How the media views advertising--Kaitlin Wesela

http://www.ted.com/talks/johanna_blakley_social_media_and_the_end_of_gender.html

The TED Talk that I chose is given by Johanna Blakley, and she is talking about the role of women and demographics in the media and how it will change in the future. She explains that instead of actually tracking people true interests and passions, the media uses a generalization of people based on age groups. While a general outlook on people may help companies, it is not able to target groups as a whole. For example, it’s a generalization that all men like sports, but what about those men who actually don’t? This is what Blakley is trying to portray in her speech. She even suggests that women will be the “death” of chick flicks because of the fact that women in the media business are trying to steer clear of the sappy demographic that women possess. This video interested me because I think it is important as people that we take into consideration the differences there are between everyone. As a society we need to learn to grow and adapt together to insure that the end result of advertisements and whatnot please all parties involved.

Johanna Blakley majored in English at the University of Oregon and received her BA in 1989. She then continued her education at Orgeon and later received her MA in 1991. Apparently that was not enough for Blakely, because she then went on to obtain her PhD at the University of California, Santa Barbara in 1998. But before she got her PhD, she actually taught at Santa Barbara for about 5 years in between. After her job as a lecturer and teaching assistant, she went on to work at Blueprint R&D in San Francisco as a Web consultant. Blakley help to develop a CBS cartoon called Blasteris Universe. From 2000-present, Blakley has worked at the Norman Lear Center at the University of Southern California doing various jobs. She guided over 50 manuscripts into publication offices and wrote grants for the Lear Centers project on American propaganda. Blakley current gives lectures and helps to develop the Masters Program at USC.

After high school, I am going to California Polytechnic University Pomona ad am majoring in Marketing & Advertising. I know that over the years at college I may change my mind, but as of now this is what I really want to do. I think that some good internships for me to have would be to work at an actual advertising firm and to experience what everyday life is like for those in that business. I think it would be cool to be able to use my creativity and artistic side to intrigue those who experience ads and commercials 24/7. For the marketing aspect, I would love to be able to intern at a company and have a mentor to show me the ropes. I am a very persuasive person an work well with people, so I think that having to give presentations and getting clients interested in a certain product would be right up my alley. I do know that when I start in this business it will take a while to climb up the totem pole, but I am really to face that challenge.