Evaluation of General Sources

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Source 1

This report ends in .gov, indicating it as a highly reliable source. Updated in May 2010, authors Jeremy Greene and David Herzberg discuss the recent emergence of direct-to-consumer pharmaceutical marketing, noting the conditions that allowed this practice. Greene works with the Department of the History of Science at Harvard University, while Herzberg works with the Department of History at the University of Buffalo. Both have high credibility. Herzberg and Greene are both proponents for more aggressive response to misleading information in direct-to-consumer advertisements. They include graphics showcasing the progression to more overt pharmaceutical advertising in their report. While there are no links within the document itself, there are many contained in the end notes of the report.

Source 2

This source is a .org site, showing that it is a non-profit organization site. It was last updated in December 2013, a somewhat recent update. I chose this site because I noted opponents saying that PhRMA, the organization which wrote his article, was a proponent of direct-to-consumer advertising. PhRMA, short for the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, declares themselves as "the country’s leading biopharmaceutical researchers and biotechnology companies." PhRMA describes DTCA as a method of disseminating public information, rather selling product. PhRMA touches on the benefits of DCTA, such as encouraging discussion between patients and doctors. No graphics exist on the page. The short article contains many hyperlinks to other parts of PhRMA's site.

Cluster of Stakeholders

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In my cluster, I touched on the motivations and weighing of the choices that the major players in the debate of direct-to-consumer advertising (DCTA) had. The pharmaceutical industry and consumer advocacy groups have a direct link to the controversy: The pharmaceutical industry reaches a wider audience by taking advantage of DCTA, while consumer advocacy fights on behalf of consumers of DCTA, ensuring that they are not misinformed by enterprising companies. They are not the sole players, however: the FDA acts on the behalf of consumers by regulating the pharmaceutical industry, yet it must juggle its own concerns on encouraging the lucrative DCTA business.

Considering Genre

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1. What genre are you going to commit to for Project 1? Why?

I am going to commit to making a Quick Reference Guide for project one. Observing the genre examples provided, I realized most of the Quick Reference Guides focused on controversies of some sort. This is for a good reason: The Quick Reference Guide serves well to quickly get an unfamiliar reader up to speed on its topic. Its segmentation is easily digested, and will lend itself well to doing a pro/anti examination, with interplay between both sides, something I think that will be important for context.

2. What genre conventions from your chosen genre are you planning on developing during next week's Production phase? What do you plan to do with the genre conventions that will help you accomplish the purpose of the project most effectively?

The Quick Reference Guide is text based, therefore I will be grouping sources and breaking them down into an outline of key points. This simplistic breakdown will allow me to identify the key causes of the controversy and outline both sides' motivations.

3. How are you feeling about Project 1 going in to the Production phase? What challenges do you anticipate next week as you create content for the project?

I am feeling somewhat confident. I have tackled harder subjects before, such as writing ten-page term papers about exoplanet discovery techniques via spectroscopy, a subject I also had no idea about. If I pace myself well, the task should be feasible.

Reddit and What I Found There

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1. What kinds of things do people in the Reddit forums seem to be arguing about, debating, disagreeing about or otherwise engaging in meaningful exchanges of ideas about? Give us a descriptive and clear sense of the kinds of stories you're seeing in the Reddit forums.

Marketing Reddit commentators use the forums to give their personal takes on the effectiveness of mainstream marketing, in addition to giving advice from personal experience. For example, I saw debates over the flaws in TIDAL and TheFineBros's marketing schemes, each thread giving their suggestions on what should have been done.

2. In your opinion, what are the two most interesting debates/disagreements you found in the Reddit forums? Hyperlink us to the two different Reddit threads and explain why you found those debates interesting. Be specific and honest and be yourself.

The two most interesting debates I saw focused on evaluating the effectiveness of Jay-Z's streaming service TIDAL and the elements of design in a landing page.

The commentator expanding on how streaming cannot be viewed as a luxury item made an astute observation, in my opinion. As someone who followed the Tidal debacle closely in 2015, I found my thoughts mirroring this commentator's.

The thread about landing pages provides solutions for tightening a visitor's focus. The techniques suggested in their article remind me of the elements of effective slideshow design that I learned in my Management Information Systems class, and I found it interesting how similar elements of contrast and size carry over between the mediums.

3. Overall, what impression do you get of your discipline based on what you saw happening in the Reddit forums? Were the people in those forums talking in ways you expected or did not expect, about things you anticipated they'd be talking about or things you had no idea they'd be discussing? Explain in concise specific detail.

It seems that most users use Reddit to give their views in a more one-sided manner, not expecting dissent. Their speech is much less formal than it was on Twitter. This is to be expected, as Reddit handles are more anonymous, and there is less concern with image maintenance when only one person controls an account.

Evaluation of News Magazine Stories

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1. What is the debate, disagreement or argument in the story about? Explain concisely, but with specificity and precision. Name specific people, places, things, events, dates, times and/or other identifying details.

The story I chose from the Bloomberg Businessweek focuses on the debate between Solar City CEO Elon Musk and Warren Buffett, the controller of NV Energy, Nevada's largest utility. Musk's business installs solar panels on homes, a service which became popular in Nevada for its economic benefits. Excess energy must be bought back by utilities, and the success of solar energy prompted NV Energy to lobby for legislation in late 2015 to limit the amount of energy that can be generated. Additionally, it became more expensive to install and maintain solar panels. This action has inconvenienced current panel owners, as well. This development prompted Solar City to discontinue operations in Nevada. NV Energy states that their motivation for this change was that every customer should "pay their fair share for the grid".

From Fortune I chose a video debate that discussed the dependability of "start-up unicorns", or private companies valued at one billion dollars. 2015 saw only six unicorns actually meet their evaluation on the market, prompting caution from investors in 2016. In this debate, Andrew Nusca takes the side of the start-ups, citing the dropping worldwide economy and race to expand user-bases rather than profits as a factor. Erin Griffith supports investors, identifying with their frustrations with start-ups not returning on their promises and remaining private in an attempt for better footing in the market.

2. Who is the most sympathetic character in the story? Who are they? How are they involved? Why do they evoke feelings of sympathy from you?

Solar City is the most sympathetic character in this story. I sympathize with them, seeing as they are entrepreneurs trying to promote sustainable energy. They only took advantage of a profitable target market in Nevada, and I do not find them as insidious as NV Energy are painting them out to be.

In the Fortune story, I take Erin's side as she defends investors. Investors expect these companies to grow in profit with their investments: it is hard to fault them for being upset with under-performances.

3. Who is the least sympathetic character in the story? Who are they? How are they involved? Why can't you easily sympathize with them?

NV Energy is the least sympathetic character in this story. As Nevada's utility, this tactic they are employing is a play to benefit themselves, an attempt to save money by making solar energy less convenient or affordable.

The "start-up unicorns" are less sympathetic, although the fault does not lie with them completely. The worldwide economy is flagging slightly, but stringing investors along with promises of a larger user-base equating to more profits as justification for their valuations is harder to back.

Twitter and What I Found There

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1. What kinds of things do people on Twitter seem to be talking about, debating, arguing about or otherwise engaging in meaningful exchanges of ideas about? Give us a descriptive and clear sense of the kinds of stories you're seeing in these Twitter feeds.

Twitter feeds such as Young Entrepreneur talk about exactly what their handle implies: the account links daily to information pertinent to blooming entrepreneurs. Young Entrepreneur has a larger site staffed with multiple authors, and the articles these authors write are what the Twitter account links to. Management Information Systems accounts such as Capita SIMS Independent retweets awards its programs have won and events that they attend.

2. In your opinion, what are the two most interesting conversations or stories you found in the Twitter feeds? Hyperlink us to the two different Twitter feeds and explain why you found those conversations interesting. Be specific and honest and be yourself.

One of the most interesting stories I found on these twitter feeds discussed the pitfalls of attempting to market to everybody. I have heard this advice before in passing; In my Marketing Dynamics course in high school, my teacher discussed the importance of developing a target market. While appealing to every person is ideal in theory, and makes the most money, our resources are limited in a non-hypothetical situation. Setting the general population as a target market only sets a marketing plan up for failure, and it was assuring to see that large mediums focusing on marketing corroborate this statement.

The other story that caught my eye was an article/list promoting the importance of maintaining relationships, no matter how minor they may seem. This is another piece of business advice that has personal significance to me, as my sister and I discussed this very topic before I returned to school for the second semester of my first year of college.

She recounted being a beginning teacher and meeting the wife of a school district superintendent at a hair salon. While only a minor acquaintance, she kept in touch with her for over three years, and also socialized with her husband. During this time, my sister made waves in neighboring school districts, rising from a position as a teacher to a vice-principal, even having positions carved out specifically for her along the way.

Eventually, a position as a principal opened up in the superintendent's district, and because of her connections with this superintendent and his family, my sister's resume was brought to the top of the pile, and she got her foot in the door for an interview. She would go on to secure the position as principal. While she obtained the position on her own merits, it was the maintenance of social ties that opened up the opportunity for her in the first place. Seeing the importance of maintaining relations in text further emphasizes the conversation my sister had with me.


3. Overall, what impression do you get of your discipline based on what you saw happening on Twitter? Were the people in these feeds talking in ways you expected or did not expect, about things you anticipated they'd be talking about or things you had no idea they'd be discussing? Explain in concise specific detail.

The types of conversations I saw on the various Twitter feeds I explored were exactly what I anticipated. The accounts behaved in a professional manner and focused on issues pertaining specifically to the scope of the account. This is consistent with the image management skills for social networking services that I learned in my Management Information Systems course: posts should be brief and along the lines of the focus you promised for the followers of your account.

Evaluation of New York Times Stories

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1. Does there seem to be a "main character" or "protagonist" to the story? If so, who is it and how are they are the "center" of the story? If not, are there any important or central characters in the story at all? What role do they play?

Within the story "In Iowa, Jobs Are Plentiful but Workers Are Not", writer Patricia Choen focuses on major players in local Iowan businesses, such as Workiva and Kemin Industries.

"Signs of Modern Astronomy Seen in Ancient Babylon" sees Kenneth Chang reporting on a discovery that ancient Babylonian astronomers described Jupiter's movements across the sky centuries before European astronomers were credited with the practice.

2. Where do the specific events in the story take place? Is there a specific setting? Describe the settings for the stories and how they influence the plot and characters.

In "In Iowa", Choen addresses the lack of job growth in Iowa. Choen notes that while unemployment levels Iowa are among the lowest in the nation, wage levels are stagnant. In addition to low migration, Choen attributes these factors as being the chief causes of Iowa's labor shortage.

"Signs" covers an Babylonian archaeological discovery by German professor Mathieu Ossendrijver. By studying a Babylonian clay tablet dated over two millennia in the past, Ossendrijver realized Babylonian astronomers were tracking the movement of Jupiter, due to their association of the planet with their god Marduk. They had made the connection that the distance a planet covers over time is in relation to its distance traveled, centuries before European astronomers were credited with the discovery.

3. Is there any kind of disagreement or debate happening in the story? If so, who is participating, why are people debating and what seems to be at stake for the different characters in the story?

Both stories show their characters being in assent with the article's findings.

Course Projects

• What are you most confused by or nervous about in regards to the four major projects?

I am most nervous about the preparation involved for the rhetorical investigation. I will need to begin finding and securing interviewees for that as soon as possible. Then comes the responsibility of actually interviewing them: I will need to have all my questions thoroughly prepared in order to make sure I get all the information I need to complete that project.

• What are you most interested in or excited by in regards to the four major projects?

However, I am still excited to complete the actual rhetorical investigation. As a pre-business student, this project will likely have me analyzing the intricacies of professional communications. I previously studied this type of communication in a Marketing Dynamics course in high school, but an even deeper look into the language of business will be illuminating.

• Based on your understanding of the major projects, what are the elements of this course that you have to plan ahead for? How will the coursework described in the four project assignment sheets challenge your time management skills this semester?

Most obviously, the rhetorical investigation will take the most pre-planning, as it requires two interviews to be completed. This means that interview subjects must be identified, and a location and time to meet must be scheduled. Additionally, for the completion of the video essays and podcast genres, microphones and cameras must be reserved ahead of time. These factors mean I must have a timeline arranged to ensure that I can have the materials I need when it's time to assemble these projects.

• How has your past English coursework in high school or college prepared you for the challenges of this course? What skills will you bring into the course with you?

In my junior and senior-level English courses, we did a research project each year as a major grade. For these projects, we had deadlines for each component of the final product, such as deadlines for the assembly of sources and rough drafts. This practice of marking milestones will translate over to the pre-production, production, and review phases of this course. 

• Do you have any questions about the four major projects that haven't been answered by the assignment sheets? What do you still want to know?

At the moment, I do not have any pressing questions about the requirements of the projects. If or when a problem arises, I will make sure to present it for clarification.

16/01/24 11:01PM ETA: Viewing Alex and Jacob's posts, I got a general feel of the outlook for this course, and some of my concerns were re-affirmed. Most people are looking forward to the genres this course requires as a positive experience. I share that viewpoint; I believe it will be interesting to create something more thought-intensive than the standard college essay that we've learned to craft for years in high school. Additionally, everyone mirrored the importance of time management. Clearly I will need to measure out my time wisely to complete these projects efficiently.

Investigating Genres

1. What purpose(s) does the Quick Reference Guide usually serve?

The quick reference guide serves to quickly familiarize a reader uninitiated to its subject matter.

2. Where, how, or in what context do readers usually find Quick Reference Guides?

Generally, while quick reference guides themselves focus on a specific subject, they are published in more general, widely-read publications, such as The Atlantic or The Washington Post.

3. Who is the typical audience for Quick Reference Guides?

The quick reference guide assumes that its audience is unfamiliar with the subject it is covering.

4. What are some of the key characteristics or features that are unique to the Quick Reference Guide, distinguishing it from other texts?

The quick reference guide distinguishes itself from other texts by using several brief sub-sections and headers. Quick reference guides also incorporate the use of images.

5. Based on your answers to the questions above, come up with a definition in your own words for the Quick Reference Guide.

Quick Reference Guide, noun - a short article that explains a subject, often with the use of images and broken down into subcategories.

16/01/24 9:49PM ETA: After reading Veronica's Investigating Genres post, I realize the importance of identifying a specific audience in the analysis of any medium or genre. Rather than just saying video essays are best suited towards people in "constant need of stimulation", she further pinpoints millennials as being a possible audience. This distinction can dictate the diction of a video essay, and is an important detail to consider.

Nicolas's post made me understand the importance of being thorough, in order to clear any possible questions after the reading of a text. For example, I would ask Nicolas if he could be more specific than singling "internet users" as a target audience.

My Writing Process

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At this very moment, I am glancing at the clock on my desktop. It reads 6PM: Six hours until the deadline for this assignment. The circumstances I am in serve as re-affirmation that I fall into the archetype of a procrastinator.

I have been making attempts to branch out of the procrastinator archetype, however. Drawing inspiration from the sequential planner archetype, I began mapping out the milestones for my assignments last semester. For example, on a writing assignment such as a term paper, I spaced out the optimum number of completed pages over a manageable period of time.

The incorporation of sequential planner processes resulted in a smoother writing experience. I did not feel overwhelmed by the task, and felt as if I was always working with a blueprint, rather than creating a product from scratch. Not to misrepresent myself, but I must admit I didn't quite shake off my proclivity to procrastinate: my research, drafting, and revising of this term paper happened over a period of three days on the week of its due date, but these three stages were highly concentrated and evenly divided over this period. This resulted in a downside of missing classes and meals, but the planning that went into the writing allowed me a greater understanding and appreciation of the topic I researched.

A more concerted effort into a sequential planning method would be preferable. It would spare me from the stress and sacrifice that comes when a writer flirts with their deadlines. However, I would need to motivate myself and prepare at the inception of the project. The quality of the preparation that occurs there will lessen the burdens that may arise during the project's course.