A blog that chronicles the learning of a group of high school Advanced Placement English Language and Composition students and their teacher.
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Unspun
Write about one thing that made you think from the reading. It could be something that you liked, didn't like, surprised you...anything that elicited a reaction.
I like the part about superlatives. I was waiting for a section like that to appear because I think that is one of the most obvious forms of spin. As a little kid those commercials confused me because I didn't know what the product was "better" than. Even the book started off saying nothing is absolute so how can something be the "best". Also I consider superlatives like best and better to be matters of opinion not facts. If something is higher or lower that is something to promote, but lowest and highest are things that cannot be proven (no absolutes).
Something that made me think was when it said companies have been built on deception.This surprises me because I would never think of companies being built on lies. I never realized how much false advertising there is when it comes to common products that we buy everyday.
I thought an interesting part of the book was how companies have been built of deception. Many products with household names are marketed with false or deceiving advertising. This surprises me because I did not know that products could become popular and well-known when they are being falsely advertised.
While reading the book I found many things that I didn't really like about the pages that we read but one thing stood out to me. I felt that the authors were talking a lot more about how Bush twisted things in his campaign and really didn't talk about how Kerry twisted things. They did touch base on what was twisted in Kerry's speeches but I thought there was a lot more information on things that Bush spun and used out of context to get him reelected.
On pages 11-12 the book talked about how candidates for positions will often say false facts about their opponents. Reading made me remember how that every candidate will lie about their opponent at one time. It was somewhat suprisung, but at the same time not. In just this past debate their were multiple lies about the fellow candidate. It was anywhere between their beliefs and what they have done that could dsiprove them as president. This lying can be about anything when it comes to the elections, it is not on a specific area. I liked that Unspun reminded me of this well-used tactic by people of today. In this election I had not really thought about the lying, but now I am paying more attention to commercials and public speakings of the candidates.
I was a little suprised at the scams that people got away with in the past. It caused me to stop and take a second to reread it. I did not believe that people got away with scams that were so obvious. I guess people just buy things with the hope that it will work and don't do the research ahead of time.
Anna and I decided that one thing we didn't like about the book was that it talked about how one party's candidate spun information for several examples, but never went and talked about the other candidate at all. It's not that I'm for one candidate or the other, but I thought it wasn't fair how it pointed out the flaws in on political party but didn't go to the other. I did like when the author used the word malarkey and puffery. It made me smile.
I thought the first few pages were interesting. It was crazy just how easily people can be convinced. Especially with the snake oil salesman. However, I did realize just how convinced I become and how tempted I am to try new products just because the add or commercial is convincing. I was watching tv and kept analyzing the commercials that came on and realized hwo much sales people cna twist words to seel something. There are so many statistics that can easily be changed, but most people won't care toa ctually research into the topic. I also had never thought about the oppposing side of the sales people. it is so easy to convince people so why not? It is easy money for something cheaply made but if you tell people the opposite they don't seem to question. It is actually really smart to twist words, becaus ein the end whoever feel for it is at fault, not the person who easily manipulated someone who didn't care enough to do research.
The part that I thought was the most thought provoking, was A Bridemaid's Bad Breath. This part bascially talked about all the signs of being spun. I guess I just found it interesting, because it was such simple things that they were spinning, like Listerine. Listerine seems like a necessity, and I understand they want more costumers to purchase their product, but I never noticed their ads very so tricky. I did like however, that they talked about the ads that were a little more comical and appealing and why they were appealing to costumers. This section probably made me think the most, because I obviously rarely realize how easily they're selling their product to me. I think I learned that I'm too easily persuaded.
The part that was most interesting to read about to me was the part that talked about scams in advertising. It was somewhat interesting to read about how products that don't really work have been around for hundreds of years, and how companies are discovering new ways to get people to buy them. It kind of made me wonder how many "miracle" products there are on the market today.
Something that surprised me was how easily everyone is spun by the media. Specifically when they were talking about the 2004 election between George W. Bush and John Kerry, and the "wolves" ad and Kerry's "willingness" to "cut" intelligence funding. The fact that so many people believed the attack ad on Kerry so willingly, as well as the other way around for George W. Bush is astounding. I find it sad that there is so little fact-checking done by the general public when it comes to politics whether it's in foreign policy, national security, social issues, etc. I honestly believe that if people had really done their research that maybe the results of the 2004 election might've turned out quite differently. People are just so willing to take whatever the media is feeding them without wondering if maybe it's all a little too good to be true.
One thing that made me think about the reading, was when they began to talk aobut how the Listerine bride commercial was so popular after it showed the fears of the public people. One quote that definately interested me was when the author said as people "we can be manipulated by appeals to our fears and insecurities". I loved this quote because i absolutely agree with it. It was crazy how the Listerine commercial used an ad to sell Listerinie by showing the things that we fear in life (such as losing friends or even a husband) because of bad breath. I thought this was genius, yet at the same time very sneaky. As i look back, i could definitely see myself falling into this trap of spin. After reading parts of this book, it has shown me how easily even my emotions and fears can be pulled towards a certain direction to make me believe advertisers and political campaign candidates.
I think it is odd how different companies use fear in order to get people to obuy their product. In the book it uses examples from the Listerine ads. Unspun talked about how the company of Listerine gave off the impression of if you don't use the product you and risk losing a friend or even a future spouse. I think it is odd how they used the tactic of fear to persuade people to buy their products and I never thought about it in that way.
The entire time that I read this book, it made me think. The perspectives that the book gives on the persuasive elements of life are incredibley interesting. One of the parts that I found intriguing was when they were talking about Starbucks coffee. The smallest size is called a "tall". I have always thought this to be weird because in my mind a tall should be large. However, when the author pointed it out to me, I realized how they used it as a marketing strategy. By simply calling something it is not, many people are content with the amount of coffee they order. I thought this was noteable because I think it is important to be aware of all the marketing stragies companies use to earn your business.
Empty support. As a student, I am constantly looking for arguements to support my claims. In many differnt subjuects I have to write essays over an opinion. The trouble with this now is the fact that it no longer is about out opinion but it is being graded on how well we support the claim. One interesting aspect of Unspun was the chapter about dangling compartitives. One would think that a political leader would be able to throughly support their ideas with research. They should not have to provide dangling comparatives to get their point accros. However, in some ways using these air filled comparitives seem to work better than real support because people do not take time to think about what the item is really being compared to. For example this moisturizer is better than the leading brand. That is so unspicific. The convincing nature of these superlous comparisons is truly facinating.
I was interested in the talk of snake oil. I found it interesting that, not only did a single man make a large amount of money on a fake product, but he was also only fined for it. He did not have to serve any time or anything. The rest of that section of reading was also interesting, mostly the lies that were exposed. Some products I had never heard of, but others were quite familiar, such as NetZero and Tropicana. I found it intriguing that they could say things completely false to get more customers, and it worked.
I liked the part where the author was discussing the ban of "assault weapons." In reality, this law did not actually ban assault weapons but merely the manufacturing and importing of certain semiautomatic weapons that can't even be fired any faster than an ordinary pistol and rifle. This was very surprising to me that the US Government would allow such a confusing and misleading name of the law to be used and not changed. This makes me wonder how many more misleading laws and things of that nature that are out there that we as citizens don't know about. Spin is truly everywhere.
The part of the book that I found very interesting this time was the dangling comparative. I found it interesting that advertisements and politicians use this technique to persuade audiences. Basically, the dangling comparative is a technique that involves a comparison between two things, but there is no supporting evidence to prove it. It says that something is better, but does not explain what it is better than. I was aware of the dangling comparative before I read this section of Unspun, but the book did a superb job of providing the definition with an example. I was surprised about just how useful the technique is in politics. Now that I have read and refreshed my mind about the dangling comparative, I will make sure to be aware to look for it used in advertisements about the 2012 presidential election.
In a section of the book it talks about how often we are around spin and how there is no way to avoid it. Whether we know it or not we are around it all the time. It just made me think about how oblivious we are to things. We could be affected by spin all of the time, everyday even, and not know it at all. It makes me wonder what things do have a "spin" to it. From tv ads, or things in magazines, internet..everything.
What made me think was when the book talked about how many salesmen and advertisments are not reliable. If people can return a product to the store then why would someone would lie about a product. The majority of the product on the market are returnable. If the product being lied about is not returnable then the skam hurts a lot of people and not just one. The skam will cause the consumer to lose trust in all advertisements and salesmen. This makes the honest salesmen suffer because the consumers will be more skeptical about them. However, this theory does not match the modern economy because there is a organization that regulates fraud and the economy has not improved.
I found it surprising on how in the past, companies just sought to make the quick buck any way possible. Even if it meant cheating a customer out of their money, they would do it. They would sell a product that didn't work, and let a customer buy it to make them money as part of their scam. I think of Ed, Edd, and Eddy and how Eddy always came up with the scams to make fast money for their jawbreakers. I do not think I would have the conscience to do that. My guilt would beat me up just because of the way I have been. I don't think deceiving people out of their money is the honest way to go. However, the customer has to be a step ahead and outsmart the company. They need to do the research to see the good/bad results of the product. The blame can go each way. The company for trying to deceive people and the customer for being gullable, just accepting, and not considering the possible consequences.
I liked that the reading gave different examples of Spin and how it had been previously used in real life. This helped me better understand spin because it gave me a context to base it from. There was one particular example where the author said that advertisements will often you words such as better, faster, and larger to make their product more appealing. This stood out to me because I see this in commercials and advertisements all the time and I can relate to it. I understand that companies do this to make it seems like their new product is better and they want it to stand out to you. They think adding words such as these to emphasize there new product are attractive to customers. I think that these words do stand out and attract viewers and it was interesting to hear that this is a tactic to persuade viewers.
I was a little surprised to see how far people would really go to persuade a person to believe a certain way, even if it meant telling an outright lie. Political candidates as well a large companies, Tropicana for example, will mislead their audience to persuade them to believe a certain way. I found it surprising how in the past, companies just sought to make the quick buck any way possible. Even if it meant cheating a customer out of money. They would sell a product that didn't work, and let a customer buy it to make them money as part of their misconception.
I like the part about superlatives. I was waiting for a section like that to appear because I think that is one of the most obvious forms of spin. As a little kid those commercials confused me because I didn't know what the product was "better" than. Even the book started off saying nothing is absolute so how can something be the "best". Also I consider superlatives like best and better to be matters of opinion not facts. If something is higher or lower that is something to promote, but lowest and highest are things that cannot be proven (no absolutes).
ReplyDeleteSomething that made me think was when it said companies have been built on deception.This surprises me because I would never think of companies being built on lies. I never realized how much false advertising there is when it comes to common products that we buy everyday.
ReplyDeleteI thought an interesting part of the book was how companies have been built of deception. Many products with household names are marketed with false or deceiving advertising. This surprises me because I did not know that products could become popular and well-known when they are being falsely advertised.
ReplyDeleteWhile reading the book I found many things that I didn't really like about the pages that we read but one thing stood out to me. I felt that the authors were talking a lot more about how Bush twisted things in his campaign and really didn't talk about how Kerry twisted things. They did touch base on what was twisted in Kerry's speeches but I thought there was a lot more information on things that Bush spun and used out of context to get him reelected.
ReplyDeleteOn pages 11-12 the book talked about how candidates for positions will often say false facts about their opponents. Reading made me remember how that every candidate will lie about their opponent at one time. It was somewhat suprisung, but at the same time not. In just this past debate their were multiple lies about the fellow candidate. It was anywhere between their beliefs and what they have done that could dsiprove them as president. This lying can be about anything when it comes to the elections, it is not on a specific area. I liked that Unspun reminded me of this well-used tactic by people of today. In this election I had not really thought about the lying, but now I am paying more attention to commercials and public speakings of the candidates.
ReplyDeleteI was a little suprised at the scams that people got away with in the past. It caused me to stop and take a second to reread it. I did not believe that people got away with scams that were so obvious. I guess people just buy things with the hope that it will work and don't do the research ahead of time.
ReplyDeleteAnna and I decided that one thing we didn't like about the book was that it talked about how one party's candidate spun information for several examples, but never went and talked about the other candidate at all. It's not that I'm for one candidate or the other, but I thought it wasn't fair how it pointed out the flaws in on political party but didn't go to the other.
ReplyDeleteI did like when the author used the word malarkey and puffery. It made me smile.
I thought the first few pages were interesting. It was crazy just how easily people can be convinced. Especially with the snake oil salesman. However, I did realize just how convinced I become and how tempted I am to try new products just because the add or commercial is convincing. I was watching tv and kept analyzing the commercials that came on and realized hwo much sales people cna twist words to seel something. There are so many statistics that can easily be changed, but most people won't care toa ctually research into the topic. I also had never thought about the oppposing side of the sales people. it is so easy to convince people so why not? It is easy money for something cheaply made but if you tell people the opposite they don't seem to question. It is actually really smart to twist words, becaus ein the end whoever feel for it is at fault, not the person who easily manipulated someone who didn't care enough to do research.
ReplyDeleteThe part that I thought was the most thought provoking, was A Bridemaid's Bad Breath. This part bascially talked about all the signs of being spun. I guess I just found it interesting, because it was such simple things that they were spinning, like Listerine. Listerine seems like a necessity, and I understand they want more costumers to purchase their product, but I never noticed their ads very so tricky. I did like however, that they talked about the ads that were a little more comical and appealing and why they were appealing to costumers. This section probably made me think the most, because I obviously rarely realize how easily they're selling their product to me. I think I learned that I'm too easily persuaded.
ReplyDeleteThe part that was most interesting to read about to me was the part that talked about scams in advertising. It was somewhat interesting to read about how products that don't really work have been around for hundreds of years, and how companies are discovering new ways to get people to buy them. It kind of made me wonder how many "miracle" products there are on the market today.
ReplyDeleteSomething that surprised me was how easily everyone is spun by the media. Specifically when they were talking about the 2004 election between George W. Bush and John Kerry, and the "wolves" ad and Kerry's "willingness" to "cut" intelligence funding. The fact that so many people believed the attack ad on Kerry so willingly, as well as the other way around for George W. Bush is astounding. I find it sad that there is so little fact-checking done by the general public when it comes to politics whether it's in foreign policy, national security, social issues, etc. I honestly believe that if people had really done their research that maybe the results of the 2004 election might've turned out quite differently. People are just so willing to take whatever the media is feeding them without wondering if maybe it's all a little too good to be true.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that made me think about the reading, was when they began to talk aobut how the Listerine bride commercial was so popular after it showed the fears of the public people. One quote that definately interested me was when the author said as people "we can be manipulated by appeals to our fears and insecurities". I loved this quote because i absolutely agree with it. It was crazy how the Listerine commercial used an ad to sell Listerinie by showing the things that we fear in life (such as losing friends or even a husband) because of bad breath. I thought this was genius, yet at the same time very sneaky. As i look back, i could definitely see myself falling into this trap of spin. After reading parts of this book, it has shown me how easily even my emotions and fears can be pulled towards a certain direction to make me believe advertisers and political campaign candidates.
ReplyDeleteI think it is odd how different companies use fear in order to get people to obuy their product. In the book it uses examples from the Listerine ads. Unspun talked about how the company of Listerine gave off the impression of if you don't use the product you and risk losing a friend or even a future spouse. I think it is odd how they used the tactic of fear to persuade people to buy their products and I never thought about it in that way.
ReplyDeleteThe entire time that I read this book, it made me think. The perspectives that the book gives on the persuasive elements of life are incredibley interesting. One of the parts that I found intriguing was when they were talking about Starbucks coffee. The smallest size is called a "tall". I have always thought this to be weird because in my mind a tall should be large. However, when the author pointed it out to me, I realized how they used it as a marketing strategy. By simply calling something it is not, many people are content with the amount of coffee they order. I thought this was noteable because I think it is important to be aware of all the marketing stragies companies use to earn your business.
ReplyDeleteEmpty support. As a student, I am constantly looking for arguements to support my claims. In many differnt subjuects I have to write essays over an opinion. The trouble with this now is the fact that it no longer is about out opinion but it is being graded on how well we support the claim. One interesting aspect of Unspun was the chapter about dangling compartitives. One would think that a political leader would be able to throughly support their ideas with research. They should not have to provide dangling comparatives to get their point accros. However, in some ways using these air filled comparitives seem to work better than real support because people do not take time to think about what the item is really being compared to. For example this moisturizer is better than the leading brand. That is so unspicific. The convincing nature of these superlous comparisons is truly facinating.
ReplyDeleteI was interested in the talk of snake oil. I found it interesting that, not only did a single man make a large amount of money on a fake product, but he was also only fined for it. He did not have to serve any time or anything. The rest of that section of reading was also interesting, mostly the lies that were exposed. Some products I had never heard of, but others were quite familiar, such as NetZero and Tropicana. I found it intriguing that they could say things completely false to get more customers, and it worked.
ReplyDeleteI liked the part where the author was discussing the ban of "assault weapons." In reality, this law did not actually ban assault weapons but merely the manufacturing and importing of certain semiautomatic weapons that can't even be fired any faster than an ordinary pistol and rifle. This was very surprising to me that the US Government would allow such a confusing and misleading name of the law to be used and not changed. This makes me wonder how many more misleading laws and things of that nature that are out there that we as citizens don't know about. Spin is truly everywhere.
ReplyDeleteThe part of the book that I found very interesting this time was the dangling comparative. I found it interesting that advertisements and politicians use this technique to persuade audiences. Basically, the dangling comparative is a technique that involves a comparison between two things, but there is no supporting evidence to prove it. It says that something is better, but does not explain what it is better than. I was aware of the dangling comparative before I read this section of Unspun, but the book did a superb job of providing the definition with an example. I was surprised about just how useful the technique is in politics. Now that I have read and refreshed my mind about the dangling comparative, I will make sure to be aware to look for it used in advertisements about the 2012 presidential election.
ReplyDeleteIn a section of the book it talks about how often we are around spin and how there is no way to avoid it. Whether we know it or not we are around it all the time. It just made me think about how oblivious we are to things. We could be affected by spin all of the time, everyday even, and not know it at all. It makes me wonder what things do have a "spin" to it. From tv ads, or things in magazines, internet..everything.
ReplyDeleteWhat made me think was when the book talked about how many salesmen and advertisments are not reliable. If people can return a product to the store then why would someone would lie about a product. The majority of the product on the market are returnable. If the product being lied about is not returnable then the skam hurts a lot of people and not just one. The skam will cause the consumer to lose trust in all advertisements and salesmen. This makes the honest salesmen suffer because the consumers will be more skeptical about them. However, this theory does not match the modern economy because there is a organization that regulates fraud and the economy has not improved.
ReplyDeleteI found it surprising on how in the past, companies just sought to make the quick buck any way possible. Even if it meant cheating a customer out of their money, they would do it. They would sell a product that didn't work, and let a customer buy it to make them money as part of their scam. I think of Ed, Edd, and Eddy and how Eddy always came up with the scams to make fast money for their jawbreakers. I do not think I would have the conscience to do that. My guilt would beat me up just because of the way I have been. I don't think deceiving people out of their money is the honest way to go. However, the customer has to be a step ahead and outsmart the company. They need to do the research to see the good/bad results of the product. The blame can go each way. The company for trying to deceive people and the customer for being gullable, just accepting, and not considering the possible consequences.
ReplyDeleteI liked that the reading gave different examples of Spin and how it had been previously used in real life. This helped me better understand spin because it gave me a context to base it from. There was one particular example where the author said that advertisements will often you words such as better, faster, and larger to make their product more appealing. This stood out to me because I see this in commercials and advertisements all the time and I can relate to it. I understand that companies do this to make it seems like their new product is better and they want it to stand out to you. They think adding words such as these to emphasize there new product are attractive to customers. I think that these words do stand out and attract viewers and it was interesting to hear that this is a tactic to persuade viewers.
ReplyDeleteI was a little surprised to see how far people would really go to persuade a person to believe a certain way, even if it meant telling an outright lie. Political candidates as well a large companies, Tropicana for example, will mislead their audience to persuade them to believe a certain way. I found it surprising how in the past, companies just sought to make the quick buck any way possible. Even if it meant cheating a customer out of money. They would sell a product that didn't work, and let a customer buy it to make them money as part of their misconception.
ReplyDelete