Big Stick

So you are thinking of getting yourself a broadband connection or already have one and now want to find some cool free music videos and internet radio stations which are available at broadband quality for you to get the most out of your fat broadband pipe.

Well a great place to start looking for quality music videos is Lycos Free Music Videos which is at http://entertainment.lycos.com/music/videos.php where you can choose and watch a big selection of the latest music videos all for free as well as the not so easy to find, lesser known music videos. Lycos also have interesting band biographies and lots of picture galleries of your favorite artists for you to look at or download. They also have a music news section, a music download section and the latest music charts for you to catch up on.

Another great website for watching free music videos is Yahoo Free Music Videos which you can find at http://music.yahoo.com/musicvideos/default.asp where you can watch videos at 300k broadband download speed or 100k if you prefer. If you watch them at 300k download speed, you can watch the video in full screen mode which is a nice touch. The Yahoo music video catalog covers thousand of music videos and many music styles including pop, rock, top 100, dance, rap, R&B and country. They also have album reviews, singles reviews, album charts, singles charts, live reviews, downloads and latest music news for you to enjoy for free. Yahoo also give you access to hundreds of free internet radio channels through their Launchcast radio service covering all possible music tastes.

Talking of free internet radio stations, a really cool site where you can listen to thousands of different radio stations is Shoutcast Broadband Internet Radio which is at http://www.shoutcast.com.They have a huge choice of music styles for you to enjoy including: Alternative College, Industrial, Punk, Ska, Blues, Folk, Cajun, Contemporary Classical, Opera, Symphonic, New Country, Electronic Ambient, Drum And Bass, Trance, Techno, Downtempo. House, Breakbeat, Acid Jazz, Hip Hop, Rap, Latin Jazz, Swing Jazz, Big Band Jazz, Classic Jazz, Smooth Jazz, Classic Pop & Rock, Pop & Rock Oldies, 80′s, Metal, Pop, Rock, R & B, Soul and World Music

Is advertising the ultimate means to inform and help us in our everyday decision-making or is it just an excessively powerful form of mass deception used by companies to persuade their prospects and customers to buy products and services they do not need? Consumers in the global village are exposed to increasing number of advertisement messages and spending for advertisements is increasing accordingly.

It will not be exaggerated if we conclude that we are ‘soaked in this cultural rain of marketing communications’ through TV, press, cinema, Internet, etc. (Hackley and Kitchen, 1999). But if thirty years ago the marketing communication tools were used mainly as a product-centered tactical means, now the promotional mix, and in particular the advertising is focused on signs and semiotics. Some argue that the marketers’ efforts eventually are “turning the economy into symbol so that it means something to the consumer” (Williamson, cited in Anonymous, Marketing Communications, 2006: 569). One critical consequence is that many of the contemporary advertisements “are selling us ourselves” (ibid.)

The abovementioned process is influenced by the commoditisation of products and blurring of consumer’s own perceptions of the companies’ offering. In order to differentiate and position their products and/or services today’s businesses employ advertising which is sometimes considered not only of bad taste, but also as deliberately intrusive and manipulative. The issue of bad advertising is topical to such extent that organisations like Adbusters have embraced the tactics of subvertising – revealing the real intend behind the modern advertising. The Adbusters magazine editor-in-chief Kalle Lason commented on the corporate image building communication activities of the big companies: “We know that oil companies aren’t really friendly to nature, and tobacco companies don’t really care about ethics” (Arnold, 2001). On the other hand, the “ethics and social responsibility are important determinants of such long-term gains as survival, long-term profitability, and competitiveness of the organization” (Singhapakdi, 1999). Without communications strategy that revolves around ethics and social responsibility the concepts of total quality and customer relationships building become elusive. However, there could be no easy clear-cut ethics formula of marketing communications.

ADVERTISING – PRESCIOUS INFORMATION OR VICIOUS MANIPULATION?