Marketing Democracy

A recent book attempts to document the salutory effects of the Marketing profession by comparing it to democracy. Or, at least, the authors take six traits of both disciplines and show how they are both good for society. I'm not sure what to make of it. I have not read the book, only the article, so any critique would be ignorant. The statement, however, that “For the 80% of American adults who are not political junkies, relationships with brands such as Starbucks (the “third place“) and BMW (the “ultimate driving machine“) are more rewarding than associations with political parties.” is rather depressing. [From Marketing Democracy]

First Post

It is readily apparent that ours is a technological world. One could look around and see the way that what is called technology not only influences many aspects of our society, but also guides, directs and determines much of our contemporary lives. With that as a given, I have decided to start writing about the way that is happening, at least in my own eyes, in 21st century America. This will undoubtedly lead to a fairly myopic perspective, and, given my somewhat limited intellectual capabilities, may be a bit unenlightening. Be that as it may, I at least want to cast an eye toward something that is often seen as a merely neutral phenomena, but is actually one of the most significant and, potentially harmful facets of our society. This project will begin with my observations, and, as such, will be colored by, well, me. I have an idiosyncratic appreciation/ambivalence toward the subject. For a pedantic example, I still really want an iPhone, but at the same time, am concerned about the way it would direct my life. The title of this blog is taken from Philosopher Albert Borgmann, who has written perceptively on this subject for over 20 years. To combat the subtle, de-humanizing effects of technology, he suggests something called Real Presence. Hence, since this a blog, existing partially on my hard drive and a corporate server, it is titled Unreal Presence. [From First Post]