"Salespeak," by Roy F. Fox

I thought the story in the beginning of this article with Pepsi Anderson and her experience in school was a little annoying and outrageous. Fox could have gotten his point across in a more realistic way. But I guess he thinks he is being realistic, since he later says that Pepsi's world is already here. I think he exaggerated more than just "a few other parts." I do agree with his point that it's an issue that sales companies target kids in their advertising. I thought it was interesting was he said about how school administrators in Michigan are considering auctioning off school names to the highest bidder. I can surely see how this is a problem, however, if the bid was high and the money went to school funds, I can also see the justification. Speaking of names, Fox says he hasn't heard of a human being legally named after a product or service....I recently read that Matthew McConaughey's brother named his son Miller Lite. No joke.
I agree that "salespeak is more that a voice we hear and see: we also wear it, smell it, touch it, play with it." But did Fox ever get to a real point? I couldn't find one.

"When a Risque Online Persona Undermines a Chance for a Job" by Alan Finder: p. 165

This article talks about how some companies do online searches on their job candidates. And that now, employers are looking at sites like Facebook and MySpace, where students often post photographs and comments about drinking, recreational drug use, and sexual exploits. It says that some mistakenly believe that these pages are private, but that companies can gain access to information in several ways. I have a facebook, but the settings on my page limit access to it. I think? I have heard of people changing their name on Facebook to their first and middle name instead of first and last, but I'm pretty sure that as long as your privacy settings are applied, you should be safe. I agree with the many career counselors that advise students to review their pages and remove photographs and texts that you wouldn't want your grandmother or potential employers to see. And I will definitely keep my Facebook page set on private...I hope that's enough to keep people I don't want seeing my page away from it.

Response to, "What's Wrong With Cinderella?" p. 133-43

In this article, author and activist Peggy Orenstein asks what to make of princess culture. She is a longtime feminist journalist who is raising a 3-year-old daughter. She seems a little psycho to me. She flipped out in the dentist office when the dentist said to her daughter, "Would you like to sit in my special princess throne so I can sparkle your teeth?" If I were the dentist I would have thought she was a crazy bitch. I agree with what Andy Mooney, former Nike exec, told Orenstein (after talking about the Power Rangers and Ninja Turtles phase that boys go through) "The boy passes through. The girl passes through. I see girls expanding their imagination through visualizing themselves as princesses...and end up becoming lawyers, doctors, mothers, or princesses, whatever the case may be." I don't think that playing princess damages young girls. As long as the parents don't completely spoil the shit out of them. I always loved Disney princess like Jasmine and Ariel, but my parents never bought me tons of frilly purses and t-shirts that say "Spoiled." I think this woman is overreacting and overanalyzing. As long as she doesn't turn her daughter into a spoiled brat, I think that liking princesses is more than fine.