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Archive for the ‘News Commentary’ Category

I know that many people out there are ready to hang Facebook out to dry right next to other evil companies after their latest change, but I wish they would stop and think about it first. Not all ‘privacy changes’ are bad! Maybe it’s the tech geek in me; maybe it’s the marketing person in me; maybe it’s a bit of both.

Let’s say that the California Widget Company has a new advertising campaign on Facebook. They’re promoting their latest high-tech product, the Widgetizer3000. Through their Facebook affiliation they can poll the demographics and other profile information to look for things like ‘technology’ or ‘gadgets’ in your interests and if it finds it and you match their target demographics… BLAMO! You get an little ad on the side of your screen for the Widgetizer3000.

This is targeted marketing 101, folks. It isn’t new, it’s just the tools that are new. The same thing goes on in magazines (you don’t usually see an ad for toothpaste in a car magazine but you’ll probably see an oil ad) and newspapers (think about where the sports memorabilia ads are placed) and even billboards (compare ads in your Financial District to the ads in the suburbs).

Is there really all that much harm in others knowing what movies you like or what coffee shop you tend to frequent? Welcome to social living, folks. We asked for it and we got it. If you don’t want to participate, that’s cool too! Don’t share information like your address and phone number or your dog’s name on every website you visit. Practice common sense and guard your identity online just as you would offline.

If you want to know a little more in-depth about the back end stuff, PCWorld did a great article on how the new Likes and Connections work and what you can do to limit what information can be used.

Copyright © 2010 Jeanette DeHoff

Years ago there was an epic “Clash of the Titans” defining moment in sports. It was the culmination of careers, a chance to put one’s name in the history books. It was known as the Super Bowl. Once televised, it began to draw viewers in record numbers each year. That sadly is where it took a turn. Advertisers began to realize that they could reach millions of eyeballs by advertising during this event and over the next few decades it became all about commercialism instead of athleticism. Fortunately or unfortunately agencies got good at catching our attention. Really really good.

I truly believe that the apex of advertising during the Super Bowl was the 80′s and 90′s – who could forget the Big Brother Apple ad or the talking Bud frogs? These campaigns were well thought out, creative and memorable for sure but let’s be honest, they just happened. Today, advertisers try much too hard to make their ad the next one that people will talk about for years to come and they’re simply trying too hard. They try to force the funny and it just comes out feeling forced. In the last few years they got worse and worse. 2008 saw one terribly offensive GM ad and last year we got groin kicks and slap-stick comedy at its worst.

This year it seemed as if advertisers were backing off a bit and going for the “oh isn’t that silly” chuckle rather than the epic room-wide gut laugh and cheer. I can live with that while we wait for the next big thing to happen naturally. In the meantime:

• Pantless men in general aren’t funny. To men it’s embarassing and to women it’s just not necessary.
• E*Trade please stop with the talking babies already! (At least none of them threw up this year.)
• Budweiser, we know you love your Clydesdales and yes they’re beautiful but they’re boring.
• Coke, thank you for teaming up with a fellow American icon (The Simpsons) and giving us a smile.
• Intel seems to have gotten themselves a top-notch agency. Keep those coming!
• Denny’s – Hey, if you keep the free food coming, the viewers will forgive you for making them sit through 30 seconds of chicken screams.
• Google is simple and intuitive – as always.

Also, please correct me if I missed something, but did Pepsi not advertise at all this year? Does that say something? And did anyone else notice the blessed, blessed absence of male ED ads? Thank goodness!

Congrats to the Saints on a well-deserved and much-needed win for their city. I have a feeling that Bourbon Street will be partying for DAYS!

PS – I love The Who. I really really do. But please don’t make them risk strokes and heart attacks just to continue entertaining us.

Copyright © 2010 Jeanette DeHoff

Most of my NASCAR-loving friends know that I am no fan of Kyle Busch. He’s a punk kid who thinks that he can climb to the top just by winning races. I’ve got news for you… that’s not all there is to being a champion. True race car drivers know that without the fans they are nothing. They may hate doing interviews, signing the autographs and doing the sponsor appearances, but the cold hard truth is that no team is able to stay in the race without the package deal.

Kyle Busch has never shown much respect for fans – even his own. He makes jabs at the popular drivers, saying that they would rather be in the spotlight than in Victory Lane. He even pokes his nose where it doesn’t belong, commenting on the actions of other teams. All that aside, I was beginning to begrudgingly admit that the kid had talent and was hoping that some day he would see the value in having good fans behind him.

All that was dashed away with one swift motion tonight, however. With horror, I watched as he took a swing and smashed the Gibson Les Paul trophy that is so coveted at the Nashville track. Smashed it. With purpose. Into tiny bits. This was not just a slap in the face to the fans, but to the track that hosts NASCAR races, to the proud tradition of Nashville music, to Gibson, to the artist who painstakingly paints the trophy every year and to anyone who was watching at that moment.

Shame on you, Kyle. Shame.

Copyright © 2009 Jeanette DeHoff

Why is it that all of a sudden every person with a computer seems to think that I want to know what they’re doing every second of every day? If I have something to tell a person, I will send an email (or *gasp* call them). Things that fall into this category include “I’ll be at the meeting at 1pm.”, “I got that info you wanted.” or “Don’t forget to pick up milk on your way home.” If I have something to tell all my friends, I will post it on Facebook. This includes “My sister had a baby!”, “I’m going to Vegas for the weekend.” or “I passed the exam!” If I have information that the whole world absolutely MUST know, then I will either post it on my own website or I will find a way to get it published. Very, very few things fall into this category for the everyday person. Believe it or not, I don’t really care about the twist tie that your cat, Spike, is playing with. I don’t need to know that you had hamburgers for dinner again. And I certainly don’t need to hear about the details of your recent appointment with the podiatrist.

We have become so information-hungry in this world that applications such as Twitter are at our fingertips every time we burp. Since the advertising industry goes where society goes, they too have gotten wind of this. Now you can find out the minute your favorite coffee shop comes out with a new flavor of extra-sweet-no-foam-sugar-free-super-frothy-latte. Because you can’t just go to their website and find out anymore, no! You’re too busy Twittering the next guy that you just got up from your seat at the movie theater and can’t wait to get out to the parking lot to call him to talk about the flick. He couldn’t answer the phone anyway, because he is already reading the Twitter he just got about the latest celebrity gossip so that he doesn’t have to actually sit down and watch TMZ.

I’m afraid that I am going to have to file Twitter away in the same place that I put “commenting on a news item on the local paper website”. Yes, it is sad considering my field of work, but I have to believe that there is a better way to inform a consumer than to invade their every minute and shove information down their throats.

Copyright © 2009 Jeanette DeHoff

Enough people have made blog posts by now about the Inauguration of our 44^th President, Barrack Obama. I won’t go on at length, but there are a few things I want to make note of.

• CNN did a good job of covering the events, though I was a little distracted by the fact that you could hear random disembodied voices from throughout the crowd, newscasters and people on stage.
• The VIP introductions were rather boring. Lots of politicians being announced that I wasn’t familiar with, formalities, people looking cold and… oh my… was that…? What??? Did George HW Bush just pat that Marine on the ass!?
• I did have to chuckle as Joseph Biden entered. He was so enthusiastic and waving and pointing at people like he was on the red carpet.
• A moment came when the now-Former President George W Bush was about to be introduced and I said to myself ‘Please oh please… America do the right thing and do not boo this man.’ I am proud to say that although the reception was not as enthusiastic as it could have been, there were no boos or jeers. Thank you America.
• President Obama’s entrance was quite subdued on his part and I can only imagine that the weight of what he was about to do was bearing down on his shoulders. He held his head up high and accepted the crowd with more dignity than I could have ever hoped for.
• Aretha Franklin. ‘Nuff said.
• I was struck by the pomp and circumstance of whole thing. The announcer’s voice was straight out of a movie, the music (“Air and Simple Gifts”) was moving, the whole thing flowed like a waterfall.
• We get it Biden. Your bible is bigger. Your wife almost had a hernia.
• Absolutely adorable that they brought out a box (planned, of course) for Sasha to stand on.
• I’d like to point out to those that didn’t hear the later explanation. Obama did not screw up the oath. The person administering the oath moved the word ‘faithfully’ to the end of the phrase, instead of the beginning where it appears in the Constitution. You’d better believe that this man memorized the oath.
• The speech was astoundingly touching. He was gracious enough to thank Bush for his service to our country and tough enough to tell our enemies ‘we will not fall’. He stressed hard work, responsibility and accountability for EVERYONE, civilian and politician alike.
• You know Bush was sitting there thinking “Well dang… he’s good.”
• Rev. Joseph Lowery = Best. Benediction. Ever.

All in all it was an historic moment that I am thankful to have witnessed. In the coming weeks I believe that we will see some major changes, but we will also see the end of the ‘honeymoon’ and people will expect him to live up to the promises from the campaign trail.

Copyright © 2009 Jeanette DeHoff

I’ll only warn you once. If you haven’t seen the newest episode of Battlestar Galactica (#13) then you’ll probably want to stop reading now.
****SPOILERS AHEAD****SPOILERS AHEAD****SPOILERS AHEAD****SPOILERS AHEAD****

Seriously? If they don’t do some explaining very quickly in the next episode I’m going to be a very unhappy geek. David and I had a running bet on who the final cylon would be since the beginning of this season. I was convinced that it wasn’t Starbuck since that was way too obvious. My money was on Adama or Duwalla, and David hedged his bets by simply saying “He/she’s a cylon.” about any and all characters. I had also stated quite clearly that I hated one particular character and if she turned out to be the final cylon, I would stop watching the show right then and there.

Boy was my face red last Friday. That’s right, my least favorite character, Ellen Tigh, is apparently the twelfth and final cylon. WHY RONALD MOORE!? WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY?????

I honestly never dreamed that she would be the one. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have made that promise. And now I have to break that promise. It just didn’t make sense to me! As I said, they better do some fast explaining.

Stay tuned, folks, it’s going to be a bumpy road.
Copyright © 2009 Jeanette DeHoff

In my usual daily routine of scouring various newspapers (online of course), I came across this disturbing article. In Rancho Cucamonga, CA, a billboard company has removed a sign that simple reads, ‘Imagine No Religion’ at the request of about 90 individuals who have complained about it. This is a true blow to the Constitution and it saddens me that we have become so hypocritical. Catholics are permitted to carry or post signs that have pictures of aborted fetuses on them, but not this. Why can’t freedom of religion co-exist with freedom of speech?

This particular article has prompted me to post the essay I have been working on recently. This piece follows Proposition 8 through to its logical conclusion and it is my hope that someone may read it and help it find its way to the honorable judge who will be hearing the case in court.

In the aftermath of the elections, I can’t help but be proud of our country for supporting a change of such magnitude: electing a president who is not Caucasian. We have begun to break down barriers and make progress as a nation, moving towards universal acceptance and believing more in democracy than in bigotry. Unfortunately, there is one place in the country where it seems we boast acceptance and still do not practice it. Proposition 8, the ban on gay marriage, has been passed by a small margin in the State of California.

It was a hard battle with those on one side claiming to be protecting human rights (No on and the other side claiming to be protecting the sanctity of marriage (Yes on 8). There were emotional pleas on both sides to do ‘what is right for humanity’ or ‘what is best for our children’. Families and friends were divided; total strangers came to blows in the street, all over one little phrase that should or should not be added to our state’s constitution. “[O]nly marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.”

It is difficult to talk about this sensitive issue without voicing one’s own opinions. I would like to do so, if only to make them clear and to assert that they are of no consequence in the argument to follow. I know and love many gay and bisexual people and couples. I support their right to be in a legally recognized relationship and do not believe that they should be denied any rights based on their lifestyle choices. I did not and still do not support Proposition 8.

The issue in California is muddied by the legal terms involved. The word “marriage” in and of itself is not a legal institution. No couple, no person, (gay or straight) has the right to marry under the constitution, either state or federal. Marriage is a religious doctrine. There is what, in some states, is known as either a domestic partnership or a civil union. This is the process that any couple must go through in order to have the state recognize their legal union. It allows them all of the legal rights that we normally connect with the term “marriage”: hospital visitation, pension and retirement benefits, shared medical benefits, etc.

In our great country, a principle was agreed upon long ago. It was coined by Thomas Jefferson as “Separation of Church and State” and was derived from the First Amendment, which reads: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” This principle (and the letter in which Jefferson first used the phrase) has been citied in many U.S. Supreme Court decisions.

Allow me to digress and imagine for a moment that you are a member of the Catholic Church. The youth group is having a meeting to plan a bake sale to raise funds to do mission work in South America. Suddenly, the government drops by to break up the meeting because it was not made available to anyone outside the Catholic community. Sound ridiculous? That’s because it is. The state and federal government has no right to dictate who should and should not be allowed to take part in a religious ceremony or meeting.

It is logical to conclude that even using the words “marriage” or “marry” in the state constitution cannot be allowed by the First Amendment. What this state needs is not a ban on gay marriage. It needs clarification of what the state legally recognizes as a union between two people. It needs to leave the decision to allow gay marriage where it belongs: in the churches. If the Proposition 8 had used this logical approach rather than an emotional plea, perhaps they would have been more successful.

Copyright © 2008 Jeanette DeHoff

Over 100 youths jumped fare at the BART train stations today on their way to a protest rally.

Some of the signs seen in this picture of protesters from today:
“Immigrant (not equal) Criminal”
“Chinga Tu” (F*** You in Spanish)
“Immigration is a Human Right”

Anyone else have a problem with ALL of these signs? And while we’re at it, 100 illegal immigrants jumping fare at the BART stations doesn’t help their cause any. I’ve said it before and have been misunderstood, but I will say it again:

I am NOT against immigration. I AM against ILLEGAL immigration.

Copyright © 2008 Jeanette DeHoff

http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSN1138423320080711?rpc=64

I won’t ramble today, I just wanted to give a big thumbs up to this article. It’s about time. Granted, it will have impacts on more than just the pharma companies and the doctors, but overall, a great move.

Copyright © 2008 Jeanette DeHoff

Awhile ago I was watching the much-anticipated special on the National Geographic Channel called “Stonehenge Decoded”. Some few days later, I also caught a show on TV about the Loch Ness Monster and other ‘creatures of the deep’. It got me thinking about the mysteries of the world. The stories that we grow up loving and fearing, that we want to hear about over and over: Loch Ness, UFOs, ghost lights, Stonehenge, crop circles, bigfoot… there is so much to imagine and wonder about.

So now these scientists come along and start trying to *gasp* prove or disprove these mysteries that we love so much. Where’s the magic in that? What if we were to find out that bigfoot was actually some guy in a monkey suit trying to scare kids off his property? What if scientists discover that Stonehenge was an ancient tribal sacrificial circle or a torture site? Wouldn’t that deflate our imaginations a bit?

What if some day science has documented all of Earth’s history, all the dinosaurs, unlocked all of the mysteries that were left behind by our ancient ancestors? What then? I suppose we’ll have to start concentrating those efforts on finding new mysteries…. or rather New Life and New Civilizations.

Copyright © 2008 Jeanette DeHoff