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Prompt 3: Dimeo, Hunt & Horbury, “The Individual and the State: A Social Historical Analysis of the East German ‘Doping System’” explores a governmental scandal about a sports/medical technology. Compare this to a contemporary sports scandal of your choice, using at least two quotes from the reading. Take a local photo to illustrate the East German doping scandal in some way, and another photo to illustrate the scandal you choose.

Any scandal that involves sports something of the magnitude of Doping is an undeniable crisis that has to be solved immiediately in order to save any face. It is important to handle the scandal in a way where you recognize the wrong doing of what happened and try to work past it while still reprimanding the situation.

One sports scandal that I know very well is the Spygate scandal from the Patriots in the 2000’s. Spygate was was an incident during the National Football League (NFL)'s 2007 season, when the New England Patriots were disciplined by the league for videotaping New York Jets' defensive coaches' signals from an unauthorized location during a September 9, 2007 game.

The similarity these two cases have is that their is this kind of eerily similar “we don't know exactly what happened here” feeling. In the doping scandal it was never proven whether some of the athletes knew (all the wide believe is that they did); in the Spygate scandal it was never proven that there was anything directly that had some sort of impact on the game and the success of the patriots. The main difference is that there were some members of the Patriots who know what was going on, according to the reading “he lack of choice on the part of athletes and the involvement in the programme  of the national secret police” (Dimeo, Page 2). 

Prompt 1: Research the GPDR online privacy regulations that went into effect last Friday. Link to an official government communication from the EU or another governmental body about these new technological restrictions. Then, find an example of art or advertising in the the city you’re in (not online) that deals with similar issues of privacy or surveillance.

“The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) (EU) 2016/679 is a regulation in EU law on data protection and privacy for all individuals within the European Union (EU) and the European Economic Area (EEA). It also addresses the export of personal data outside the EU and EEA. The GDPR aims primarily to give control to citizens and residents over their personal data and to simplify the regulatory environment for international business by unifying the regulation within the EU” (Digital Guardian).

Translated, what that means is that the entire European Union passed a law that gives control back to the citizens and residents of their personal data. In more technical terms: A processor of personal data must clearly disclose any data collection, declare the lawful basis and purpose for data processing, how long data is being retained, and if it is being shared with any third-parties or outside of the EU. Data subjects have the right to request a portable copy of the data collected by a processor in a common format, and the right to have their data erased under certain circumstances.

Citizens here now have the ability to monetize their data. So for example, a company like Facebook can't take all the data they have been collecting from you and sell it to third party companies who are looking to monetize it in different ways.

This will change the way advertisements are done on the internet through the EU. It truly does give the people more power.

This will change the business model of hundreds of companies and how we look at monetized date moving forward in Europe.

The image I chose was from the spy tower we went to that was covered in Art. This is a clear play on the fact that someone is always watching you on the internet and the new GDPR regulations help fight against that.

Prompt 2: You have now seen the Mercedes-Benz arena & museum, the BMW Motorcycle Factory, and the VW Autostadt. How are these various locations similar in terms of stakeholder engagement? In what ways are they different? As a tourist viewing these locations (rather than as a local fan, a native German, or a customer), which was more effective in creating a compelling experience for you? Think about the Ramshaw reading as you answer, and include specific examples. 

All three of these excursions were a lot of fun; I think if I polled the group, the consensus would be that, at least two of these would be in the top rankings of all everyone on the trip. Although all of them were forms of public communication about the automotive industry they are all uniquely different.

Something that was extremely similar about all 3 locations was the commitment to the fan/stakeholder experience that each organization had. Here are three examples: However I do think one fan experience was better than the other two.

3) The BMW Factory: Unfortunately this is last, but certainly not least. The BMW Factory, strictly based on the layout and what we were able to do, was probably the most confusing for the average tourists such as ourself. There was so much to see.

2) VW Autostadt: The VW Autostadt was my favorite experience. There was not only so much to see and look out, but there were so many interactive experiences to take part in. However, in terms of how I would rank these three in this setting, it would be #2. The sheer size of the ‘theme park’ does lose a little bit of that brand integration and stakeholder engagement.

Prompt 3: At Teufelsberg this week you will see a lot of graffiti. It's a cultural phenomenon here - highly skilled artists have been allowed to paint the walls of this defunct spy station. Some murals have lasted years, while others are painted over from one week to the next. As Ledingham tells us, “Public relations is best defined and practiced as the active attempt to restore and maintain a sense of community.” How is this graffiti a function of community building/maintenance? How might this space be different in the U.S.? Would the owners of this property or the federal government be likely to allow this long-term graffiti haven to continue untouched by anyone who isn't part of the community? Post a selection of murals to illustrate your post.

Teufelsberg was absolutely amazing. I think the most incredible part about the excursion is that this beautiful place is so hidden and yet so rich of so much art, history and culture. Each piece of art, whether it be a single piece or something of an ongoing theme, had so much character to it and it really did build a sense of community among the entire property.

In the United States, I think unfortunately, this art would not be received well by most people. The United States has a less open and receiving culture than many European countries and it was already explained to us that the German government isn't so fond of the space. I imagine it would be worse in the U.S. considering the ongoing battle that most city cleaners fight with grafitti.

COMM 3070 - WEEK 4 - PROMPT 2 - ‘KOM’ MUSEUM MEETS METROPOLIS

Prompt 2: Museum Communication meets Metropolis: At the museum, look for two examples of science or technology to relate to the film: 1 - Find an exhibit that suggests the film was accurate in communicating the future. 2 - Find an exhibit that suggests the film was inaccurate in its vision of the future. 

The movie Metropolis was … interesting. The movie is regarded as a pioneering work of the science fiction genre in movies, being among the first feature-length movies of the genre. The movie is a set in a German futuristic urban dystopia. The main characters are Freder and Maria as we follow their life through different lenses. The main point or prospect of the movie is to show the technological advancements of the future and the kind of positive and negative affects they have.

The ‘Kom’ museum of Berlin was awesome. It was a really good mix of information mixed up with the interactive experiences that did a good job explaining the communication history of Germany. There were so many example throughout the museum of things the movie metropolis actually predicted or had a pretty good feel on. I chose two of my favorite examples as something that reflects something the movie caught on too as well as one idea that the movie predicts, but has a different outcome.

We’ll start with the exhibit that isn't necessarily wrong. However I think the movie would argue it would have a different result than what actually happened. Upstairs at the music exhibit their was an exhibit on “Radikal Provokant” translation: Radically provocative behavior that started because of music in the 1970’s. In the movie the mad scientist created the robot of Marie. The robot “sexy dances” for them in attempt to persuade the men. The idea here is that her radical behavior will have an effect on the people of the future in a negative way. The same idea was thought of some of the 1970’s music; radical music would persuade young minds to act in such a way that would ruin their morals. Their is some overall truth to this concept; music can influence the mind. However, the negative effects highlighted by people in resistance were rarely true and this music was mostly used for fun.

COMM 3550 - WEEK 4 - PROMPT 1 - ADVERTISING

Prompt 1: Capture an advertisement that you think would be ineffective in the U.S. Tell me why it would be ineffective, and then describe how you might do it differently for a U.S. market. Post a photo of the advertisement so that your classmates and I can see what you're referring to. (Note: You cannot post something in German and say "it would be ineffective because it isn't in English" or something similar. Think in terms of the intended message, intended audience, and how both are communicated - would the spirit of the message be ineffective? Why?) Make a connection to at least one of our readings from the program.

The advertisement I chose was an advertisement we saw multiple times throughout our time in Berlin on the subway system. Translated from German to English, this advertisement means “A bed for all events. Our bed bomber. A classic for 30 years.”

To clarify more (since the illustration doesn't do the best at properly explaining the bed uses) “Unser bett jabo” means “our bed bomber”. It’s german slang for a bed that was invented during the end of the cold war era to protect people from, what they thought, was eventual nuclear war between the United States and the Soviet Union. Obviously, Germany was heavily involved in this conflict because of the separation of East/West Germany. That is one of the uses of the bed, making it a classic.

Once understanding that portion of the joke, the women’s ‘lover’ comes home to find two people in the bed. However, she is not clothed and he is hiding from bombs. Thats the play on multiple uses of the bed.

The reason I think this message would be ineffective in the United States is because of the current climate we live in. Chapter 14 of “Values based PR” by Guth & Marsh talks a lot about different cultures and how they respond to certain symbols. One of the quotes that I believe exemplifies the current climate is “different cultures have different attitudes” (Page 431). The first idea I got from this advertisement was that the women was cheating on her husband; I hadn't even thought about the idea of the bomb shelter bed until I translated it on google. Especially over the past two years, there has been a wave of awesome ‘women movements’ that empower women about issues like domestic violence, work place environment and sexual assault. 

Find an example in Berlin (not TV, online, etc.) of communication from a regional, city, or national governmental body about a particular technology. Drawing on Habermas, examine it first from a public sphere perspective: What information is needed about this technology for citizens of a democracy to have informed civic debate and deliberation about it? Then, drawing on Jaganathan et al, examine it from a rhetoric of advertisingperspective: What persuasive arguments might a manufacturer or distributor of the same technology want to make to the public?

The Technology I chose to use as my example was the technology inside of the Lantag (Parliment building of Baden Wurtenberg. The specific technology was the cameras and recording equipment used in the debate room. Their were windows on both sides that looked directly into the room.

The citizens can have an informed debate and deliberation about this technology because they can essentially attend the debates by watching on the livestream.

Prompt 3: Luke Lalor from AlphaPool Content Marketing is coming to talk with us about his firm and what they do. For this post, you need to take careful notes during Luke's talk so that you can go out this week and find an example of something he discusses. Specifically, you need to identify a concept he discusses, then find an example of that practice (1) done well, and (2) done poorly. 

Along our trip to Germany there have been many examples in which a language barrier was a clear persistence to our groups advancement in certain ways. Luke Lalor talked about many things that his company does; one of the coolest (and most important) was the fact that they can run events and translate those events to over 27 countries in multiple different languages. I have found two examples of ways we've encountered this. Luke was quoted saying “If we have a testimonial, we might need to get their message into 27 countries”.

At the DDR Museum in Berlin, every single exhibit was also translated in English. Obviously, the world doesn't revolved around the English; but seeing museums that are translated in multiple languages does it make easier for all tourists to see and learn from. I learned so much about East Germany in just two hours because of how easy and engaging their exhibits were ... & their exhibits had A LOT of information.

At the Museum of Medicine in Berlin, there were multiple exhibits in which their was no translation at all. It was a little hard to follow along with what we were looking at while not having any clear explanation. Their was one specific room that interested all of our group but the ‘translation books’ were already taken being their was so little of them. Our tour guide was amazing (we have had such great luck with tour guides this trip ... everyone has been so engaging) but the part when we went on our own did take a little bit.

The BMW Motorcycle factory was an experience that gave so much insight behind the scenes into the production of BMW motorcycles. It’s hard to imagine that our group was on the property for over two hours and still was no where near seeing enough to fully grasp the size  of the full production that goes on. We were not allowed to take pictures during the museum itself but their was a few interesting things inside the main building that relate to the Zerfass reading as well as play right into internal/external stakeholders.

Internally, BMW did a great job promoting the ideas of ‘fans’ and ‘community throughout their entire presentation to us. Obviously, the biggest component of internal stake holders is keeping them happy once their involved in your organization. Their are many types of internal stakeholders but these exhibits specifically focused on them at a fan level.

On an external level (our group being one of the external public groups) their tour did a very good job of promoting their products. Something that I noticed was that they not only gave us very up-close access to many products but they also pushed the most advanced and coolest tech that they were producing. Something like this will obviously drive up the consumers want to purchase their products. 

This week we got to visit the Tempelhofer Feld in the city of Berlin. It was magical in so many ways; Tempelhofer is a park that was originally converted from a Nazi airport (The biggest I believe). The entire park is built around the landing pad and grounds of this once huge airport. It was a super cool experience being able to walk on the multiple runways for such a long distance. The field was truly wide open.

One of the cool things about Tempelhofer is the community gardens located at the far east side of the park. When we finally found the gardens I was taken aback by the kind of 60-70′s hippie/woodstock vibe that the gardens were giving off in so many ways. Not only were the people reminiscent of the people of that time but so was the way the community set up.

When comparing Ecoland to the Tempelhofer garden there was one main way that they are different in their use of sciences to produce. At Tempelhofer their really is no technology; everything, in terms of growing, in done in a very traditional way. The plants and foods are set up in boxes filled with soil and the water the plants need are either human sourced or naturally sourced via the sky (rain). This speaks to the values of the people who use this garden on a day-to-day basis. Their rejection of technology that might help make their life easier may come off to some as a miscommunication. Initially it was communicated to me that the folks might have been a little ‘backwards’ or ‘behind the times’; while working through it appeared more and more that these were value-based decisions. That is the main difference here between the two; a big discrepancy in technology.

The main similarity between the two is that both groups appear to value naturally made products however at Ecoland, the production is much more technology based. It is extremely possible for both groups to achieve their final goals of being very natural while using different methods of production. At Ecoland, after many products are naturally grown they are combined, sifted, mixed, etc. using the help of technology (as well as people) in order to maintain their maximum levels of taste, etc. Ecoland is obviously a much bigger coorperation than the community gardens of Tempelhofer so they could not afford a non-technological approach to their production.

Compare and contrast an example from each museum that talks about, shows, or otherwise presents a science or technology used in sports. Embed a music video of one song you would choose to play along with each sport (one for each, two songs total). Use supporting quotes from McLeod to explain why you chose those songs.

The DDR Museum was a great insight into life in Eastern Germany and how it was a reflection of the state of world progress towards better initiatives (mostly) during the Cold War era. Their were many different exhibits that peaked my interests about East Germany; one of the topics I found most interesting was sports in East Germany. The reason being was that I was entirely unaware of how big sports culture was to the USSR/East Germans. Usually when thinking about a socialist/communist state, you don't relate sports and the latter. Sports are often a form of fun, excitement and chance for controlled freedom/violence; these are ideas, that usually under Socialists states, are restrained and restricted. However, the leadership of this state used sports and technologies in an attempt to bond citizens under East German Pride. The East German state was a sport state. All citizens were expected to compete at some level in order to have a general competence across the nation.

The first song I have chosen to represent what to listen to while playing a E-sport is ‘Wont Back Down’ by Eminem ft. P!nk.

The reason why I chose this song is because it’s original purpose was found in the game mode Nazi Zombie for Call of Duty Black Ops. Obviously the idea of Nazi Zombies is far fetched but due to the country of our trip their is some relation here. The songs lyrics and meaning provoke the idea of not backing down to the Nazi zombies in which you are fighting in the game. “We are the Champions”: Masculinities, Sports and Popular Music by Ken McLeod talks about the relationship between music and sports. An example that relates to this concept is when he states “Sports, along with the military, were visibly  male-dominated, patriarchal spaces. To a large degree the militarism of American society reflected itselfin its sports culture, which reinforced the pressure on American men to live up to a masculine heroic ideal of fighting” (Page 4). The fascination among 21st century first person shooter games and the relationship to infatuated views about guns, violence and the military can be seen in this song and its place. The idea of not backing down from any fight is idolized in this song.

The second song I have chose to represent what to listen to while playing a conventional sport is “We Are The Champions’ by Queen.

Prompt 1 (extended): Pick a concept from the chapter 14 reading on cross-cultural communication and PR that you have seen exemplified during our time here so far. Perhaps at a cafe you've witnessed differences in how space is used (Proxemics). Maybe on a weekend trip you've seen ways that people from some countries view time differently than we tend to (Chronemics). Or perhaps you've seen a really clever ad that bridges cultural/linguistic boundaries. Post a photo or video, and explain how it captures or illustrates the concept you choose. 

One of the things I wish I knew before leaving for Study Abroad was how drastically my eating patterns and diet would adjust to the food from Germany. I had been to Germany before; unfortunately however, I was just a young kid and did not have an appreciation for the German cuisine and wound up complaining about a lack of ‘American’ food most of the trip. Their are also differences amongst ‘restaurant culture’ that can be seen very easily when you compare both countries. Chapter 14 of Guth & Marsh "Values-based PR" talks about the differences among these things in culture. I have experienced a few examples so far.

Pictured above are two caesar salads I have ordered during study abroad. The top salad is from Germany and the bottom salad is from Prague. In Guth & Marsh "Values-based PR" the reading says “The culinary diversity of the world is dazzling as well as gratifying but also rife with opportunities for serious blunders” (Page 434). The serious blunders, throughout the first half of the trip, have come on my behalf. The clear difference in the two salads is the sheer size of the one served in Germany. This has been a common theme since the arrival here. I’ve noticed that often times the servings for every meal or dish are huge in Germany; not only that, but they’re often served with a side dish as well as bread or some other ‘starter’. It’s been hard to predict meal sizes based on prices because both salads were no more than 8-10 euro; roughly translates to 10-12$ U.S. Dollars which is standard of a salad at a nice restaurant. German dishes tend to come bigger for a little bit cheaper (depending on the delicacy) and this is important to know because it is common for Americans to over order like we tend to do in the United States and be totally ‘slammed’ with food.

The concept I have related this to in Chapter 14 is the idea of time. Guth & Marsh "Values-based PR" states “Different cultures have different attitudes about time” (Page 431). In restaurant culture, Germans have a very different attitude about time than Americans do. In the United States, it is common place for meals to be prepped smaller, eat-times to be shorter and for their to be an overall general faster pace to the dining experience (I can attest to this from my 2.5 years of experience working at a restaurant. In German restaurants their is a lack of a sense of urgency; it is common place for a group to sit down for over 1-2 hours and enjoy a meal at a restaurant for breakfast or lunch even. Their is no internal clock going off in the restaurant staffs head to ‘flip’ the table in order to open it for another guest. This, in fact, does create a much more relaxing environment to enjoy a meal; I've had some of my best dinners in years while eating out with my friends in Germany. 

Another ‘restaurant culture’ related component is tipping. Tipping in European countries can be vastly different than the United States. Guth & Marsh "Values-based PR" Chapter 14 talks about different symbols. Often times, tipping (depending on a lack of one, a small one, etc.) can be a symbol used to communicate you had received bad service. It is common place in America that regardless of how good or bad the service most people leave a 15% tip. It’s important to understand these differences before heading to a different country because they can vastly impact experiences.