E-mail or Snail-Mail?

As a recent graduate of an American military training program, I have a very definite fondness for letters, and the United States Postal Service (USPS). There is just nothing quite like mail call at the end of a grueling day. Knowing someone cared enough to put pen to paper, especially nowadays, is truly motivating, I know many of my peers, or myself, would have had a much harder time if not for those letters from home. That being said...

The United States Postal service has been losing a great deal of ground to electronic mail, and it is easy to see why. E-mail is free (usually), relatively secure, and much more convenient. It would seem that for most people, receiving an e-vite is as acceptable as an RSVP card in the mail. In fact, the only thing keeping the United States Postal Service afloat right now, are businesses (Read: junk mail). In keeping with this shift in major consumers, the USPS has started a new ad campaign aimed at those customers.

Here, we see the USPS has a new approach, to emphasize the security, and convenience, of traditional mail for businesses to reach their customers. I think it speaks for itself in terms of simplicity and reminding people that it is, in fact, more secure to use paper over an electronic file.

I couldn't find a way to embed the other video in their campaign, but here's a link to it:

Face to Face Ad

Again, we look at the way "snail" mail can be a point of utility and value for a business in communicating with their customers. And, again, it is presented in a simple manner, that makes sense.

Overall, I think that no one would disagree, a letter in the mail will always be better than an email. But, with the "green," movement, and with people finding emails more and more socially acceptable, snail mail will continue to lose ground. However, I doubt the USPS will ever cease to exist.

Link to Washington Post article:

www.washingtonpost.com

Virtual Emotion (but emotion nonetheless)

I may not look it, but I am a fairly avid video gamer. I'm not particularly great at any one game, but I do enjoy wasting a few hours shooting terrorists, zombies, Nazis, or Nazi zombies. That being said, there is a new ad out from Sony that is sort of groundbreaking in its approach.

There are three major video game consoles on the market; Sony has the Playstation, Microsoft the Xbox360, and Nintendo has the Wii. Each of these consoles have certain game franchises which are exclusive to their platforms, in addition to each having a separate network for online gaming against other people. Furthermore, traditionally, the holiday season is the time during which the most anticipated games of the year are released.. So, all of this adds up to a ramp up in commercials for video games starting right around now, as most people cannot afford to buy the flagship game for each system (most people only have one). Often, these commercials are for one specific game, but Sony has done something new, they made a commercial which ties in all fans of Sony, regardless of what franchise they're most in tune with.

To Michael. I'll be honest, when I first watched that, I got goosebumps. Say what you will, but when you accomplish something difficult, virtual or not, there is a definite feeling of pride. This is even more likely with the scope of video games nowadays. Some games have HUNDREDS of hours of gameplay built in, you may well build your character from the ground up, going through missions and tribulations together. You grow attached to your character, whether it be a soldier, a greek mythology figure, a spy, or an adventurer. Sony has capitalized on this emotional connection, to solidify that idea that a video game is more than just a game, it is now, more than ever, a way to escape into a world where you can achieve the impossible.

Sony: Long Live Play
Xbox360
Wii

Beer Keg Capitalism

Its a Friday night, freshman year of college, and you're looking for a party. How can you find a good place to go hang out? In the times of our parents, word of mouth did, and still does, the bulk of the marketing. Someone is cool with the underclassmen and they talk to their friends, who talk to their friends, and so on. Word gets out via text and passes from dorm room to dorm room.


The parties would be simple, a few kegs in a basement, some Christmas lights or black lights strung up, and an iPod plugged into the stereo... But, a new trend has emerged.
Freshmen are demanding better, and they're being rewarded. On a campus as small as Marquette's, there really is only ever three, maybe four, decent, "public" house parties. So, competition is limited, but plays a crucial difference between breaking even and making enough to cover rent. If you have beer, music, and people, it used to be good enough. But now, you can see houses competing for business. Like any other enterprise, they use two methods; marketing, and improving their "product." Upperclassmen are now using mass-texts, Facebook marketing, and Twitter advertising. Parties are themed now, and professional-quality amateur DJs are setting up shop in the basement corner.


How did this happen?
At first, and I think rightly so, people were leery to use social media to market underage drinking. But many college students have grown up with these forms of media and have gotten both saavy and comfortable enough to use them to this end. This is HUGE.


Its a barometer of how these forms of media are integrated into our lives, and affecting our psyches. Which, judging by how much better my weekends have been getting, is positive.

Why, yes, I DO like Megan Fox

We all know Facebook makes its money from advertising, and we all know that they've been saving all of the info we ever typed into a comment box or status update since we got an account in high school. And, yet, it is really uncanny their ability to zero in to what I like, and sell me things I already have. Not just products, but a lifestyle, a set of tastes.

Case in point, one of my "interests," is sailing. Its on my profile though it isn't that pertinent to my day to day life. Still, I always see little ads on my screen for sailing schools and sailing products. Going a step further, a few days a go I tweeted about needing a new jacket, and one of my fellow bloggers tweeted me a link to Atlantis Weather Gear, Atlantis.com, which I checked out. Boom. The next time I logged into Facebook, there it was, did I want to "like," Atlantis Weather Gear?


In addition to products, you can see your entire personality represented in things Facebook thinks you should "like." Do I enjoy hunting? I do.. and country music? Yes... Do I want information on a masters in homeland security? You get the point.

What's even better, is now Facebook has joined Spotify, spotify.com, a music sharing application and the result is a live feed of what your friends are listening to, and an opportunity to check out their personal playlists, you can even tailor a radio station, a la Pandora, but with input that it pulls from your page. I've noticed it has the uncanny ability to play exactly what I wanted, and I never really put in too much information.


None of this is necessarily news, most of us have known it occurred, and we've all heard how great, or terrible, this is. I for one, am aloof. If it makes life better, cool. There's nothing on my page everyone doesn't already know about me anyway.