SPE 210 020 Blog #5

                When considering whether or not employers should be allowed to use social (personal) media to screen employee candidates or for those who already employed, there will always be opposing views to the argument. There are not different terms that each side uses; however each side just states more opinionated arguments. The argument is more or less the company or employer versus the everyday person fighting to find a job. For example the employer or company might argue that they are trying to prevent hiring people that have a completely opposite life outside of what they showed in the interview process. On the contrary, people going for jobs may argue that what they do outside of the work place is private and should not be of anyone’s concern if it does not affect their work.

                In my opinion, I believe that my audience should agree that employers and companies should not be allowed to use social media sites to screen candidates and employees. I want them to understand that people deserve to have a life outside of work and should not have to be constantly paranoid that what they do outside of their work place is constantly being watched. That idea I believe would make anyone feel anxious at all time, especially in these tough economic times. My opponents may view this argument in the opposite way. The opponent would make the argument that if they are going to pay someone money than they want to make sure that whoever they are paying will not be a bad investment. My opponent can use arguments like people having strong drug or alcohol problems that eventually translate to the work place. The target audiences for this issue right now I believe are college students or people who have recently graduated. This age group is composed of people who are trying to build their careers or will soon be trying to. This age group also has the most recent and potentially harmful activity on their social media sites. Each argument plays to neutral members of the audience by either scaring them from having social media sites, or refusing to take their information down from social media sites. 

SPE 370 Blog Post # 1 R&R

At this point of the year and where I am at in my life, I chose a beach as an icon to represent myself. To start off for reason number one, I love the beach and plan on spending as much as possible of this upcoming summer at the beach. Society has many unique ways of defining what the beach represents and stands for. Some people look at a beach and see a party, some look and see a relaxing getaway, and others see a brand new adventure. This idea is a general way of how I would describe where my life is right now.

                In terms of looking at the beach and seeing a party, I would definitely agree. Summer is the one season I try and take full advantage of being away from school and having all the fun I can, which is usually at the beach (mainly Wildwood). The beach is where I can spend all day and night trying to keep the party going. The atmosphere of the beach, especially places like Wildwood, Sea Isle, and Atlantic City are very care free, fun, and go with the flow type atmospheres. This is the type of atmosphere I like to have for my summer even though there are many times when I still have to push and work hard.

                I also agree with looking at the beach and seeing a relaxing getaway. Sometimes I need to get away from everything and just relax and just kick it. My life can get very hectic and I need that time to myself where I can just relax and let my mind wander, which is a lot like what could go on in the beach picture I have posted.

                 Lastly I also completely agree with looking at the beach and seeing an adventure. When you first walk on the beach you can see the sand, people, and the shallow end of the ocean. The sand is where everyone is most comfortable because all the people are around and there is no need to worry about swimming out. In other words it is the safest place to be. Then, some people like to actually go out and swim in the water; this is like taking a minor risk. People have to be a little more daring to go out and splash around with the waves, current, and whatever other nasty things are floating around the bottom of the Jersey Shore water. Then you can see some people swimming very far out by themselves. I like to think of myself as that person swimming out far in life, not necessarily in the ocean, but my goals in life. I aim to go as far as possible and rely on myself to get there, like the person swimming in the deep ocean. When you are that far out you need to be completely on point and at your best swimming because of how deep the water is. This is how I think of myself and my football career, I need to go as far as possible with it and be at my best if I want to succeed while making sacrifices on the way, like leaving the comfort of the sand.   

SPE 210 Blog #4 !!!

The purpose of my speech is to persuade the audience that employers should not be allowed to use social media or personal sites to screen potential employee’s, or people already employed. I chose to use this topic because this is a topic that will affect everyone when it comes to getting a job in these tough economic times. I will persuade clearly to the class the main arguments why employers should not be allowed to use personal social media, while examining the opposing arguments concerning why they should be allowed to use these sites.

                I am going to use multiple types of evidence to argue against this topic, and analyze the argument for the people who are in favor of this topic. I will draw from sources that include facts, statistics, and testimonies to support my argument. The best way to frame this topic to the audience is to make them realize that they will be in an interview one day and something will be on the internet that was considered harmless will now prevent them from getting a job.

                I will analyze whether or not it is legal or illegal to use social media sites on candidates and employee’s, and whether or not it should be legal or illegal. Also, to build on these questions, I will dive into more detail on how many employers, if any, will be allowed to use social media sites as a screening tool for potential candidates and employees. For example, things such as if a boss gets fired who did not use these media sites as a tool, will the new boss be allowed to do so? I will use credible evidence from the New York Times, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune and more.

                To wrap it up, I will reiterate the facts and examples to the audience and make sure I have covered everything. I will make the audience understand that this is a very real problem and will affect them very soon. The audience will be persuaded that employers should not be allowed to use personal social media sites to screen potential candidates and people who are already employed.

SPE 370 Blog #5

                

               There is a constant struggle between the everyday American and obesity. Everyone is looking for the new quick and easy way to shed their extra pounds and there are thousands of companies that earn millions off of the people looking for that quick fix. Slim fast is arguable the most famous weight loss plan. The slim fast product is perceived as helping people lose weight fast and easily, while also tasting good. This advertisement epitomizes those very aspects of weight loss to lure people into buying their product.  

                To start off, this advertisement follows the rule of thirds or the golden mean which causes the advertisement to be proportionate and easy to look at. The advertisement allows the eyes to focus on the cake and the scene taking place on the cake because the background is slightly faded out. The question is placed under the cake so the viewer is not distracted from the cake because the background of where the question is placed is also slightly faded out. The white color of the letters allows the brain to associate the phrase with a wedding because brides usually wear white dresses, which also means this advertisement is geared towards females. The white lettering also allows the eyes to easily transition from looking at the white cake to the question. The same goes for the placement of the slim fast product because it is made to be vivid and clear on a faded out background.

                In terms of the gestalt principles, this advertisement allows the viewer to feel a number of ways. A wedding is considered by many people to be one of the most important days of their lives and everything needs to be perfect. The cake in this advertisement shows that because of how intricate the flowers are on the side and how smooth the icing on the top is. The imperfection is shown by the bride falling through the marvelous cake and creating a disaster on something that was supposed to be perfect, such as a wedding day. This slim fast advertisement also uses principles of metonymy by using the bride falling through the cake. The bride falling represents the embarrassment of being overweight in a wedding dress while the skinnier male is still on top of the cake and unable to save the overweight bride. Embarrassment is something that cannot be shown through one image; rather it has to be implied.  This advertisement does a very sneaky thing by making it seem as though they are only marketing toward women who are getting married. However many women not getting married will see this advertisement and think that it works for women who need a very fast solution before their quickly approaching wedding day. When women think this they will believe that slim fast is the go to plan for losing quick weight, especially if summer is approaching.

                Overall this slim fast advertisement is very sneaky and effective. Slim fast preys people who either need to lose weight or may be slightly self-conscious. This advertisement can also cause someone to become self-conscious and make them feel as if the only solution is the slim fast drinks.