't the only ones who stereotype foreigners. How do American commercials stereotype other cultures? Do you think these stereotypes are fair? Why or why not? Why do we stereotype?

Did you read F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby in high school or college? Did you have a hard time keeping track of who is who? SomethingSoSam.com created a slick art deco Gatsby Character Map to help you keep track. But SomethingSoSam didn't stop there, there are also some graphics of memorable Gatsby quotes , like this one: To finish off this trilogy of visual fun, here is a video with a little bit more about the Gatsby characters . . . A Look Into the Characters of The Great Gatsby from SomethingSoSam on Vimeo . It's obvious this graphic artist is passionate about The Great Gatsby . Warner Brothers would be well served to hire SomethingSoSam to create the posters for their movie slated for release December 2012. It is billed as an "American 3D romantic drama film", and stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Jay Gatsby, Carey Mulligan as Daisy Buchanan, Tobey Maguire as Nick Carraway, Joel Edgerton as Tom Buchanan and Isla Fisher as Myrtle Wilson....

A comics journalist and an assistant professor walk into a bar. What'll ya have? asks the barkeep. "Pictures of Reformtinis," says the journalist. "A panel of Education Fizzes" responds the professor. The barkeep frowns, "Okay, but you'll end up in the gutter." I know the punchline could be better . . . Education reform is no joke so Adam Bessie, assistant professor at Diablo Valley College, and Dan Archer, comics journalist, took on the education reform movement in their interactive comic featured at TruthOut.org. The first episode, The Disaster Capitalism Curriculum: The High Price of Education Reform and second episode, Murky Waters: The Education Debate in New Orleans take on the system while trying to make sense of how we teach our students. But before you click on the links -- it gets even better. Bessie and Archer designed their visual essay as a fully functional interactive comic with built in links to all their sou...

New hires (that's code for young adults) can't spell, use proper grammar, or write an intelligent memo. At least that's what some employers and grammar experts would have you believe in a recent WSJ article entitled This Embarrasses You and I* Grammar Gaffes Invade the Office in an Age of Informal Email, Texting and Twitter . The article catalogs the extreme lengths some companies employ for a standard English image, such as having employee letters reviewed before mailing, 25-cent grammar fines, and in-house tutoring. Ruined advertising and a tarnished company image provide employer justification, but to me it seems a lot of this could be avoided by a good proofreading. These examples triggered a couple "new hire" memories of my own. First, my boss wasn't worried about poor grammar, but bad language, so every time an employee dropped an F-bomb in the office, he or she had to pay the can. Secondly, my boss had spelling problems of his own and crea...

The World Wildlife Fund's 2012 Living Planet report notes that "we are using 50 per cent more resources than the Earth can provide. By 2030, even two planets will not be enough." Rising populations and rising incomes have and will lead to a larger human footprint on the planet. Are we a plague? Ask Agent Smith who tells the captive Morpheus in The Matrix ? "Every mammal on this planet instinctively develops a natural equilibrium with the surrounding environment but you humans do not. You move to an area and you multiply and multiply until every natural resource is consumed and the only way you can survive is to spread to another area. There is another organism on this planet that follows the same pattern. Do you know what it is? A virus. Human beings are a disease, a cancer of this planet. You're a plague and we are the cure." Yikes! I don't think we need to get that extreme, but how do we balance population while protecting nature? How do ...

For fanboys (and girls) "The Dog Strikes Back" is the best 2012 Super Bowl commercial. What a German auto has to do with a pooch's shaping up is hard to deduce, but this commercial certainly makes an impression on the imbibers at Chalmun's Cantina in the pirate city of Mos Eisley. Volkswagen released an earlier teaser called "The Bark Side" to warm up audiences for the Super Bowl favorite. The German auto maker must have determined that everybody likes dogs and Star Wars , hiring some Jedi Dog Trainers to produce this canine symphony of "The Imperial March" aka "Darth Vader's Theme." Soloists include Chewbarka, Dog Vader, DAT-AT, oh please, don't get started with the pooch puns. And here's last year's Super Bowl commercial to which the bar fly in "The Dog Strikes Back" alludes--"Are you kidding? The dog is funnier than the Vader kid"--Hmmm . . . you be the judge. Star Wars seems to have beco...

You may not agree, but according to Super-BowlCommercials.org , these are the top three commercials you saw in between a New England Patriot safety (as in the scoring play, not the position) and a come-from-behind touchdown drive by the New York Giants. 1. "It's Halftime in America" starring Clint Eastwood. Product: Chrysler. This ad is reminiscent of Ronald Reagan's, 1984 "It's Morning in America" political advertisement. "We're all in this together?" Who is the audience for this commercial? This seems to be a nostalgic return to better days. Detroit, American cars, Super Bowl Sunday, you can't much more American than that. How is Chrysler using pathos (emotional appeals) in this ad? 2. "Matthew's Day Off" starring Ferris Bueller, errr, I mean Matthew Broderick. Product: Honda CR-V. Wow, another throwback. If you know the movie, Ferris Bueller's Day Off , you'll get the references. How doe...

David Eggers recently wrote a column at the Wall Street Journal entitled " Top Eight Rules of Networking " Here are his suggestions: 1. Have a Solid Introduction "First impressions count heavily. Make sure your attire, attitude and overall appearance are the best possible before introducing yourself to someone." No brainer, right? 2. Don't Confuse People with Your Pitch "No one needs to hear your entire work history upon meeting you. If someone asks you to tell them a bit about yourself, your explanation from start to finish shouldn't take more than 30 to 60 seconds." This is something you should be practicing -- in the car, in the shower, in front of the mirror. Put yourself in the listener's shoes, would you want to hear a two hour dialogue from someone you just met? 3. Don't Tell a Sob Story "No matter how tough it's been, you need to paint a positive picture when you're making new connections. ...

When talking about rhetoric, we think ethos (appeals to authority), pathos (appeals to emotion), or logos (appeals to logic). Advertisers are the kings of exploiting rhetoric to get you to do something, from buying cars or fast food to electing a president. Political advertisements often use pathos to scare the electorate into voting for a canditdate who will make things "better." Or, they may rely on hope, the way President Obama did in the last election. Today many political advertisments ask, "Are you better off than you were four years ago?" the way President Reagan did in 1984. Constitution Daily has collected the 10 Best Political Advertisements since 1952 . Here's a couple: ’60 – JFK JingleM Candidate: John F. Kennedy, Democrat Did he win?: Yes. Here's an election that turned Kennedy's youth into an asset with the slogan he's "old enough to know and young enough to do." ’64 – “Daisy” Candidate: Lyndon Johnson...

Job hunters are always reminded of things they should avoid doing in their résumés. But here are five great things to do with, or include in, your résumé. 1. Show enthusiasm. It's okay to be excited about a job possibility. In fact, enthusiasm is often contagious, and says, "I'm ready to work!" What employer doesn't want an employee that conveys a can-do attitude? 2. Include Awards and Achievements. Employers want to see more than job history. If you've won awards for your work, schooling, special interests, or have done volunteer work, it tells perspective employers that you're willing to go the extra mile and that you are passionate about something. 3. Computer and media skills. Many companies maintain a high internet presence. Why? Because a lot of it it is free, and if you know how to navigate through twitter, blog spot, wordpress, Facebook, LinkedIn or other networking sites, that tells would-be bosses that they have someone who u...

The rhetoric of logos is based on what it sounds like: logic. According to Aristotle it is supported by "proof, or apparent proof, provided by the words of the speech [or text] itself." It is the use of argumentation and rational appeals based on facts, case studies, statistics, anecdotes, experiments, logical reasoning, and analogies. Think of toothpaste commercials that claim "Nine out of ten dentists recommend Crust because studies show it prevents cavities." Strong arguments should have a balance of ethos (ethical appeals), pathos (emotional appeals), and logos (rational appeals). Logic often seems like the most convincing element of an argument, but many times the listener has to depend on the ethos of the speaker in order to believe the logos of his or her argument. In other words, you have to take the writer's word for it, whatever "it" may be. McDonald's is not immune to rational appeals. There has to be some logic in our c...

Pathos refers to the emotion or passion a writer evokes in a reader. It involves stirring people up enough to get them to do or believe something. Aristotle didn't much like this form of persuasion. "The arousing of prejudice, pity, anger, and similar emotions has nothing to do with the essential facts, but is merely a personal appeal to the [wo]man who is judging the case." Advertisers and politicians often revert to pathos because it is the only way you will get somebody to put down the remote, get up of the coach, and do something. Advertisers or writers can appeal to higher emotions like our belief in fairness and justice, love, or pity; or they can appeal to our lower emotions like greed, lust, revenge, avarice, and jealousy. Even if you're not a politician or advertiser, think about how you might use pathos in your everyday career to persuade your boss or coworkers to believe or do something you think is important. When is it appropriate to use emoti...