aSmallWorld: A different social network

Welcome to aSmallWorld

Social networking sites such as Facebook and Myspace have attracted hundreds of millions of users, and these companies continue to actively recruit new users each day.  These sites are open and easily accessible to the public, and members feel welcomed to join the community.

aSmallWorld, however, is a different kind of social network, the opposite of Facebook and Myspace.  This site is not well known to the public and has under 800,000 members.  It purposefully chooses not to advertise, as membership can only be obtained by invitations.

According to the founder of this community, Erik Wachtmeister, "members are people with large personal networks, frequent travel and highly active personality."  In other words, the average person can not become part of this community.  It is for society's elite, such as supermodel Naomi Campbell and professional golfer Tiger Woods.

Naomi Campbell is an active member on aSmallWorld

aSmallWorld's website clearly expresses its exclusitivity through its web layout and content.  When one visits Facebook, for instance, he immediately sees a form that allows him to join immediately for free.  Clearly, Facebook is a very welcoming website.  aSmallWorld has a very different welcome page.  Instead of offering a registration form, it writes in large font, "We are a private community of internationally minded people from around the world."  Because it emphasizes the world private and does not offer an easy way for membership, aSmallWorld is able to express its desire to allow only certain people to come in.

aSmallWorld's content also emphasizes its preference for people from society's upper class.  By scrolling down, one sees features about socialites, exotic travel locations, and exclusive designer brands.  It also offers reviews on five-star hotels, restaurants, bars, and night clubs.  The average person has very little access to these kinds of topics, and thus, aSmallWorld easily turns them away.

Due to its philosophy, aSmallWorld has earned nicknames such as "Snobster" or "Friendster for the jet set."  Although these names were meant as criticisms, the members of this community are likely to be proud of being known as an exclusive and elite circle.

See for yourself!  

Banned Chinese Professor Commercial

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTSQozWP-rM

This Citizens Against Government Wasted recently put together a commercial that warned Americans about the dangers of waste and inefficiency in the government.  To communicate its message, this organization used fear tactics to scare Americans into taking action.

The commercial takes place in Beijing, China, 2030, and a Chinese professor walks into a dark and gloomy lecture hall.  The commercial is purposefully gray to emphasize the dark and gloomy future.  He then begins to explain why great nations fall.  In his lecture, he mentions the United States as a nation that has fallen.  This line is the first warning that the United States is heading down the wrong path. 

The professor continues to explain why the United States has fallen.  He blames it on stimulus spending, changes to health care, and government takeover of private industries.  These reasons serve as more warning bells to Americans because they are fully aware that the government is currently following all of these steps.

Finally, the end of the commercial, we see the Chinese flag waving boldly, the professor gives an evil smile, and the audience laughs in delight.  The commercial attempts to scare people into thinking that due to the government's current plan, the country will one day be owned by China.

This commercial, however, was banned by many major TV networks because it paints Chinese people as the enemy, promoting xenophobia and racism.   

C'est jaune, c'est moche...

My French teacher told me that French people never admit that they work out at the gym.  Instead, they will claim to be "naturally this thin."  It's socially unacceptable for French girls to go to the bathroom.  They tell others that they're only going "to powder their nose."  The French have a reputation of being slightly more self-conscious than the rest of us.  Image is everything.
Recently, France passed new road safety laws requiring everyone to keep bright yellow life vests in their cars at all times.  Yet, presentation is so important in France that many people would rather break the law than wear a neon-colored jacket.
Thus, considering French culture, the government needed the help of Karl Lagerfeld to enforce this law.  Karl Lagerfeld is known to practically everyone in France, even males, and he reigns as its most important fashion icon.  As the designer of Chanel for many years, he sets the trends in France, and people listen to him.
Only in France will you see this kind of ad.  Lagerfeld is dressed in his standard suit, gloves, and sunglasses, but instead of at a fancy party or a fashion show, he looks out of place standing in the middle of random road.  The location is somewhat far from an urban city, where people are used to seeing him.  Most noticeable is the bright yellow vest he is wearing over his fashionable clothes. 

The statement in the ad, when translated, reads "It's yellow, it's ugly, it goes with nothing, but it can save your life."  The ad tries to communicate to the audience an ethos appeal.  It argues that even Karl Lagerfeld, the leader of fashion, is willing to sacrifice his image in order to stay safe; therefore, there is no shame in wearing this unfashionable vest.  

Elle YSL

For the video, watch http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTWmUItM01c

When I first saw the commercial for this new perfume, I was extremely impressed by the power and fierceness that the model seemed to give off. I found myself wishing that I could give off the same aura as the model.

This ad campaign is different from previous perfume ads by YSL.  The women featured would wear beautiful dresses, their hair would be styled, and the overall ad would seem to describe people living an extravagant lifestyle.  In the picture above, instead of having curls, the model has her hair pulled back in a sleek ponytail.  She wears a simple and clean-cut business suit rather than a lacy dress. 

Elle embraces the modern woman, one who is strong, smart, bold, and fashionable.  The bright lighting allows the model to full of energy--ready to take on the world.  The background is abstract rather than old-fashioned, which emphasizes the fact that we are living in modern times. 

On the bottom are the words elle, le nouveau parfum.  In English this translates to Elle, the new perfume.  The word 'new' not only symbolizes a new product, but also a new image and a new kind of woman. 

Protests Powered by Twitter

How can you follow the riots of Cairo in real time?  Surprisingly, the answer is not necessarily a news website or a TV broadcast.  Amongst the chaos in Egypt, more and more young individuals are revealing their voice through Twitter.

Twitter, along with other social media, is a new way of delivering rhetoric that can have a significant impact on the future.  It is one of the reasons why the outcome of the current movement can be radically different from that of the ones before.  

One result of Twitter is that the total population is much less organized.  In movements before, a well-structured vertical hierarchy would exist.  The leaders would sit at the top, their close friends would be slightly below them, and the crowd would follow.  The organization in Cairo now is more horizontal, meaning that most people stand on the same level.  While some people have more authority than others, Twitter allows the voice of each individual to be heard.  Information does not come dominantly from propaganda, companies, and corporations; thus, the truth can spread faster than lies.  Each person has the opportunity now to develop and share his own ideas.   

One could argue that Twitter and other forms of social media are helping Egypt to move closer to a democracy.  Thanks to the Internet, "Ideas arise, are very quickly market-tested and then either take off, bubble under, insinuate themselves into mainstream culture or, if they are no good, disappear."  Democracy depends on openly sharing ideas, so that the best ones can stay and benefit the majority.  Twitter thus provides a way for the people to have open and free rhetoric. 

Private Conversation in the Digital Era

Charlie Brooker, a columnist for the Guardian, writes that "We shouldn't have to feel paranoid about snoops listening in to everything we say." 

In other words, he asserts that honest, open, and natural conversations are now in danger thanks to today's extensive use of technology. 

He first references Andy Coulson, who landed headlines after hacking the phones of celebrities like Sienna Miller and Steeve Coogan.  Brooker then moves on to the incident between two sports commentators Andy Gray and Richard Keys that led both of them to lose their jobs.  While off-air, they made sexist comments about a female linesman, claiming that females were incapable of understanding the rules of soccer.  Unfortunately, their public conversation was recorded secretly on tape and released to the public. 

Although Brooker does not condone their comments, he argues that it is a mistake Gray and Keys were fired for simply holding a private conversation, lamenting that "We've entered an era in which private conversation is impossible."  The two were smack talking others, but nothing they said was illegal, and everyone has said rude and objectional things in private. 

Although many will disagree with Brooker for defending sexist comments, he does raise an important concern.  Private conservation plays an important part of rhetoric.  Democracy depends on open conversations and voicing beliefs because "in a democracy, people must call into question the opinion of others, must bring them into the light for examination and negotiation. 

These days, people tend to be more afraid of holding private conversations because word can spread arround fast, but unfortuantely, restricting private conversations also restricts expression, creativity, and ultimately freedom.  

This I Believe Podcast

http://www.zshare.net/audio/860708022308b838/