Introduction: Big Data is not notable to these authors because of size, but rather because of relationality to other data. It is fundamentally networked and its value comes from the patterns that can be derived by making connections between pieces of data, about an individual, about groups of people or simply about the structure of information itself. Big Data is important because it refers to an analytic phenomenon playing out in academia and industry. Big data is the kind of data that encourages the practice of apophenia which is seeing patterns where not actually exists, simply because massive quantities of data can offer connections that radiate in all directions. Because of this, the authors raise questions about the assumptions, methodological frameworks, and biases in the Big Data phenomenon. As well as what the data means, who has access to it, how deployed, and to what ends.
Different Sections:
1. Automating Research Changes the Definition of Knowledge: This section talks about how Big Data refers to a computational turn in thought and research. From this emerged a system of knowledge that is changing the objects of knowledge while also informing how we understand human networks and community. Big Data re frames key questions about ethics, process of research, constitution of knowledge, and reality. Boyd and Crawford respond to Anderson's piece which I wrote about last week. They read his piece as revealing an arrogant undercurrent in the debate- where other forms of analysis are sidelined and Big Data is seen as privileged as having a direct line to knowledge. Big Data has limitations and restrictions. The issue of time is one where their data is about right now with no historical context that is predictive. This makes research limited because of the sheer difficulty or impossibility of accessing older data. Rather than what Anderson asked "What can science learn from Google?" these authors believe that we should ask how Google and similar companies might change the meaning of learning and what limitations/ possibilities come with it?
2. Claims to Objectivity and Accuracy are Misleading: This section is about how Big Data and its issues with objectivity and accuracy. It is supposed to offer the humanistic discipline a new way to claim the status of quantitative science and objective method. However, Big Data is still subjective and what it quantifies doesn't necessarily have a closer claim on objective truth. Furthermore, large sets of data from Internet sources are often unreliable. You have to understand the properties and limits of a data set regardless of its size. It could not be random or representative. We need to know where data is coming from and to know and account for the weaknesses in that data including bias
3. Bigger Data are not Always Better Data: This section is about how quantity doesn't equal quality, which is something that supporters of Big Data aren't taking into account. It is also increasingly important to recognize that value of small data. Research insights can be found at any level including modest scales. The size of data being sampled should fit the research question being asked. Sometimes smaller is better.
4. Not all Data are Equivalent: Some researchers assume that analysis done with small data can be done better with Big Data, however this is presuming that data is interchangeable. Taken out of context, data loses meaning and value. The example the authors give is with types of networks. When sociologists and anthropologists were the primary scholars interested in social networks, data about people’s relationships was collected through surveys, interviews, observations, and experiments. Using this data, social scientists focused on describing one’s ‘personal networks’ which is the set of relationships that individuals develop and maintain. These connections were evaluated based on a series of measures developed over time to identify personal connections. Big Data introduces two new popular types of social networks derived from data traces: ‘articulated networks’ and ‘behavioral networks.’Articulated networks are those that result from people specifying their contacts through a mediating technology These articulated networks take the form of email or cell phone contacts and buddy/friend/followers lists on social media. Behavioral networks are derived from communication patterns, cell coordinates, and social media interactions. Both behavioral and articulated networks have great value to researchers, but they are not equivalent to personal networks. For example, although often contested, the concept of ‘tie strength’ is understood to indicate the importance of individual relationships. When a person chooses to list someone as their ‘Top Friend’ on MySpace, this may or may not be their closest friend; there are all sorts of social reasons to not list one’s most intimate connections first.
5. Just Because Its Accessible Doesn't Mean Its Ethical: This section starts off with an ethical research problem where the privacy of unknowing Facebook users having their data collected was compromised. So what is the status of "public data" on social media sites? Can it simply be used without permission? Research on human subjects always brings up privacy issues. Little is understood about the ethical implications of the research being done. In order to act in ethical manner, scholars need to reflect on the importance of accountability. Protect rights and well-being of human participants. Big Data researchers often don't acknowledge a difference between being in public and being public.
6. Limited Access to Big Data Creates New Digital Divides: This section questions the assumption that Big Data has easy access. Really only social media companies have access to large social data especially transactional data. some companies restrict access, others sell privilege of access for high fees, etc. Basically, whoever has money can get access whether it be huge universities or wealthy companies. Skill is another aspect to consider. You need to have a computational background- be able to read numbers. There are also more male researchers who have these skills and determining what questions are asked.
Reaction: I found reading this after reading the Anderson piece to be very helpful in understanding how this new system works. This was a very convincing counterargument. What I got from reading this piece is that when doing research don't always go to Big Data, use what data is good for your question, be ethical in the use of Big Data, and sometime other methods besides Big Data would be better. I am very concerned about the points made in number six. This digital divide is a huge problem. Not everyone has the money to get access to it. Computational skills can be learned but the money and gender issue is a problem to me. It seems to me that society is flying forward with the concept of Big Data. We should embrace it and try to use it effectively and ethically. Other data collecting methods shouldn't be thrown out the window though. Those methods still have value. We also need to address this divide because this information needs to be more accessible for it to benefit research in a big way.
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
Lisa Author "Big Data Marketing" and Anderson "End of Theory" 9/27
Big Data Marketing (Part 1)- Author starts off her book by talking about how marketing has been viewed for decades. It has envisioned by marketers to be one-to-one relationships with customers.She talks about The One to One Future being published in '93 and becoming the marketer's bible by inspiring new customers relationship strategies and insights into ways to better engage through true one-to-one experiences. However, with outdated, ineffective and ad hoc internal marketing processes, coupled with fragmented and missing data, this leading to flat, one size fits all messaging and interactions rather than one-to-one. Author is making an appeal to begin one-to-one marketing interactions. "We must market like we communicate in our everyday lives, as one individual to another..." (8) This is urgent because companies are facing continued consumer pressure to step-up with compelling experiences now and digital disruption (defined as how technology and data are changing our culture and throwing communication into disorder) threatens all of this. The impact of digital disruption can't be felt everywhere from business to business, business to consumer, etc. No business can escape the relentless pace of tech change. Companies need to adopt more flexible and iterative approaches to planning because the rate of tech change will never be slower than it is today. She calls for marketers and all of us in general to move past the fear of digital disruption so we can confront it. As consumer power grows, not only are customers controlling that market conversation but they're bound to demand more control of their personal data as well.
The companies that thrive will be ones who build individual relationships with buyers. Marketers stand to benefit the most from understanding the consumer better through data analysis. This isn't a negative change- it just a phenomenon that can be worked with. Author continues by advocating further for marketing being data driven. She says that it makes marketing more effective in planning, executing, and valuable. It helps marketers make better decisions, that are more effective. It does more than engage current customers, it also invites new ones. She compares this age to the Renaissance calling it the Enlightened Age of Data.
Reaction- This part of Author's book makes a lot of sense to me and it's nice to get a perspective from inside marketing. The history of how marketing has been viewed was helpful in understanding the goals marketing is trying to achieve now. I think that Big Data will help marketing be more successful in making those personal connections with their clients and the consumers. The way this piece is written as a guide for marketers which means reading this should hopefully help me startmy career in PR and Marketing. This book tells marketers how to be successful in this Digital disruption shift into the Enlightened Age of Data. This puts Big Data in a more positive light then other pieces of have read. My sense of morality is not alerted by reading this because the marketers are shown to have good intentions.
End of Theory- Anderson believes that we should embrace Google to learn from their methods. He writes that "Google and like-minded companies are sifting through the most measured age in history, treating this massive corpus as a laboratory of the human condition. They are the children of the Petabyte Age." The Petabyte Age is different from previous ages because having more information requires a difference in how its handled. Rather than being stored in something we can hold like a floppy disk, Petabytes are stored in the cloud. At the petabyte scale, we are forced to view data mathematically first and establish a context for it later. Google conquered the advertising world with nothing more than applied mathematics by assuming that better data, with better analytical tools, would win the day. They were right in that no semantic or causal analysis was required. If the statistics of incoming links say it is working, that's good enough. Who knows why people do what they do? The point is they do it, and it can be tracked and measured. With enough data, the numbers speak for themselves.
Massive amounts of data and applied mathematics replace every other tool including the scientific method. The scientific method is built around testable hypotheses and this is the way science has worked for hundreds of years. Scientists are trained to recognize that correlation is not causation, that no conclusions should be drawn simply on the basis of correlation because it could just be a coincidence. Instead, they must understand the underlying mechanisms that connect the two. Now with massive data, this hypothesize, model, test approach is becoming obsolete. Correlation is enough. Anderson emphasizes that "we can stop looking for models. We can analyze the data without hypotheses about what it might show. We can throw the numbers into the biggest computing clusters the world has ever seen and let statistical algorithms find patterns where science cannot." This huge amount of data along with statistical tools offers a whole new way of understanding the world.
Reaction- With the Anderson piece, I found myself buying into his argument. Google does have new and interesting methods that work with correlation and offer new ways of understand our world. The growth of data was interesting to me because although I have lived through the progression from floppy disk to storing information on the cloud, I never thought about how different that would make our society. I was really impressed with some of the examples Anderson gave abut how this Big Data has changed not only Google and advertising but science as well. He says that this we can let statistical algorithms find patterns where science cannot. "The best practical example of this is the shotgun gene sequencing by J. Craig Venter. Enabled by high-speed sequencers and supercomputers that statistically analyze the data they produce, Venter went from sequencing individual organisms to sequencing entire ecosystems. In 2003, he started sequencing much of the ocean, retracing the voyage of Captain Cook. And in 2005 he started sequencing the air. In the process, he discovered thousands of previously unknown species of bacteria and other life-forms." Would this have been possible without supercomputers? I don't think so. My only worry is that people will use the data for wrong doing. All technologies have good and bad uses.
The companies that thrive will be ones who build individual relationships with buyers. Marketers stand to benefit the most from understanding the consumer better through data analysis. This isn't a negative change- it just a phenomenon that can be worked with. Author continues by advocating further for marketing being data driven. She says that it makes marketing more effective in planning, executing, and valuable. It helps marketers make better decisions, that are more effective. It does more than engage current customers, it also invites new ones. She compares this age to the Renaissance calling it the Enlightened Age of Data.
Reaction- This part of Author's book makes a lot of sense to me and it's nice to get a perspective from inside marketing. The history of how marketing has been viewed was helpful in understanding the goals marketing is trying to achieve now. I think that Big Data will help marketing be more successful in making those personal connections with their clients and the consumers. The way this piece is written as a guide for marketers which means reading this should hopefully help me startmy career in PR and Marketing. This book tells marketers how to be successful in this Digital disruption shift into the Enlightened Age of Data. This puts Big Data in a more positive light then other pieces of have read. My sense of morality is not alerted by reading this because the marketers are shown to have good intentions.
End of Theory- Anderson believes that we should embrace Google to learn from their methods. He writes that "Google and like-minded companies are sifting through the most measured age in history, treating this massive corpus as a laboratory of the human condition. They are the children of the Petabyte Age." The Petabyte Age is different from previous ages because having more information requires a difference in how its handled. Rather than being stored in something we can hold like a floppy disk, Petabytes are stored in the cloud. At the petabyte scale, we are forced to view data mathematically first and establish a context for it later. Google conquered the advertising world with nothing more than applied mathematics by assuming that better data, with better analytical tools, would win the day. They were right in that no semantic or causal analysis was required. If the statistics of incoming links say it is working, that's good enough. Who knows why people do what they do? The point is they do it, and it can be tracked and measured. With enough data, the numbers speak for themselves.
Massive amounts of data and applied mathematics replace every other tool including the scientific method. The scientific method is built around testable hypotheses and this is the way science has worked for hundreds of years. Scientists are trained to recognize that correlation is not causation, that no conclusions should be drawn simply on the basis of correlation because it could just be a coincidence. Instead, they must understand the underlying mechanisms that connect the two. Now with massive data, this hypothesize, model, test approach is becoming obsolete. Correlation is enough. Anderson emphasizes that "we can stop looking for models. We can analyze the data without hypotheses about what it might show. We can throw the numbers into the biggest computing clusters the world has ever seen and let statistical algorithms find patterns where science cannot." This huge amount of data along with statistical tools offers a whole new way of understanding the world.
Reaction- With the Anderson piece, I found myself buying into his argument. Google does have new and interesting methods that work with correlation and offer new ways of understand our world. The growth of data was interesting to me because although I have lived through the progression from floppy disk to storing information on the cloud, I never thought about how different that would make our society. I was really impressed with some of the examples Anderson gave abut how this Big Data has changed not only Google and advertising but science as well. He says that this we can let statistical algorithms find patterns where science cannot. "The best practical example of this is the shotgun gene sequencing by J. Craig Venter. Enabled by high-speed sequencers and supercomputers that statistically analyze the data they produce, Venter went from sequencing individual organisms to sequencing entire ecosystems. In 2003, he started sequencing much of the ocean, retracing the voyage of Captain Cook. And in 2005 he started sequencing the air. In the process, he discovered thousands of previously unknown species of bacteria and other life-forms." Would this have been possible without supercomputers? I don't think so. My only worry is that people will use the data for wrong doing. All technologies have good and bad uses.
Thursday, September 18, 2014
Brain Whisperers: Cutting through the Clutter with Neuromarketing by Mark Andrejevic- 9/21
1. Chicken Soup for the Brain- Andrejevic uses the anecdote of Campbell's label redesign project to introduce the concept of neuromarketing. This concept goes off the belief that consumers need to be examined in ways that bypass the potentially deceptive character of their conscious and controlled responses. To do this high-tech market research overlaps with surveillance and interrogation techniques. Andrejevic compares this to dealing with suspects of crime. The neuromarketing researchers monitor somatic responses such as heart rate, respiration, skin conductance, facial expressions and pupil dilation to find out what things people respond to and how. The bodily reactions promised to provide a level of accuracy that their words and conscious thoughts could not. Andrejevic quotes Martin Lindstrom, the author of Buyology, by writing ‘Consumers will never, ever tell the truth ... It’s not because they’re lying – because they’re not – they’re just unaware.’ Thus making neuromarketing hugely important for the advertising industry. The media fascination with neuroscience helped promote Campbell’s and the Campbell’s story boosted the visibility of neuromarketing. A win for both sides. With the amount of advertising out there, the powerful appeal of neuromarketing is its power to cut through the clutter that marketers themselves have made. This while reading it seem super immoral but I'm keeping an open mind while reading more about it.
2. Brain Appeal- This section is pretty short. It talks about the surge in interest in the neurosciences. This surge includes neurobiology, psychopharmacology, biological psychiatry, brain imaging, and various neuro disciplines. They are becoming increasingly prominent in a variety of cultural formations, from self-help guides and the arts to advertising and public health programs. Neuromarketers are interested in direct forms of influence – in particular those that bypass conscious reflection on the part of consumers. If fMRI scans provide ‘direct’ access to
consumers’ brains, they can also provide insight regarding how best to directly influence these brains, and thus their owners. One line that particularly struck me in this section was "It is the combination of the structuring of self-help guidelines with economic (in the double sense of the term) strategies for guiding people’s conduct that results in what Rose calls techniques for governing “at a distance” . . . by shaping the ways they understand and enact their own freedom’" (4) This line reminds me of what Edward Bernays was saying about Propaganda.
3. Brain Whispering and Somatic Markers- This section talks about how great advertising strikes a responsive chord with consumers where it matters most: the subconscious. Only neurological testing can make
the “deep dive” required to access that level of the brain and discover how it responds to all forms of advertising, in every medium. This testing gives producers the information they need to develop material the brain loves and remembers making it more effective marketing. In reading this section, I was most interested in the switch from the word consumer to brain. I feel as though this is more dehumanizing thus making it seem less immoral because these aren't people-they are brains. Another interesting part of this section was the somanic marker hypothesis. In marketing terms, the theory of somatic markers reframes the character of emotional appeals. As long as emotional appeals are portrayed as threats to the exercise of reason, their use by marketers can be framed as a challenge to ideals of personal autonomy, rational-critical deliberation and the forms of citizenship with which these are associated. If, by contrast, emotions can be framed as adjuncts to reason – on the same side,
rather than pitted against it – soliciting them no longer poses the same threat as it once was. This is a great point- feelings do assist with rational thinking and decision making. So marketers should work with emotions facilitating reason, not fighting it.
4. From Causation to Correlation- This fourth section talks about how the study of the emotional component of consumer decision making can become an empirical science rather than a matter of psychological theory and speculation. This line also concerns me ethically speaking - "Neuromarketing treats consumers as bundles of nerve centres that respond to different kinds of stimuli and form triggerable pathways as a result." (9) How can we as public relations professionals read things like that and not have an issue with it. These are people. Public Relations isn't only about influencing people, its also about human interest and bettering the world with the spread of information. Another concerning aspect of this section was the Neuromarketing promises not simply to provide clues about how best to directly influence the emotional triggers that allegedly shape subconscious consumer cognition, but also to allow marketers to see the consumers' truest selves and therefore target them even better. This reminds me of internet advertising and how creepy it is that the cookies on our computers gather information on us to target market. This is even more invasive than that and many people dislike the degree of invasion with the computers. The most impressive example of the power of the brain in marketing was the study done on music. It turned out that the brain activation measurements were more accurate in predicting sales than the teens’ stated preferences.
5. NeuroPromises- This section is a conclusion for the article. It wraps of everything that has been said. It highlights the growing influence of the neuromarketing and the difference between the results of neuromarketing research and self reporting. I am convinced that this is a great marketing strategy and it will make a ton of money. I'm just worried about the ethics of selling to peoples' unconscious, especially if the marketing provokes them to buy things that they cannot afford.
2. Brain Appeal- This section is pretty short. It talks about the surge in interest in the neurosciences. This surge includes neurobiology, psychopharmacology, biological psychiatry, brain imaging, and various neuro disciplines. They are becoming increasingly prominent in a variety of cultural formations, from self-help guides and the arts to advertising and public health programs. Neuromarketers are interested in direct forms of influence – in particular those that bypass conscious reflection on the part of consumers. If fMRI scans provide ‘direct’ access to
consumers’ brains, they can also provide insight regarding how best to directly influence these brains, and thus their owners. One line that particularly struck me in this section was "It is the combination of the structuring of self-help guidelines with economic (in the double sense of the term) strategies for guiding people’s conduct that results in what Rose calls techniques for governing “at a distance” . . . by shaping the ways they understand and enact their own freedom’" (4) This line reminds me of what Edward Bernays was saying about Propaganda.
3. Brain Whispering and Somatic Markers- This section talks about how great advertising strikes a responsive chord with consumers where it matters most: the subconscious. Only neurological testing can make
the “deep dive” required to access that level of the brain and discover how it responds to all forms of advertising, in every medium. This testing gives producers the information they need to develop material the brain loves and remembers making it more effective marketing. In reading this section, I was most interested in the switch from the word consumer to brain. I feel as though this is more dehumanizing thus making it seem less immoral because these aren't people-they are brains. Another interesting part of this section was the somanic marker hypothesis. In marketing terms, the theory of somatic markers reframes the character of emotional appeals. As long as emotional appeals are portrayed as threats to the exercise of reason, their use by marketers can be framed as a challenge to ideals of personal autonomy, rational-critical deliberation and the forms of citizenship with which these are associated. If, by contrast, emotions can be framed as adjuncts to reason – on the same side,
rather than pitted against it – soliciting them no longer poses the same threat as it once was. This is a great point- feelings do assist with rational thinking and decision making. So marketers should work with emotions facilitating reason, not fighting it.
4. From Causation to Correlation- This fourth section talks about how the study of the emotional component of consumer decision making can become an empirical science rather than a matter of psychological theory and speculation. This line also concerns me ethically speaking - "Neuromarketing treats consumers as bundles of nerve centres that respond to different kinds of stimuli and form triggerable pathways as a result." (9) How can we as public relations professionals read things like that and not have an issue with it. These are people. Public Relations isn't only about influencing people, its also about human interest and bettering the world with the spread of information. Another concerning aspect of this section was the Neuromarketing promises not simply to provide clues about how best to directly influence the emotional triggers that allegedly shape subconscious consumer cognition, but also to allow marketers to see the consumers' truest selves and therefore target them even better. This reminds me of internet advertising and how creepy it is that the cookies on our computers gather information on us to target market. This is even more invasive than that and many people dislike the degree of invasion with the computers. The most impressive example of the power of the brain in marketing was the study done on music. It turned out that the brain activation measurements were more accurate in predicting sales than the teens’ stated preferences.
5. NeuroPromises- This section is a conclusion for the article. It wraps of everything that has been said. It highlights the growing influence of the neuromarketing and the difference between the results of neuromarketing research and self reporting. I am convinced that this is a great marketing strategy and it will make a ton of money. I'm just worried about the ethics of selling to peoples' unconscious, especially if the marketing provokes them to buy things that they cannot afford.
Saturday, September 6, 2014
Propaganda- Edward Bernays
I. ORGANIZING CHAOS- Bernays stresses to his readers that nearly everything we are and choose is because of a decision made by a select group of people he deems the "invisible governors". Bernays argues that our minds are shaped by the invisible influence these "men" have over our lives. He says this system is vital to a democratic society like ours and necessary to the orderly function of our group life otherwise confusion would occur. Bernays argues that society consented to have its choices narrowed to only ideas brought to their attention. A powerful quote from the beginning of this chapter that summarizes this idea well is "it is they who pull the wire which control the public mind, who harness old social forces and contrive new ways to bind and guide the world." (10)
II. THE NEW PROPAGANDA- In this chapter, Bernays makes the point that “whatever of social importance is to-day….must be done with the help of propaganda. Propaganda is the executive arm of the invisible government.” (20) He addresses the bad connotation with the word propaganda saying that it can be good or bad given the merit of the cause or uses of lies. It is proper meaning, propaganda is legitimate and just the spending of ideas. “New propaganda” is the new technique where it takes into account not only the individual, mass mind AND the anatomy of society. “It sees the individual not only as a cell in the social organism but as a cell organized into the social unit.” (28)
III. THE NEW PROPAGANDISTS- This chapter talks about who the people are that form the public opinion through propaganda. The list would comprise thousands of people including the President of the United States. He points out that it is “not generally realized the extent to which our thoughts and habits are modified by authorities.” (35) We imagine ourselves to be free agent in daily life but we are not. Our interests and likes are dictated to us by people selling ideas and products. He argues that governments depend upon acquiescent public opinion for the success of their efforts. In fact that all groups only work and succeed because of good public opinion hence the need for public relations. Bernays then continues into talking about how to work in public relations. In summary, it is to be continuously effective and honest.
IV. THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PUBLIC RELATIONS- Psychology plays a huge part in Propaganda. Bernays asks the question “If we understand the mechanism and motives of the group mind, is it not possible to control and regiment the masses according to our will without their knowing it?” (47) The answer is that it is possible with propaganda and has been proven to work in some cases. It is not an exact science like economics and sociology because it deals with human beings. The group mind does not think in the strict sense of the word, instead it has impulses, habits, desires and emotions. These impulses are taken from the trusted leader. Thus in order to influence people, you have to influence the leader and they will follow. (50) Targeting the impulses, habits, desires and emotions is how you sell ideas and products to people.
VII. WOMEN'S ACTIVITIES AND PROPAGANDA- Bernays says that “women’s most obvious influence is exerted when they are organized and armed with the weapon of propaganda”(115) He talks the most about women in politics because they are an example of a good use of new propaganda “to secure attention and acceptance of minority ideas” (117-118) He believes that when organized and conscious of their power, women can gain freedom and mold the world into a better place.
REACTION - I have learned from reading these chapters from this book is that propaganda is about more trying to spread a concept to influence others. It is about leadership being able to persuade the masses in hopefully an honest and authentic way. Which reminds me how modern day Public Relations is taught-The first rule is to never lie to the public or journalists. Edward Bernays was a strong believer in ethics as am I. This is important to me in going into the field of Public Relations. As much as it displeases me, I am convinced by Organizing Chaos. I think that he is right that the public would be confused if we had to deal with narrowing down the thousands of choices we could have, it could get messy. I also agree that propaganda was made negative by frightening uses that became infamous like Nazi propaganda. The idea that targeting the emotions is how you sell to consumer reminds me of commercial advertising. Their appeals to our emotions like insecurity are how they are able to sell their product so well. My one question that I'm going to ponder is how women's activities would be different without propaganda. Would women have come this far without it?
II. THE NEW PROPAGANDA- In this chapter, Bernays makes the point that “whatever of social importance is to-day….must be done with the help of propaganda. Propaganda is the executive arm of the invisible government.” (20) He addresses the bad connotation with the word propaganda saying that it can be good or bad given the merit of the cause or uses of lies. It is proper meaning, propaganda is legitimate and just the spending of ideas. “New propaganda” is the new technique where it takes into account not only the individual, mass mind AND the anatomy of society. “It sees the individual not only as a cell in the social organism but as a cell organized into the social unit.” (28)
III. THE NEW PROPAGANDISTS- This chapter talks about who the people are that form the public opinion through propaganda. The list would comprise thousands of people including the President of the United States. He points out that it is “not generally realized the extent to which our thoughts and habits are modified by authorities.” (35) We imagine ourselves to be free agent in daily life but we are not. Our interests and likes are dictated to us by people selling ideas and products. He argues that governments depend upon acquiescent public opinion for the success of their efforts. In fact that all groups only work and succeed because of good public opinion hence the need for public relations. Bernays then continues into talking about how to work in public relations. In summary, it is to be continuously effective and honest.
IV. THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PUBLIC RELATIONS- Psychology plays a huge part in Propaganda. Bernays asks the question “If we understand the mechanism and motives of the group mind, is it not possible to control and regiment the masses according to our will without their knowing it?” (47) The answer is that it is possible with propaganda and has been proven to work in some cases. It is not an exact science like economics and sociology because it deals with human beings. The group mind does not think in the strict sense of the word, instead it has impulses, habits, desires and emotions. These impulses are taken from the trusted leader. Thus in order to influence people, you have to influence the leader and they will follow. (50) Targeting the impulses, habits, desires and emotions is how you sell ideas and products to people.
VII. WOMEN'S ACTIVITIES AND PROPAGANDA- Bernays says that “women’s most obvious influence is exerted when they are organized and armed with the weapon of propaganda”(115) He talks the most about women in politics because they are an example of a good use of new propaganda “to secure attention and acceptance of minority ideas” (117-118) He believes that when organized and conscious of their power, women can gain freedom and mold the world into a better place.
REACTION - I have learned from reading these chapters from this book is that propaganda is about more trying to spread a concept to influence others. It is about leadership being able to persuade the masses in hopefully an honest and authentic way. Which reminds me how modern day Public Relations is taught-The first rule is to never lie to the public or journalists. Edward Bernays was a strong believer in ethics as am I. This is important to me in going into the field of Public Relations. As much as it displeases me, I am convinced by Organizing Chaos. I think that he is right that the public would be confused if we had to deal with narrowing down the thousands of choices we could have, it could get messy. I also agree that propaganda was made negative by frightening uses that became infamous like Nazi propaganda. The idea that targeting the emotions is how you sell to consumer reminds me of commercial advertising. Their appeals to our emotions like insecurity are how they are able to sell their product so well. My one question that I'm going to ponder is how women's activities would be different without propaganda. Would women have come this far without it?
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