22May2008

Daily Brand Timeline Portrait

Posted by Alec under: Media; Pedagogy; media literacy.

I just came across “Jane’s Brand-timeline Portrait“, a visualization of the brand names that one is exposed to each day.

Jane's Brand Timeline Portrait

All that talk about brand perception got me thinking about how brands affect our daily lives. Have you ever thought about how many brands you use in a typical day? Well I did and created a visual representation of my Typical Friday in Brands. I have to admit that I was pretty surprised at how at how big this thing got once I started working on it. I am also surprised at how much this reveals about me …

Creating similar brand portraits through a classroom assignment could help students gain deep and meaningful understanding of the marketing forces around them, even those students who perceive themselves as impervious to the effects of advertising.

As a compliment or reinforcement to this activity, I would recommend this video from Derren Brown that demonstrates the power of subliminal advertising.

Note: I am always skeptical of videos like this, and I haven’t looked to how accurately this experience was portrayed, but believe the basic concepts are sound.

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18May2008

Busy Time Rants

Posted by Alec under: Conferences; Events; Open Content; Open Movement; Open Source; Social Networks; collaboration; media literacy; presentations.

I have been busy with a number of things these days. Here are a few thoughts on the what is happening.

re: TLT08

I just came back from the TLT 2008 conference in Saskatoon. It was an excellent conference, and much better than last year. Highlights for me include the amazing keynotes by Rick […] More »

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12May2008

I’m a Lucky, Lucky Man

Posted by Alec under: Personal.

I have two very beautiful and healthy children. I am a very lucky person!

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10May2008

Microsoft Moves to Limit ULPCs

Posted by Alec under: Open Source; advertising.

Microsoft has launched a campaign to promote the use of Windows OS in ultra low-cost PC notebooks. However, the company is asking hardware manufacturers to limit the hardware capabilities of these machines as to avoid cannibalizing sales of higher-end notebook computers.

Microsoft plans to offer PC makers steep discounts on Windows XP Home Edition to encourage

[…] More »

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10May2008

Patent for a Pig

Posted by Alec under: Business; Government; Open Movement; Politics.

It has been a bit slow here lately as I have been getting started on a few research projects, going to conferences, and teaching a new undergraduate course this Spring.

I watched this short documentary on Monsanto’s pursuit of breeding patents/DNA patterns found in pigs. Of course, Monsanto has been infamous for patents relate to genetic modifications to wheat, but I have not closely followed this trend toward livestock.

See […] More »

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