Obstacle in Writing

I would have to say my biggest obstacle in doing this final paper is finding sources that I want to use and incorporate into my paper. Valid sources at that. I’m looking for someone, other than an opinionated regular citizen, who agrees with my point of view. I chose to write about whether I think that certain ways we communicate with each other is still considered writing. Most scholars think that writing has taken a turn for the worst in terms of communication. Another difficulty that is perhaps evenly matched is that is, that I cannot seem to get my paper to the page limit without those extra sources and content to talk about. One cannot write a lengthy paper without enough content.

complications with paper

I would say that right now my biggest difficulty with this paper is getting the motivation to get into it. It's not a subject that's particularly interesting to me it's kind of a tiring topic. I'm also just very bad at procrastination as it is so although I have done a little bit of work on it, I always have difficulty working on a paper when it's not the last minute when I know it must be done. Since this is a paper that requires much research and planning, it would be very difficult and un-wise to choose to wait last minute. Also, doing all the research is seeming a bit overwhelming it's hard to pick the perfect credible sources and citing is not fun for me. I would say my main struggle is just the type of paper and keeping an interest while writing it so I can maintain a solid argument and not be too focused on just getting it over with.

Biggest Obstacle

I would have to say that my biggest obstacle in writing this final essay would have to deal with my thesis statement. I chose to talk about the question asking if electronic media will ever replace the written word. I have had trouble with my thesis statement because I want to completely agree or disagree, but I also want to take both sides. I am finding it very hard to try and agree or disagree without mixing in both. Another obstacle that I have run into is trying to break up my thoughts. I tend to write a paragraph, but the paragraph is a page long. I need to figure out how to slipt my paragraph up so it is not a long boring essay. I would much rather someone read multiple paragraphs instead of having to read one long reading.

paper

Well this is kind of embarrassing but i honestly have not yet started this paper yet. I have somewhat of an idea of what I am going to write on but have not yet fully developed my ideas. The biggest of my problems is figuring out everything I am going to write. I have to brainstorm my ideas or else I will not have enough to write about. Starting the paper is THE hardest part for me. Another thing I have trouble with is finding sources for my paper. I want the sources to be good ones so I always have a hard time finding them. Developing my main ideas I know is what I have the most trouble with. I plan to start on this paper this weekend. I know I should have started it earlier and I highly regret waiting. I just need to find reliable sources and I will feel better.

Final Essay

My final essay/project is actually coming along quite well. I've almost finished the video taping and it went smoothly. I just need one other person and then myself. With each person it was a little awkward at first because not many people are used to talking to a camera, but eventually each person loosened up and made some very thought provoking points.

I thought the hardest part was going to be tying everything together into one thesis statement but I've got some ideas. Everyone was pretty much on the same page with interviews so I think it will be pretty easy. What I'm not looking forward to is the editing. I've used MovieMaker twice before but never like this, I'll probably get the hang of it but it will be time consuming. Another hard part is knowing that I don't have all of the time in the world. I keep wanting to interview everyone I see! However, I know that I won't have enough time to edit it all and put it together. So I'm tyring hard to keep it small. I'm also trying to keep a narrow enough focus but incorporating many ideas. With a topic like this, alone I could probably talk for hours but I would probably get off track.

Overall I'm very excited about the project. I think the work will turn out to be worth it because it's something I'm interested in and talk about all of the time with my friends.

road block in final paper

This essay I would have to say has been the hardest essay to write and come up with ideas for. When I picked this essay topic I was going to write about I was very excited because it was an interesting topic that I kind of always wondered about. My topic was about " will electric media replace the written word as the go to sources of information and entertainment". I would have to say yes and no. I really don't have too much trouble with this paper in the beinning it is mostley for our next part that is due on friday. I really just don't understand what all of what I want to say for this essay and how I am going to word it really. I know that is supposed to be an argument and I have a good argument about it, but I just don't know how I can take the argument statement and turn it into something grand and well written persay. I am a person who loves to argue and loves to express her own oppinion, but when it comes to writting essays about my oppinion it kind of tends to drift off of the argument and doesn't sound as forceful as I would like it to be portrayed. I had done a paper like this in high school with an argumentive statement and had thought it was great then turned it in and got a really low score because she said my thoughts were not clear enough to see what I was arguing and that I think is where I need the most help and need to stress more.

Roadblocks on final paper

I'm actually kind of excited about this final paper because the medium I chose should be nice break in the old type and hand in way. I chose to do the audio essay where you speak your essay and record versus writing it on paper. There is only a few difficulties I foresee in this project. The first of which would be finding the right topics to talk about that have to relate to the question I chose. Another difficulty I see is using the sources in the paper. My guess is that Im just going to say something like "according to blah blah 60 percent of people believe this" or something along those lines. Another possible problem I see is getting my audio essay to work on other peoples computers. Not that it is a huge problem, it is just something that could be time consuming or tedious.

Project

My project is coming along so far. I am doing a power point instead of a paper. The only thing I am unsure of is how to incorporate modalities. I understand what they are, but I am unsure on how you want them put into the project. I am also a little concerned on length. As of right now I have about 17-18 slides. I seemed to have answered the questions with supportive sources, but I am thinking maybe I should add more. Lastly, since it is not a paper, should I physically hand you a junk drive or email the final product to you? Overall, I feel like it will be a persuasive argument with pictures and video to help support.

Last essay (Kyle Baker)

So far I haven't gotten much progress on the final essay. Part of my problem is i'm not to clear on the sources that we have to give. I'm n ot completely sure whether i just pull qoutes out of convergences that agree with the fact that I'm arguing. Despite me not beginning the essay i have began to brainstorm quite a bit on the direction of where my paper is going. I also have a couple question as to how you want the set up. Are we supposed to give a qoute and the direction that it's going and some background and then relate it to what our argument is? Other than that most of the ideas that I'm going to be arguing are pretty clear.

Final Paper Issues

I think my biggest obstacle will be finding enough to write about. I think this class has allowed me to see that one of my greatest challenges with writing is knowing how much to say. I either know what I want to say and have trouble expanding on it or I write and write to the point where my thought gets lost a big mess of unnecessary words. For this paper, I'm pretty sure of the arguments I want to make but am uncertain of my ablities to stretch those ideas to fit the page requirement. I'm not too worried though because usually while writing papers I'll get new ideas to expand on. I'm also worried about finding enough time to write the paper in the way that I'd like because, of course, finals are coming up and I want to make sure I have time to study and sleep. But again, I'm really not too worried and if worse comes to worse there's always coffee.

Final Paper-Greg Knapp

To be honest I haven’t really thought too much about this paper. However, I did come across some problems when doing part 1. I am worried about sounding crazy in my paper. What I mean is that I know that we have to do a preemptive strike, but when thinking of arguments, I thought I sounded like I was talking to myself. I need to figure out to make it sound like I am not arguing with myself. I also found trouble in answering the questions listed at the bottom. I am not really sure if you want us to simply answer them with a paragraph or throughout the essay. So far these are the only concerns that I have. I think that once I start doing more in depth research on my topic, things will become clearer to me.

In Class Blog (Kevin Farr)

For our final paper I came across two main roadblocks, procrastination and coming up with a good thesis statement. When working on our first part of the paper, the one page summary, I had so many thoughts in my head of which was i wanted to take the paper and what essay topic out of the three I wanted to choose. As i started to write i couldn't come up with a clear thesis, I have many thoughts of which way to take my paper but after i sit down this weekend and work on it a little i should have a better idea of how i want my paper to go. This leads into my second problem, procrastination. I haven't really worked too much of the paper so far and this weekend i am really not looking forward to getting a head start on it. With two weeks left in the semester all i can think about is getting home to some of my mom cooking and not having to shower with sandals on anymore. I hope that my preparation for my other finals, which i am starting this weekend, will also include me writing some of this final paper. It all depends on how i feel this weekend, which i hope is ready to work, but most likely ill be sleepy all weekend and have to push through it to get my work done.

Struggles with the Final (BG)

So far the final essay i have had little struggles. but i have the feeling that iam going to struggle with not being repetitive. its been a problem in my past essays and iam still trying to get the hang of it. other than that the only other thing that might be an issue is grammar. i tend to not look at grammar or i look over it when reading a paper. i don't know why but ive never given it thought. these things i hope to be very cautious on in my final since theres really no do overs this time. i plan to look back on my essays and see where i have the most troubles in grammar and re read my paper many times to make sure i don't sound very repetitive. i might struggle with some citations but i think these are all little things that i can be aware of.

FINAL In-Class Blog

Well considering the only part that I've done for this final paper is part 1 I still have a lot of work left to do. I haven't begun to think about how I'm going to start it. I do know I have ideas formed from the first part. Earlier today I made up a schedule of how I'm going to deal with both of my final papers for 2 of my classes, both due next Friday. I guess that's a good start, better then nothing. I hope that I can make this paper my best one yet even though it's the hardest one and will probably be graded pretty strictly, seeing as how this is a writing class and this is our final paper. I hope my sources don't cause me a lot of trouble when I begin the paper. Those are probably the main concerns I have about the paper at the time. I'm sure more issues about it will pop up and then I'll be able to know what I'm going to have trouble with.

my final paper problems

So far my largest obstacle would have to be the issue of not starting yet. I tried to make an honest attempt to start my paper somewhat today knowing that we were going to be blogging today. When I tried to start my paper today my first thought was Where do I start !? Do I need to do research? Do I just start writing? So I kind of just didn't really try to write my paper today. Those questions are probably the rest of my issues so far. With this being our last and largest amount of points worthy I feel like I am also a bit overwhelmed when it comes to this paper because I feel like there should be so much going into this paper because it is worth so many points. I do think having my thesis somewhat prepared already does help because it kind of gives me like one foot into the paper of where I now need to go with the rest of my paper. Other than that I am pretty lost. I am hoping once I make an honest effort into starting my paper I will feel better about my paper and won't have as many questions.

final essay

So far the biggest difficulty with the final essay is that i decided to use imovie which I am not exactly familiar with. Using imovie isn't so bad but I am having a hard time expressing everything i want to with the essay. Im pretty sure my thesis is clear throughout the video but the transitions from topics is a little awkward. I had no trouble finding sources but have not begun to cite them yet, which is something I always leave to the end because it is so frustrating and tedious to make sure citations are accurate. Also I keep finding myself mixing the three topics of choice and feel like my point is less focused that way, I had trouble with this in the proposal as well but hopefully the message will be clear when i am finished.

Paper

I think that this paper is going to be a bigger challenge than all of the other ones have been so far. This one is going to include a lot more research and time taken to write it. I have not yet started it, but when I do I think that it will not be that hard to write. I feel that most of the time being put into this paper will be the research part of it. Research always takes the longest to do out of anything for me. Most likely because I always get distracted while I am trying to find it online. Also because there is so much information to read, which takes time to find what I am looking for. I feel that I can write a solid paper on the topic that I chose.

paper

I think the hardest part is going to be doing the sources and makeing sure they are right. I also think cerditiable information is going to be hard to i have to find wed sites that are good sources. I havent started my paper yet but i intend to start it this weekend and work through out the week. i also dont like that i am not gettin someone elses feed back on the paper i am going to have to have people from outside of the class to check it. I need to have strong points and i think that might be hard to because i feel this paper can go in a lot of different directions Im not very good and making effective arguments so i hope this goes well. I feel i will be fine once i get going. getting started is the hardest part but once i have all my info then i can start making ideas off those and put together a good paper.

Obsticles with the Final Paper

Well, so far on the paper I have struggled a lot with just getting things to flow. It is a topic I have a lot of ideas on but getting things such as quotes from people who may possible matter opinions I have been struggling. I have also found it difficult to build a good intro to things. Since this is the last essay and due basically at the end of the semester I know that there will be no chance to revise so this is the one that really counts. (not that previous final drafts did not count before) I have been spending a lot of time trying to make sure my ideas are flowing, and well basically they are not. ha. With the end of the semester so near I think it is my fault just based on the fact I am ready to move on. Besides these two things, my idea and putting on paper are going well. Once I get over this case of writers block the essay should be great. (I hope)

FINAL PAPER PROBLEMS- JK

The hardest part about this last paper for me is the organization. I know what I want to say I'm just not sure how to organize it. My topic is whether or not I think the written word will be replaced with technology. I think that it will, but whether I think that is a negative or positive I'm not completely one sided. I think that it is not good for us as people to rely on technology. I don't think we need it and I believe a lot of people think we need it. Our grandparents and parents both lived and functioned without it and I think that is a positive. Having a cell phone means people can contact you at all times of the day. I see the negatives and positives of that. A positive could be that if you ever get stuck or need help you can reach out to someone. A negative is that people can contact you all the time. So I just think that I'm going to have trouble organizing my paper, and having it make sense.

Selling Cool

This reading was interesting because i learned about the concept of cool hunting. I have to admit i have never heard of that terminology before. It makes sense though because different trends and fads need to be know by different companies so they can produce popular products. It was interesting to see how celebrities and groups of people wearing or sporting different things can set trends on such a large scale. The reading talked about Rocky for example and the hoodie phenom. I think every one has had a hoodie at one point. Convergences talks about how it can be a difficult task deciding whats cool or not. Trends do not always stick everywhere. the example they talked about with the tube socks and flip flops and beater HAS ALWAYS BEEN BUMMY to me, and u wouldnt get me dead in that mess, but some chicks want to look a mess. I can see it being popular in lower class neighborhoods and communities. You wont see people in the Burbs wearing that. it all depends on the group of people. the article was interesting in those aspects though.

Selling Cool

Its pretty funny that they mention the "coolhunters" because my senior year in high school we actually watched a mini documentary on them and what exactly they do. I could never believe that corporate america actually paid these people to go out and find whats "cool". In reading this I dont exactly agree with what they say about the hoodie. I think they are putting to much thought into just what a hoodie really is. To me a hoodie is a sweatshirt with a hood attached to keep you warm. Not to say "your against the world" or that you're a person who does graffiti. And all these examples that they are listing pretty much describes the world. Any given person fits into one of these categories. Going back to the coolhunters, I think that may be a waste of money. You cant really predict "cool" or whats in style. Case in point would be Sillybandz. A simple bracelet made out of cheap rubber. All that was done was it was molded into different shapes, animals, letters, etc.

Who would have thought that in a million years that this product would have taken off in high schools and middle schools like it did. Now when you walk into a store and you see a pack of five Sillybandz they're six dollars. Same thing with Livestrong bands although those went to a good cause but still, who could have predicted that they took off like they did.

Selling Cool

I thought this reading was interesting. However I would probably hate this Deedee person in real life. She seems obnoxious to me. I like that they know that "cool" has nothing to do with the product it has to do with the person. I think that what we see as cool is not really caring. People that we see as "cool" are usually off the trends they start once everyone else has caught on. When everyone does something it's not that cool anymore because we become accustomed to it. This makes it extremely weird that these people are looking to sell cool because you can't and they know that. I guess they're just making money off of the people that follow the trend, and those people aren't cool because they just eat up whatever is sold to them. There is a big difference in something that's popular and something that's cool.

There is so much behind the psychology of cool. For example, smoking. People don't want to think it's cool these days because it's so bad for you blah blah blah. But still when I watch the movie Good Fellas and see the scene with no words just Robert De Niro dragging on a cigarette I know it's damn cool. But even within the coolness of smoking there are things that are just uncool. Virginia slims, Camel No. 9's neither are at all cool. What's probably the coolest is Lucky Strikes or Kamel Reds, or any non filter cigarette because no one really smokes those.

selling cool

This article was all about advertising companies and campaigns and how their main task is to find out what is cool. That doesn't mean changing the product that is trying to be sold but how to make the product appeal to the proper audience by making it "cool" and therefore something a consumer would chose to buy. Shoe companies are big on finding things that are "cool" because shoe products are all so similar it makes sense that the companies need to get an edge on competition. When converse started realizing that exspensive shoes with several cushioned features and what not were not so popular anymore they brought back their classic Converse One Star from the 70s and it became popular again. When talking about Baysie and DeeDee two people involved in the advertising world, they are referred to as the Lewis and Clark of cool. This comparison is based on the fact that these people are responsible for going out into the real world and figuring out what will sell, what people will buy and let their companies know, similiar to how Lewis and Clark needed to go out into the New World and discover new things and report back on them.

Selling Cool

I believe that this little article was really interesting and fascinating. I was reading this article and it is about 100 % true that if everyone has it you will want to own it to. I know with fashion these days this is very popular. I know that I am very guilty of doing this type of action. I will look in magazines or go to the store and look at somethings and say wow I would never wear this, then later on I see that alot of other people are wearing them so then I think they are cool so I go and I buy it. What I find really fascinating about it is why do we buy things just because they are popular? I do it alot and I know that others have to but the big question is why? I believe that most teenagers do it because they think well i'm popular and I can wear whatever I want and no one will judge me, then the other teens that don't feel as popular they would say well all the popular kids are wearing them so it must be cool. I really just don't understand I guess why parents do the same thing. I think it is because they are just like us and if they see us wear it they think they would be cool and hip and they would want to wear it too. It is just a never ending cycle of people pursuing others to buy things because they are simply cool, not because they actually want them yes that may be in a small case but the majority that buy them only want them because other people are buying them and they want them to.

Selling Cool (Kevin Farr)

This reading was really cool. Ha. Anyway, I really liked how it started out, it definitely brought me into the reading wonder which is actually cooler or which one i thought was cool. Take the smoking one for instance, i didn't think either brand were cool, i don't smoke at all and i think its cool not to smoke. Cigarette companies are really good at manipulating things to make them seem good even when they are not. Like when they say 4 out of 5 doctors would rather smoke brand A then brand B. But what they don't say that is maybe if you ask doctors if why would rather smoke brand A or not smoke at all less than 4 out of 5 would say they would rather smoke brand A. That whole study is based on making one brand being better than another. But since they use doctors it manipulates people to thinking that one brand may be good because they use doctors as examples and doctors are thought of as always doing healthy things. Cigarette companies are definitely the best and pulling this off.In my sociology class we went over cool and what is cool so i learned about cool hunters already. Then and now i still think what they do is pretty easy, they go around and see what people are into for the latest trend and then they give that information out. In the video we watched they would go to teenagers houses and pay them to ask them questions and see inside of their room of what they have and what kind of clothes they wear.

Selling Cool

To me, this was one of the better stories that we have read all year. I liked at the beginning how the story asked the question what is cool. I also thought it was very interesting how they brought up the point about cigarettes and how they are cool or not. To me I believe they are not cool what so ever just based on the fact that they cause cancer and death but teenagers think there cool because it makes them look older. I thought the next segment of this reading was also very cool. I didn’t realize that people actually had jobs to travel around and observe things that could potentially be “cool”. In my opinion “cool” is what I think looks good, I could care less if everyone else is wearing something. I mean if I think it looks good I’ll join the party but otherwise I have no interest in what other people wear. I also found it very interesting that the “cool hunters” don’t necessarily look for what looks cool but they look for the actual cool kids. Another interesting thing I realized was the fact that some of the cool things that are being worn were actually old fashion. My mom has told me many times that the things we wear now a day were once popular when she was young. I also enjoyed the last reading how the Rocky movies effected fashion and started the trend of wearing hoodies. I never thought about a movie effecting fashion but now that I actually think about it I would have to say they affect fashion tremendously.

selling cool--last blog post

As a current high school student, I completely understand the importance of being cool. I agree completely with the introduction of the selling cool. Having the most up to date cell phone has been something that has been important at my school. I have always wondered, what makes a certain word cool or anything else cool? I think this goes back to like what we were talking about in class where advertisers bombard product advertisers use celebrities to sell their products. I thought it was interesting to read about the creation of Converse shoes and I can agree that today they are still very popular, but I have personally never owned a pair. I think it was interesting to read about coolhunting and how they do what they do. I wonder what a book would be like if they were to write a book and be able to write it without the footnotes all over the place. I agree with the fact that trends can change on a daily basis. One thing could be cool one day, but could be uncool the next day. I think that Nike add really says a lot. I have never seen that advertisement before, but I have heard how poorly the factory workers for Nike are treated overseas. Knowing that seeing that article would make me think twice about wearing Nike, despite how cool Nike is to many people. I thought it was interesting to hear about the start of hoodies. I am for sure glad that the hoodie was invented because I wear them so often I don't know what I would do without them. Overall, I found this article to be very interesting and very informative. Although I probably wouldn't use these "cool rules" in my daily life to become a cooler person.

selling cool

I liked how it started off. It brought things into my mind that i already had sense of but never really interpreted. Like cigarettes for instance. they are not cool they kill people but kids smoke at a young age still because of ideas they have in there head already. and also fast food places its like everything is a popularity contest just depends who likes what the best and who has the best ratings weather things will do good or not. I liked how they talked about fashion to. I found it interesting how they said a new shoe or something would come out yearly now they come out seasonally. the world has to keep up with what the trends of today are or they might go out of business. For example many girl took an interest in uggs which are very expensive. I have never heard of a coolhunter untill i read this. But i guess everyone has a job and theirs is to find and expand the trends of the world. they also stated that you have to be one to know one. so Im guessing you have to be cool to know what cool is. i guess this makes sense i mean i wouldn't want to take fashion tips from someone who doesn't no how to dress well them selves. lastly i liked how they talked about hoodies i am a big fan of them and they have grown. there are so many different types of hoodies out there. Cool is cool!

Selling cool Kyle Baker

In this article I was able to think of so many examples to when something is cool applies especially in advertising. When they began to talk about apple and how they portray the logo and Corp to be cool i thought about many commercials that were aired late last year. They began the commercials out by having Justin Long represent apple and an older man in a tux represesnt PC. Justin Long is a younger actor that appeals to the general population that apple wants to sell to. By him endorsing and representing apple in these scenario's it allows alot of college kids to think " Hey i want a mac" because often times in the commercial they make the PC look bad. I also agreed with what was said about how big sneakers used to come out every year and now they come out every season. With the use of multi modal advertising its allowing styles to be seen sooner which in turn leads to them fading quickly. I also thought it was funny how there are cool hunters because who decides who is cool? Especially with how society is constantly looking for the next cool thing. Often times i feel that cool is defined by what is going on in the world and who is the next big thing in entertainment. I couldn't imagine being a cool hunter because by the time you realized what society thought was going to be cool it might have already changed.

"Cyberspace" (kyle baker)

This article really made me think because as much as you want to deny it cyberspace really exists. This gives a person a more in depth look at a specific example of how technology is becoming a growing medium. Chat rooms for example don't actually allow the user to sit and talk to an individual at a single location but "cyberspace" is more of a label for the way we talk to people. It should never be considered a geographical place because it's not. You're not actually able to get up and walk around but cyberspace allows users of the internet to voice their opinions on an open medium where anyone can look at it. I also never looked into how they give you a shopping cart on websites and treat it as if it were a real transaction in person. This form of medium to purchase items allows a user to do many things impersonally because you're no longer able to talk to a person. The video game aspect taking a look into virtual worlds is crazy to think about. My roomate just purchased a game called Fable 3 where you can have a real life. You are practically able to do anything from marry a women to have children and become a king. I believe these video games are distracting people especially young kids out of ordinary life.

Cool- Greg Knapp

I enjoyed this reading in convergences very much. Knowing what is “cool” is sometimes very hard to figure out. Fashion changes every day. Sometimes it’s new things and other times its old fashion being reborn. This makes good business for companies but not consumers. I have personally found it hard to know when to buy something. In this changing culture, a shirt that you bought brand new a month ago could be considered hideous now. With technology, you never know when the next version of something is going to come out. Companies know when to slow the production of an older version to prepare for the new one. However, consumers are left in the dark. The “cool hunters” was a very humorous story to me. When they talked of the old guys going into the bar with their 1980’s apparel, I couldn’t help but laugh. I liked how they wanted to see the reactions of people. I also found it very interesting how they said that in order to be cool; you have to be born with it. They said something like you can’t put something cool on an un-cool person and expect them to be cool. This is harsh but very true.

The hoodie story with Rockie caught my attention. I never knew the story behind hoodies until now. I think that the way a hoodie is perceived is by who is wearing it. Everyone wears hoodies but it doesn’t relate the people whatsoever. For example, if a girl is wearing one I think that she just didn’t feel like dressing up today. On the other hand if a tall, built man was wearing one I would assume he is related to athletics somehow. It all depends on who is wearing the hoodie.

Selling Cool

Personally, I enjoyed the very begging of this reading. It pinpointed main tings that people describe as cool and ask "are they really cool?" and if so whose the judge? For example, smoking and the latest technology. I do agree that advertising agencies play a big role in the persuasion of people. They make the products seem ideal and perfect so that everyone wants them. Cigarette companies are probably one of the best at this. They make their cigarettes seem good for you even though their product causes lung cancer and other health issues. The younger people are usually the most influenced by advertising gimmicks. They have the need to fit in and feel that if they buy that product it will help their cause. Another advertising strategy is when celebrities try and sell a product. As we discussed in class Gatorade, and other commercials such as Pro Active Solutions and Jenny Craig are some of the few that use this tactic. What is sad is that...it works.
The whole concept of coolhunting is funny to mean. It seems to be a meaningless activity. Every ones idea of "cool" is going to be different, so why pick one woman to go door to door to give her opinion and decide. Sure fashion has different trends however most likely the person who starts them is educated in fashion. Overall, I believe that advertising is sometimes fake and overrated and that cool hunting should not exist.

selling cool

I honestly enjoyed reading the stories on convergences this time. I honestly thought they were pretty interesting. To start off with, I had never heard of "coolhunters" before until I read about them. It talked about Baysie and DeeDee who were coolhunters and I think that is such a cool job to have. To go out and see what people are wearing, if it is cool, and if it would sell. I think that would be really fun but obviously really hard to get that specific job. In my opinion I think it would be incredibly hard to figure out what is considered "cool" and what isn't because every person has their own opinion. I don't know. Another thing I thought was pretty cool was how they talked about the hoodie and Rocky. This interested me because the Rocky movies are my favorite movies. I learned how the hoodie came to be which I had never really learned about before until now and how it was partiall brought about by Rocky Balboa. I also never knew how many stereotypes there were when someone was wearing a hoodie. I think it is crazy to judge someone based on an article of clothing they are wearing but we are humans judge people every day and will judge for the rest of time. But one thing I do not understand and probably will never understand is how can they put a label on what is "cool"? Because I believe it is each and every individuals opinion to decide what is cool, not one specific group of people. My advice to everyone is wear what YOU want to wear, not what everyone else is wearing because what you wear and do makes up who you are somewhat. You just have to be yourself.

cool

I thought that this was a really interesting read. Being into in the world of fashion, and being a fashion design major I've always had I guess an "eye" for certain trends and upcoming styles. I'm not saying that I'm always right or that other's agree with me, but I would say I get it for the most part, which is why i'm making a career out of it. I thought that the job of a "coolhunter" sounds sweet, but it's not as easy a task as people who don't really have that ability may think. Predicting style trends can be very difficult and a brutal process. For a designer, if your next line is just slightly off from what is considered cool for that season, your career is done. Not to mention all the time, money and effort you just spent to launch that line is wasted. Baysie and DeeDee seem to really grasp the idea of "cool" and have the right knowledge and skills for their line of work. I thought that the hoodie article was a good example of how trends move and how without realizing it by wearing something as simple as a hoodie your participating in a trend that's been strewn across many different groups of people. I've been snowboarding for about five years now and I will often see people wearing hoodies on the slopes. It's crazy to think that that same clothing item snowboarders might often wear started from the Rocky movies, and has been involved in completely different groups; from laborers, to athletes, to their girlfriends, to gangs, to hip hop artists, then to snowboarders. That's how a lot of trends work though, they start off being used for a completely different purpose then over time get transformed to be a popular use for something else and this is a good example. Overall I enjoyed reading these articles, even though the whole idea may seem a bit ridiculous; they do explain, for the most part, how "cool" works.

Selling Cool (Blog Week 14)

When I saw the title for this blog I thought it would be a pretty fun article to read and it was. "Selling Cool" really interested me right away because it asked a bunch of questions about what is cool to do or what is cool to own. I answered some of the questions to myself because my opinion on these questions is what I think is cool. Not everybody has to agree with me on this but I know in my own mind what is cool.

I think that DeeDee and Baysie have THE coolest jobs because they are "coolhunters." I didn't even know there was a such thing as a "coolhunter" until reading this article. I would love to have a job that required me to go out and see what was "in" or what was "cool" these days. I think it would be awesome to land a job for Nike or Under Armor as a "coolhunter."

After reading "A Look Under the Hoodie" I was really quite surprised because I didn't know that Rocky made them famous. I knew he wore one in the movie after running up the steps but for him to make it famous is quite interesting. Also the part about intimidation or wearing a hoodie for keeping a low-profile is kind of ridiculous because everyone wears a hoodie nowadays so is everyone doing something illegal then? No!

Selling Cool

Some of the examples in selling cool made me laugh a bit, i mean the description of the cholo or whatever that was supposed to be a hit? I can honestly say i've never seen the whole wife beat, bra strap out, long shorts, tube socks, and shower sandals catch on. I mean i realize i've only been here 18 years but I have never seen it and I hope that it does not catch on. The thought of cool hunters seems awesome. I feel like that is a job I would love to have. I mean to do nothing but get paid to find out what is cool? That would be living the dream. Plus I feel like there would be some nice perks for a job like that :) Really, the question that sparked my interest the most was who really gets to decide what is cool? I mean who can say that their opinion matters more than mine. I do not think that it is determined by just one group of people. I mean take a look at Kent for example, I see people walking by dressed in all black, some in tight dresses, some in tights, meanwhile since it is getting so cold I prefer a nice warm pair of sweat pants and a hoodie. Who is to say that my style is better or worse than any of these styles? If there is one person I would love to meet them, and slap them in the head for making tights a hit... ha.

Selling Cool

I thought it was interesting that there are such things as "cool hunters" when the point of "being cool" is not selling out to the mainstream. These "cool hunters" look for things that are cool, consider themselves cool and yet ruin cool things. I'm pretty the first rule of being cool is go against the mainstream. How can you go against the mainstream when you work for them specifically to ruin cool things? This is uncool. Then again there are many interpretations of cool. I do not think Snooki nor Justin Bieber is cool but a lot of people consider them to very cool and therefore very popular. It's neat that the article mention black Converse One Stars as it is a trend I've noticed every where for years and years on everyone from the goth kids to the cheerleaders. Everyone seems to have a pair but no one really talks about it. It's a fad that's lasted a long while.

I can understand hoodies being popular. They're warm. They're also really convenient for windy or rainy days. I remember a few years ago when it was the in thing for girls to wear XXL hoodies so they looked like they were drowning in fabric. That was right before the pancho fad. I still can't believe that was a fad.

What is cool? (BG)

after reading this weeks readings, i think that it makes a good point and can easily relate to today especially in high schools. in high school and even in college your trying to figure yourself out and if you hear everyone else doing something like smoking your gonna think its cool and that its normal. your going to want to fit in and not be the odd one out. Its hard to not to fall into that shadow. but at the same time you got to do some searching yourself. this articular talks about the "trickle up" theory where cool finders get their ideas from normal people. i dont think this is a bad theory as long as you take that idea and make it your own because then your just stealing it from someone. Take the idea but put your own thoughts and views in. i think honestly everyone goes through a cool cycle and it wears off. Kids and teenagers and college kids all go through them to figure where they want to go in life. i think that you just have to know where the line is between taking someones idea and taking the idea but making it your own.

CyberSpace

this reading was interesting to say the least. i mean cyberspace exists... no one could argue that. Millions upon millions use the web every single day and when they go into those chat rooms, obviously they are not transferred to a spot in space where they can sit and talk to these strangers, but there words are. That is what i have always believed. I mean your entire body may not be in cyberspace but your words and thoughts can be, and those are a huge part of a person. The thought of cyberspace being a geographic location makes me laugh. Obviously it is not. That is the beauty of it. I mean you can get online in one click, and instantly see things for sale half way around the world. I think that the invention of the Wii and Connect probably increased a lot of belief in this topic. I mean you hold a controller and move it to the left and the character on the game moves to the left. Now with the connect you do not even need a controller, it moves when you do... so you yourself might not exist there but your cyber self if you will, is what exists there. I guess in a sense it could be considered a location, just one that only human avatars could ever exist in. But personally, I think that thinking that way is just going to drive us all mad with curiosity.

SELLING COOL - JK

I thought this article was really interesting. I liked that I could connect with it. I'm a Fashion major and when I started learning about how some trend seekers were getting their ideas from the streets and from real people I really loved that. This article talks about the "trickle up" theory where these cool finders were getting their ideas from normal people.

I also liked the part of the article where it talked about where certain trends come from. From example: baggy jeans. Some might say one place and other might say another. I liked that it can’t be pin pointed.

I really liked that cycle of cool. It’s like with fashion. You want to be wearing a trend that makes others want to wear it, but by the time everyone is wearing it, you want to be on to the next thing. It’s taking what you’re wearing and owning it. Making it your own so that when others see you wearing it they think, “Wow, I never would have put it together like that.” I really liked that fact that they talked about finding cool things, but being about to ver off a certain path. Too much of anything is a bad thing, but it’s ok to get things from here and there as long as you make them your own.

Overall I can’t believe someone gets to search for trends as a job. I think it would be the coolest job ever. It sounds easy, but it truly takes an eye to pick out the next big trend.