Icon Analysis - Due Thursday, August 28, 2014

The three icons I chose are Brutus Buckeye, Princess Diana and Survivor.

Brutus Buckeye is the mascot of The Ohio State University, and a treasured icon in the State of Ohio. Brutus is the face of Ohio State sports, and is as important to Ohio State as Mickey Mouse is to Disney. Brutus was first introduced to Ohio State in 1965, and was selected in honor of the state tree, which is the Buckeye tree. Brutus has evolved over the years, and become a household icon in the state of Ohio and beyond. 

Princess Diana is an icon in her own right, first by just being a royal princess, and second by her extraordinary life. She was a most caring person with could have accomplished so much if she had not met such a tragic end. I believe her tragic and controversial death solidified her permanent iconic status more so than her status as a royal princess.

Survivor is a television series that has reached iconic status by continuing to be one of the most highly rated and memorable reality TV shows ever produced. The Survivor symbol is known throughout the United States and probably even in other countries. The entertainment value and the $1 Million dollar prize are what make this show so appealing.

Why did I choose these icons?

I chose these icons because they each represent a different form of icon. Brutus is a make believe character, Princess Diana is a real person and Survivor is an iconic television show. Each of them in their own way have achieved the status of icon by becoming something important or valuable to a large group of people, or even the world.

What these icons mean to me.

These icons are important to me because they represent some part of who I am. I have always lived in Columbus, Ohio, and both of my sons graduated from The Ohio State University. There is a strong pride in Columbus for Ohio State, and Brutus is a way for us to show that pride. Princess Diana and I were born the same year, and we both also married the same year. I will never forget watching her wedding and dreaming of being in her shoes. I will also never forget when she died. In fact, August 31^st is the 15^th anniversary of her death. I remember exactly where I was when I heard this news, and will never forget that moment either. As for Survivor, well, I’m not ashamed to say that I just love that show! I wish I was younger and stronger and could actually go compete for that $1 million dollar prize!

Popular Culture Blog Assignment - Due Sunday, Aug. 24

What is Popular Culture?

Popular Culture is a constantly changing area that includes the fads of the day, such as music, technology, movies and TV shows. Tim Delaney, a sociology professor at the State University of New York at Oswego, defines popular culture in his article in Philosophy Now (2007) as "the products and forms of expression and identity that are frequently encountered or widely accepted, commonly liked or approved, and characteristic of a particular society at a given time." To me, this means that what becomes popular culture is whatever the masses of a particular society accept or approve of, for instance, the iPhone.

Why is an understanding of popular culture relevant?

Understanding popular culture in the business environment can be crucial to the success of a business. An example of this would be a business that does not keep up with current technology trends, and therefore the public masses are not enticed to interact with that business because they don't have a mobile app to connect them to it. My career in IT is very relevant to popular culture, especially in the area of delivering computer training content to the end user community. Today's end users want to have several options of consuming their training content, and want to be able to access these options from anywhere at any time. This culture has changed drastically over the last 20 years, and is a perfect example of popular culture. What was popular 20 years ago, is no longer relevant in today's computer training classroom.

What is an example of a pop culture artifact?

Pop culture artifacts do not necessarily have to be something material, like an iPhone. It can also be represented by an idea, trend or value. A new trend that is very important in the world of technology right now is Cyber Security. I work in the legal environment, and it is a top priority to protect our clients' confidential data. With the addition of cloud computing and mobile devices, it is becoming harder to contain and protect this data. I chose this pop artifact because it is something very new and something I think is very important to not only the business world, but the private sector as well.