767B_Media Psych_Project 2_#lilcook

767B_Media Psych_Project 2_#lilcook

Story Map

Story Table

Invitation to Twitter Q&A	Screen fills with invitation,(envelope and invite)
Q&A begins with users asking questions	Hands typing questions, keyboard displayed as well as question i.e. “What is your secret ingredient?”
Moderator answers questions asked	Full screen Twitter response, no hands, just handle and response
All users ask to see demo video of the baking	Split screen or all different hands typing question. Question is in foreground, typing hands in background.
Moderator finishes Twitter Q&A with a link to the video demo	Blurred or cropped out image of moderator typing final response
Baking demo video begins	Video of a little girl baking
Final screen quote	Something along the lines of what you expect online may not be what you get.

767B_Media Psych_Post Interview_Peanuts

1.What is the essential story behind the piece you created?

When I began to think about the story I wanted to share, my peanut allergy was the first experience that came to mind. When I was young I tried a peanut cookie for the first time. The result was a severe allergic reaction to the peanut. The reaction was so severe that I almost died. I experienced swelling both inwardly and outwardly, cutting off my breathing.

This event altered the way I lived my life going forward. I lived in constant awareness of an allergy in a world that was not aware. Growing up, I did not experience the taste of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, peanut m&m’s, snickers or pecan pie. This type of awareness made holidays i.e. Halloween, lunches and even eating at restaurants difficult. Several reactions later I began carrying an epi-pen and Benadryl with me at all times. My mom, of course became concerned and even overprotective.

Growing up I did not truly grasp the gravity of my allergy until I had my daughter. She tried peanut m&m’s and had a severe allergic reaction similar to mine. Now, I’m more aware and understand the overprotective nature of my mother. This awareness has proven to be the catalyst as I try to educate my 3-year old daughter about a food that could potentially kill her. I am now the overprotective mother at class parties, lunches and Easter egg hunts. Along with my daughter, we live in a world that operates unaware. With such a severe allergy, we are both learning to be brave and mindful in a peanut filled world.

2.What was your purpose in creating this piece of new media narrative? Do you feel you were successful in communicating your purpose?

The purpose of creating this piece really comes down to educating an unaware public. However, the overarching purpose was to share a monumental moment in my life that forever changed me and later on, my daughter.

I feel like I was successful communicating a moment that had a significant impact on my life. I’m pleased with the outcome of the video itself. There are several nuances that may not be visible to the audience that I would love to correct. The lack of proper lighting and sound equipment affected the video. This is something I could correct with more experience and better equipment. Overall, mistakes included, I feel successful. My goal was to tell a simplified story utilizing child-like props and it worked.

        

3.Who was your audience? Do you feel you were successful in reaching your audience?

The audience intended for this piece is comprised of moms, dads, teachers or children suffering from a peanut allergy or knows someone who is. I think this narrative is the first step to a larger message. My hope is that this begins a conversation about an allergy impacting young and old alike.  

I believe the only way to know if I was successful reaching my audience is to test it. Ultimately, showcasing Peanuts in a quirky way will cause the audience to pause. My hope is that the pause will cause awareness and empathy towards the allergy.

4.Why did you use your particular approach to media production and media selection? Were you successful?

I used this approach to Peanuts because I believe it’s a message that needs to be heard. In order for people to hear it, it has to be easy to understand. I’ve seen allergy commercials before or even public service announcements about peanut allergies. Unfortunately, they take a serious message and forget to engage their audience. Instead, there is an extensive amount of information thrown at the viewer and the viewer has a hard time sifting through it. The viewer is overloaded with information and then misses the message.

Using a whimsical approach allows for an otherwise “boring” subject to be interesting and engaging. Changing props allows the audience to keep track of a story because of a simple narrative and the look and feel of the video.  I was successful using this particular approach to a certain degree. I’m a bit of a perfectionist and realize what is wrong with the piece. Lighting could be better and there is a transitional edit that could use some work along with sound. I also covered the top of the ambulance instead of holding it at a different angle. Again, these are all learning curves. At the end of the day, I’m happy with how the piece turned out.

5. What did you learn during the process of crafting your media piece       that you can use in creating future new media narrative?

        

I think I will constantly be learning how to craft media pieces. This assignment gave me the opportunity to imagine and ultimately create a video that told a personal story.  I believe this video is the first step to creating many more.  I learned more about lighting and sound during this video. I also learned a little more about editing. Even filming was a bit of a challenge. I also learned how to operate iMovie a bit more.

The challenge for me is always developing what I picture in my mind. It can be difficult to picture something in your mind and realize that you may not have the skill set available to create the video you want. This is my challenge in the future. To be able to imagine it and actually create what I’ve imagined.

        

            

767B_Media Psych_New Media Project 1_Peanuts

767B_Media Psych_Peanuts Story Map

Story map

2 years old

Tried a peanut butter cookie           

Had a severe allergic reaction 

Rushed me to the ER and I made it

Have to watch everything I eat

Benadryl and an epi-pen at all times

Learned to live in a peanut world

I have to constantly be aware

Mom was overprotective 

Daughter has the same allergy

We almost lost her

Now, I’m overprotective

I also try to equip others

I try to equip my 2 year old

She’s trying to avoid something that could kill her

It’s not always easy, but it’s worth it

724 E/Media Psych/Final Print Ad

When I began to develop my final print ad, I had a tough time. I struggled with trying to put all that I've learned onto one page without it seeming overworked or overloaded with information. To accomplish this, I introduced a new social media technology to incorporate my learnings along with persuasive media.

I began with a digital citizen. As technology progresses, our digital citizens will start early. In this case, looking to the future, it's quite possible that digital citizenship will be introduced at birth. With the growth of new technology,  infants may be able to use to touch pads to stimulate and increase growth. Because of this, I introduced a social media site that could start as early as infancy. I chose to call it Chirp because it follows the same thread as Twitter and could be considered in the same "family." Chirp encompasses the "speak" of a young bird and because it's introduced at early age it represents a young infant.

If I act as a digital de-tech-tive and apply the tetrad to this technology, it's possible that it may exist sooner than we think. To be gained will be the visual and mental stimulation at infancy, the loss will be fake baby toys with phones, iPads, Leapfrog learning toys or Twitter. Using Twitter as the old or antiquated technology confirms that this moment will become obsolete in the next. If this is pushed beyond it's limit we may have anti-social individuals who cannot operate outside of a technical world. 

The ad also incorporates the importance of education. Because technology is growing at such a rapid pace, we need to educate our youth not only in our schools but our homes. It is important to teach responsible digital citizenship with a balanced learning approach. 

Using social media reminded me of Marshall McLuhan which is why I chose Chirp. Re-introducing the tribe could happen at infancy with connection beginning earlier than we imagined. Social media becomes our environment and we become extensions of its skin. Working us over, the tribe is restored with a world of,  "total involvement, in which everybody is profoundly involved with everybody else,"(Marshall McLuhan, 1967).

I also chose to create this ad because of my personal struggle with technology. I was amazed at the very beginning of the course to find my reliance on technology was a moment by moment, every day occurrence. This was a scary realization. This influenced my decision to choose an infant in the ad because from birth our reliance on technology is evident. I also chose an infant because of the struggle I have with over-connection.  While benefits are easy to see, I struggle with the real live connectivity that occurs with face-to-face relationship. I believe we are tipping the scale and will find that our only connection "from birth" is to technology rather than people. 

Finally, using a "need to nurture" approach with a baby grabs the attention of most. Babies in ads create pathos in a way that most individuals cannot. Using the baby to grab attention, the  phone in the hands of a baby stimulates awareness, the copy portrays the attitude of the ad/company and a call to action is made using a URL address. Because Chirp is a "new category" it introduces something new to the social media world. Association, bandwagon and humor are the persuasive approaches this ad takes to increase awareness, sales and involvement in Chirp.

Overall, the last few months have been more than awakening. I'm aware of dining rooms and microwaves and more involved with the technological decisions I'm making for my children. I go back to my Mantra often, " to use technology as a digital citizen, with balance, creativity, relevance and social responsibility." More importantly, I believe I'm educated in such a way that I can succeed as a Media Psychologist both personally and professionally. --Thank you!

724 E Media Psych/The Particulars of Media Persuasion

Deconstructing the message of political commercials has proven to be an interesting task this week.  During the recent presidential campaign an ad entitled “Sarah” captured my attention.  The timing, delivery and location of the commercial piqued my interest and for the purpose of this week’s assignment, warrant a closer look.

The source of the commercial is the Mitt Romney election committee. The message intends to educate and sway voters to vote for Romney. The commercial also solidifies loyal voters and their decision to vote for Romney. The intended audience of this commercial is Obama voters, women, on the fence voters and finally his own supporters. 

The text of the commercial is very clear:

• ·      Soccer mom finds correct information regarding Mitt Romney
• ·      Obama has been misquoting Romney
• ·      Check the facts before you believe what you hear
• ·      Romney supports abortion
• ·      A woman used to believe in Obama
• ·      Her family can’t afford another four years of Obama
• ·      Obama created debt
• ·      Romney is the clear choice

The subtexts include:

• ·      I’m a regular mom just like you
• ·      I have kids just like you
• ·      I was thinking about voting for Romney until I heard his stance on abortion
• ·      I searched online and found the true facts
• ·      Romney believes in abortion just like Obama
• ·      Who cares about abortion, let’s focus on debt
• ·      I’ve suffered financially under Obama
• ·      I used to believe in Obama
• ·      I can’t afford Obama
• ·      I like Romney

When this commercial begins, an immediate close up of a woman appears and then you’re invited into her home. The ad immediately feels warm and engaging. Voters are welcomed inside Sarah’s home, meet Sarah’s family and feel involved in the everyday life of Sarah.

This particular commercial uses persuasion in an unassuming way. While incorporating political rhetoric, it does so without being obvious.  Using the “plain folks” testimonial, Sarah projects an image of a regular person. She is relate-able to intelligent, everyday females and soccer moms alike. While projecting an authentic image, Sarah gives Mitt Romney authenticity with the everyday voter. The commercial also provides a simple solution for the consumer. Using rhetoric that breaks down political speak, Sarah explains that after researching the facts, she realized Romney isn’t against abortion.  Even though she voted for Obama in the last election she’s since changed her mind. While she is concerned about abortion, she is more concerned about the debt Obama has created. Her final statement appeals to a working class family who can’t afford four more years of Obama.

What I found most interesting is that Romney’s view on abortion was incorrectly communicated. Mitt Romney does not believe in abortion, however the commercial focused on the “exceptions” to his belief.  Next, when the discussion lead to the debt created by Obama, there were no facts presented. Instead, the commercial played on emotion while Sarah explained that she could no longer “afford” Obama.

The approach of the commercial was exactly what Romney needed to solidify his win during the first debate. Immediately, Romney became accessible to liberal voters.  Romney capitalized on voters, or more specifically women, who were on the fence. This ad made Romney appear liberal, while also playing the part of a conservative.

Overall, the message of the commercial was easy to see, but hard to turn off regardless of party affiliation. Its appeal was unassuming in such a way, that even the unbeliever was disarmed.