What Do Stories Have to Do With Advertising?

We started off with our usual "Hello Smith" for the second time this week.

The first thing we did was just have a fun "How'd the Boston Marathon go?" talk. We learned that eh ideal running conditions for a marathon are cool temperature (40°-60°) with a good tail wind. Smith's husband had both of these. Since he got such a good qualifying time, he was allowed to start in the first wave of 9,000 out of 27,000 (at around 4,000th place)! By the end of the race he had made his way up to 2,000 and a personal best time (great job!), even though his watch had died at the beginning!

Then we debriefed on the Fishbowl with questions and comments. One of the biggest problems that we had as a class was that we were all way to vague. We kept getting into theoretical discussions that were right out of the big blue sky. We need to keep connecting back to the text and keep things down here on the Earth we all know. In the next discussion it would be a good idea to ask people to connect back to the text, "Where does it say that in AWNM?", so that we do not get so off topic next time. For those of you who have trouble moving into the inner circle, you just need to tell yourself, "I'm going into the inner circle, NOW!", leave your computer and use those limbs you got when you were born! You can always catch up on a blog and insert a comment, but jumping into the conversation 10 minutes after we talked about something is just plain awkward, so just get in there and get your talk in for the day!

Contradictory to other fishbowls, the new guests Eric Grant and Chris Long really spiced things up and brought a whole new level into our fishbowl. They challenged us to be metacognative, thinking about our thinking, and asking us "Why?" we think that way, pressuring us to truly realize what we are learning in itself, and at a deeper level. Their personalities shone through the text, allowing us to genuinely believe that there was another person on the other side of the screen. They showed us that we don't necessarily have to go along with what Daniel Pink says, as there are many views opposing his.

Speaking of opposing views, there is a blog that we are highly encouraged to read at http://weblogg-ed.com/2011/and-what-do-you-mean-by-learning/ (courtesy of Mr. Fisch!), in which the blog itself, and references to Gary Stager, who make convey many ideas on learning, knowledge, and application of knowledge. Feel free to email/blog to Mr. Stager about different views of A Whole New Mind, and he will very likely get back to you as explained by Smith.

Then Smith explained that if you have below a B, it will be very likely that you do not move into honors next year. If you have below a B and WANT TO move on into honors, or if you have an A or a B and DO NOT want to move into honors, you need to talk to Smith ASAP as time is ticking and space is limited for all students. For those of you who do not choose to move into honors next year, it does not stop you from getting back on into the honors track by auditioning at the end of your Sophomore year.

After all of these things, Smith explained the next chapter of A Whole New Mind (Chapter 5, Story), and how telling stories has become a rapidly popular advertising technique. We looked at several examples of these amazing products and some are ones we use everyday like ceral and milk:

• Honey Bunches of Oats
• Vitamin Water
• Chipotle
• Organic Valley
  

We were then given the rest of class to work on our TED Talks or read "Story", which are both due by Monday. The TED Talk can be found here: http://www.ted.com/talks/clay_shirky_how_cognitive_surplus_will_change_the_world.html. Keep thinking about your TED Topic, as you need to know what your subject will be on by the 2nd or the 3rd of May, you've got until about May 2nd or 3rd, but you'll be working on the Talk itself for a lot longer, so don't wait and pick something that does not matter very much to you, and keep your eyes open!

Good luck to all of you! -Greg M.