Blog of my blog. Where art thou?

This will be my final installment for the Wizard of Jah blog.  I just want to give insight from my own experience of this blog as an assignment and my attempt to keep it lively and fun.  The assignment for my marketing 337 course at Montana State University was to create an online blog.  The guidelines specifically were just to have 15 posts by the end of the semester, and to have some concepts of consumer behavior touched on.  This has been my objective with this blog, but I clearly took a spin on it.  Through the creative process of this blog I decided that I wouldn't treat this assignment like a literal assignment.  I wanted to relate personal experiences, and my own personal views onto these consumer behavior topics we were discussing in class.  By relating myself to the topics covered in class I was able to give my own personal touches on the post, playing with my humor to make the reading of this blog more enjoyable.


My experience from my internship also has helped in the creation of this blog assignment.  I currently  am a digital marketing intern at Total BS Media, and I sometimes help in the content creation ends of marketing.  My experience from my internship has taught me that online content must be informative,  engaging, humorous, and relatable.  Those were the key aspects I tried to accomplish with this blog assignment.

So to wrap things up here, and close out this insane blog that I have created, I would just like to say that it has been an absolute pleasure writing such insane topics for the millions of readers out there.  This was my first blog, and I am not too sure that I will continue on with it.  Maybe if I receive some great feedback I will continue with my blogging and unorthodox photoshopping.  But for the time being it is important for me to focus on the continuation of my education.  So long, farewell, goodbye from the Wizard of Jah.

Merry Christmas Ya Filthy Animal!

As the horrible year of 2016 comes to a close, we are presented with yet another over commercialized holiday season.  Corporations greedy hands rub together as the snicker about the consumers buying into the holiday cheer.  Holidays were originally held to spend time with loved ones and show thanks for them.  Now it's all about the money, gifts, and alcohol!

Even Mother's Day, a holiday created by Woodrow Wilson on May 9th, 1914, has since become an event centered around gifts and merchandizing (Happy mother day).  Mother's Day becomes an event of the year where ads and promotions run rampant through the spring months.  Why? Because corporations are killing the true meaning behind holidays. The Atlanta Business Journal has a great article regarding the commercialization of holidays (ATL or die).

Back in the America of the 1800s, yes back when the Mayans went hyphy dumb on em, Christmas was not the national event of the season it is today.  In fact Christmas was celebrated in scattered portions of the nation, solely based around the celebration of the birth of christ.  (Facts bruh) The idealized single family home was the birth of the commercialization of Christmas.  Urban upper class families were capable of celebrating these luxuries.  So how did we get to the Christmas of today, the one where ads run even before Halloween?!

Who knows, but what is absolutely ridiculous is Black Friday.  The bane of my existence.  Black Friday has progressively been creeping further and further into the realm of family time, time of another holiday.  Thanksgiving is the time of thanks and family time, not the time of oversized crowds trampling helpless individuals just so they can get that dank toaster oven for 13.67% off.  Nah fam, that aint my jam.  The greatest outcome of Black Friday has been the most recent movement, opt outside.  A movement in which you skip the sales, and opt to go outside on an adventure.  This is what the world needs people! Except don't go outside and be near me, because I am getting outside to escape you all.  

I understand that the economy needs Christmas sales to full its engine, but do we really need to trample individuals? Is that truly the holiday spirit? NOPE.  Stop the over-commercialization people and get back to the roots of the holidays here.  Spending time with your loved ones.  Spread that joy.

The 5 Steps to Achieve that Flawless Business Look

As a skiing derelict, I often peruse the internet in search of stoke.  That's a fancy way of saying I sit on Newschoolers browsing forums for an opportunity to troll some kid into thinking Full Tilts are the greatest boots in the world, and he definitely doesn't need to go to a boot fitter.  The reason I am talking about this is because I came across quite an entertaining article in regards to consumer perception.  The infamous toast of Newschoolers had written out the perceived notion of ski companies (Lol savage toast).  Now since I do not expect all of you to understand what these ski companies perceptions on the market are so here is a break down, it would be like saying Apple's slogan is "Overrated & Overpriced."


This brought up the idea of perception, and what it is that we perceive when we consider a brand.  Seth Godin defined a brand as the expectations, memories, stories, and relationships.  Humans as a whole are judgmental, critical, and unforgiving individuals.  Yes it is a cynical view but you know it is right.  So when it comes to brands, it should be important to be perceived as faultless, right? Is that even possible? To be a faultless brand, is to be perfection.  So how would one achieve having a faultless brand?

1.  Every product works perfectly.
To ensure true brand faultlessness, every product or service would have to be carried out to utmost perfection.  Virtually impossible, or is it?  To ensure every product works properly there would have to be no flaws in the production or materials.  Even for the actual use of the product it would have to be used for intended purpose in intended conditions.  All variables that are totally controllable.

2.  100% positive word of mouth.
Word of mouth is huge when it comes to altering the mind of a consumer.  Who else but friends and family do we listen to more.  So to achieve this level of perfection each and every spoken word of your brand would need to be positive.  Again a totally attainable goal.

3.  Totally fresh brand launch.
Now this is a rule only applicable to brands that already exist.  If you do already exist in this realm, then you must rebrand as something completely new or rewrite the memories of people on Earth that had experienced your brand.  This is to achieve that true faultless feature, it's the hottest trend of 2k34.

4.  New business relationships.
To get the look of faultlessness, you must develop all new business relationships.  What if Carol from HR at your accountants office had a bad experience with Larry from the mail room at your company? No clue what happened there, but thats a single person finding fault in your company so Carol's gotta go.

5.  New employees.
As mentioned above in step 4, no bad experiences can be held in regards to your brand.  So yes, that one time you had to fire Jeremy in R&D for him experimenting products on freshly cocooned butterflies, and now he has a picture of you on his prison calendar and he is waiting to get out just for you.  So yeah just new employees, again totally achievable.

That's the five step process to becoming a totally faultless brand.  It was at this point the reader realized I was insane. If you are continuing to read, you are probably at the Waffle House. But, none of this is achievable, so the real point behind this has been that as a brand a company must recognize their perceived consumer ideas, and attempt to alter these perceptions.  It is like accepting your faults and trying to build upon them, except only in the corporate world and your whole livelihood can be determined by it.  Good luck!

T R I G G E R E D

Welcome to the digital age, where screens and computers capture the souls of the youth. The year is 2016, and newspapers are read through a small portable communication device.  This small device is not made of cocaine, but you would surely believe it when witnessing the youth of today continuously accessing their pockets for this tiny object.

Most sources these days paint this addiction in a negative light (Factual proof backing phone addiction), well I am here to tell you that peeping that phone for the apps and social media updates is good for the mind and the soul.  All this talk about phone addiction and how it is ruining people has me TRIGGERED.

The phones in our pockets are part of the greatest advancements in human technology. Addiction dot com (Yeah I did write it that way, so what? Wanna fight about it?) says, "Since technology addiction has yet to be classified as an official mental health condition and is largely used as an umbrella term to describe a variety of obsessive or compulsive online behaviors, what causes someone to develop this addiction isn’t very well understood." (Facts B) It isn't even an official mental health condition! So why is everyone becoming so triggered over the fact that I check my phone 143 times a day, or scroll social media till my brain is mush. 

Addiction is a common everyday occurrence.  People, back when Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 1932, read newspapers.  Everyone would read the newspaper on the daily commute.  Hmm I wonder if there are similar parallels today? Oh right, everyone on their phone.  Boom lawyered.  Phones and social media are key to the improved interconnectivity of the entire world.  How is this not a good thing? I am able to stay in contact with hundreds of individuals without even knowing them.  I could have a best friend from Sweden, and never even meant the person.  I don't remember hearing about how the Spanish Inquisition solved that problem?! Nope, it's all through improved technology.

So many helicopter parents worry that a laptop is going to destroy their child.  Well believe it or not, the tire swing outside is more likely to hurt me than the dang noobs on Counter Strike telling me to rush B. Welcome to the digital age plebs.  Technology is a tool, and why wouldn't we want an individual to master a tool?  I disagree completely with Bianca Bosker in the linked article above.  Phones, social media, technology as a whole should not be used in moderation.  We should dive fully into these addictions, see what becomes of them.  The outcomes of our indulgence could lead to amazing things.  The past 100 years we have progressed more than the past 10,000 years.  Amazing is just around the corner, so why apply limitations.  Do not be triggered, like I have, by everyone else assumptions that technology and phones are negative aspects of our lives. Send it for the boys! 

Argh mateys, drop anchor hard to port!

Avast lads, this be another installment on the high seas with the Wizard of Jah. But alas, this voyage be one into the ocean of consumer behavior.  Neigh, it not be about scurvy and the choice of toothpastes, but a voyage about anchoring; the cognitive bias that describes the common human tendency to rely too heavily on the first piece of information offered when making decisions. (Wiki is a legitimate source)  Hoist the main sail matey, we beginning our interpretation of this here anchoring and me own personal experiences, argh argh argh.

Enough of the pirate talk, the joke is dead and so is that horse (Get it? A joke within a joke?!).  Anchoring can be applied to a consumers perception of a company, the choices you make when it comes to purchasing peanut butter, and even when deciding upon what to eat for dinner.  Just to give a little more insight into anchoring I will give an example of these three forms I have just outlined for you today.

1.  Consumer perception of a company.  How is this related to anchoring? Well that's fairly easy to explain.  Consumer's will develop an idea about a company and a product from their first interaction with said company.  This interaction doesn't need to be transaction based or even a direct interaction. Say you had just been introduced to a company, brand new, no previous knowledge, know nothing about them.  Then you hear from a friend that they bought the product and it broke within a week of use.  Now, you will perceive their products to be sub par, even after only hearing of one incident.  This is anchoring.

2. Purchasing peanut butter.  Whether you are a nutty, creamy, Skippy, Jif, whatever it may be, you have been anchored in life to continually make the same purchase over and over.  Take a trip down memory lane to your first memory of peanut butter.  For me it is making fluffer nutter sandwiches with my mom in the kitchen, I was probably 6 years old at the time.  Guess which peanut butter we used? Skippy creamy.  Guess which peanut butter I buy today, about 15 years later? Skippy creamy.  Welcome to anchoring, that peanut butter was your first and it has become a norm for you, therefore making it difficult to deviate.

3.  What to eat for dinner? Not sure, maybe try lifting up that anchor and try something new.  When tasked with the daunting event of figuring out dinner plans, partners alike sweat as their significant other pressures them to choose correctly.  After understanding this process, it is blatantly clear that we as consumer's are anchored by our choices.  We see ourselves continually choosing the same limited list of restaurants, simply due to the ease of choice and potential risk of not having enjoyable food.  Stick to what you know is the theme here.

After acknowledging these various forms of anchoring I think it is clear that anchoring is in some cases not a positive aspect of a consumer's mind.  Company's and their products should be experienced first hand before a pre-conceived notion is developed.  Just because your mom made the sandwich a certain way doesn't mean you should continue on with it like that.  Find out for yourself which is your favorite out there, develop your own preferences, not the ones laid out for you.  Lastly, deviate from your norm. Experience new restaurants, new products, and of course matey lift up that there anchor and set sail into the American culture that has shaped you into the monotonous and predictable consumer you are!

Oh fudge...I got nudged!

What do you get when some kooks get together with a motorized winch, some surf borts, and a mountain lake? You get the Willow Corner Kook Squad getting sendy up at Hyalite.  Recently the Willow Corner Kook Squad has been testing their metal as mountain lake surfing comes onto the scene.  The video to the left is the good times that were had while getting absolutely pitted on tasty swells mah dudes. Just to give some actual background, a winch is a motorized rope pulling device.  To this we attached a handle, and thus we could be pulled.  The pull from the small motor is enough to get a rider going approximately 20-30 mph.


Yeah, impressive right? Not always though.  Sometimes when getting too sendy one can end up with injuries.  This injury that I endured was most definitely a nudge.  I was nudged by Hyalite reservoir.  A nudge is defined as to touch or push someone gently.  In the context of the novel by Richard H. Thaler and Cass R. Sunstein, a nudge is a positive reinforcement and indirect suggestion to try and achieve non-forced compliance.  This is the part where you may be wondering how a lake could have nudged me.  Keep in mind that this series of events took place in November, in Montana, at a mountain lake, without a wetsuit.  Now you get it, it is wicked cold.

Now that the scene is set, let's roll.  After achieving successful runs on the board, and falling into the freezing cold water.  It was time to do another lap.  As the sun set down on the mountains, it began to get very cold.  As I began my last run I was very cold, frigid, and dying (I wasn't actually dying).  But, as I neared the edge of the beach, I subconsciously made a decision.  I made the decision that the water was too cold, and that trying to ride right onto the beach would be the best decision.  Low and behold it was the worst decision.  As I came to the beach at a mach 25 mph, I hit the sand and rocks.  The rest is a blur, but I can assume that I attempted to run out the crash only to fall on my right shoulder and slam my head on the rocks.  Luckily I lived (I was never in any danger, I am invincible).

The cold water nudged me to make a decision.  I was indirectly suggested to take the run to the beach, and slam, rather than fall in the water.  This realization of nudges, even when conducting something so unique as winch surfing, brings to light that nudges are everywhere, even when they are not set up by someone.  Long live the stoke.

How to become an internet meme: Part Trace ( 3 )

Hello again readers of the universe, it's time for the next installment of The Wizard making a fool of himself on the internet! The final step of the make me a meme process has come.  This will be a short post summarizing why I came to the conclusion I did, as well as the coinciding meme that I can hopefully launch to the dank realms of 4Chan, Reddit, and other dark corners of the webz.



Boom. There it is.  Not impressed? I don't care frankly because this gif meme above embodies everything that this blog is.  Wut.  Its confusing, unhinged, highly illogical, and most of all I hope it makes you say, Wut.

Now the reason I chose this as the final meme is because it is an accurate representation of myself everyday.  Because of this realization, it is me empathizing with the average consumer or internet goer.  I am under the impression that in this modern age, the massive influx of information that each individual is exposed to through the internet, leaves them in a state of wut.  So empathizing with the average internet user I have created this meme to relate to their inner thoughts.

I will be following up this post with an update on the success of this meme and hopefully its launching into the dank corners of the internet. Bon voyage

How to become an internet meme: Part Deux

Here is part deux of my great adventure to becoming the next hottest thing since the MLG remix of Darude Sandstorm! (Bangerz)  You can check out my previous installment here (Part Uno).  To give a brief rundown of what was covered in the first installment he is a lovely little summary: consumers are strange, memes are so rapidly spread due to their humor and ability to convey a large sum of information through an image and short text, high-sharability and relevance to pop culture are other factors to their increased fame, lastly to the blog was the first step of the meme process - developing an idea.  Well now that this exposition is all wrapped up, lets delve into the depths of the internet one more time!

Step two of the process by wikihow, yes it is a highly credible source, is to find a picture that reflects what you want to imply (Wikihow, the center of the universe).  We will not just be assessing the wackiest pictures of myself, we will be looking at multiple photos of the Wizard that would resonate the highest with consumers, therefore ensuring the highest factor of dankness.  Let's begin!

Step 2: Find a picture that reflects what you want to imply
The search for the dankest picture of me begins.  If I wish to become a meme, I must convey a truly relatable message to the public.  A sense of originality must be an aspect of the meme, this is to ensure that it is new and I am not riding the coat tails of another meme.

Option 1:
In light of the newly elected supreme illuminati leader, I am offering up this lovely LinkedIn living picture of myself as meme material.  In this picture I am clearly over dressed for the occasion of standing aimlessly in a park.  Could the message be irony? No it cannot because the LinkedIn community actually approves of such behavior.  The message being conveyed in this image is being official but being a goober.  It could be paired with a caption that says, "When you get the promotion, but you work as a court jester."  This is because I look professional for some important role, but at the same time conducting myself in a behavior that is outlandish.  This picture would not imply a strong enough message with consumer's to ensure meme stardom.

Option 2:
Again with another presidential hammer here, we have a lovely Wizard rocking the red, white, and blue. Now this picture could be a great reaction meme to Donald Trump becoming our elected president.  Maybe the emphasis of shock and fright could be emphasized with a progressive zoom in on my face? The still shot is good on its own, but added elements can never hurt, that is something Ke$ha has taught us all. Let us attempt to see if this increases the meme factor.


Wow much meme! By taking this goofy picture and adding movement, a filter, and subtle text we have created semi-meme worthy content.  This application of editing makes the meme more entertaining as well as being more capable of conveying the message.  This is important because it allows the content to be more relatable for the internet plebs, which is ultimately the key goal.  Maybe after all I can make it to memeland.


Option 3:
Here we have a wonderful 14 year old Wizard of Jah after skiing 14 days straight in the California sun.  Now what happens when a Wizard forgets sunscreen? Well he becomes a look a like for a piece of toast thats been left halfway out of the toaster.  The meme possibilities here are endless.  You could throw my face onto a piece of toast, with a 50% transparency so I am the toast. Be the toast, feel the toast, eat the toast.  This photo is especially relatable to the average internet browser, I am under the impression that almost every individual has received a hefty sun burn.  This is where the relatable theme of the content exists, and hopefully a small value of humor.  Gotta keep the biddies giggling because I look like a horizontally flipped Two Face.

Option 4:
Here we have the final meme option.  Almost a scene out of Game of Thrones, just call me Tywinn Lannister.  For all you non throne fans, get on the series, you need to be woke.  This photo is a display of an everyday occurrence, something that every human being on the planet can relate to, we all know what I am talking about.  The sense of fear one gets when performing their business and having the door kicked in.  It is a tragedy that hangs over our heads always.  This picture especially could develop memedom because of the facial expressions.  It shows fear, sacrifice, and above all dedication.  Now some may see this as obscene and ill-humored.  But this is the internet I say! There be-ith no joke in poor taste on the vast wastelands of this realm! For we are warriors of the keyboard, and our sword is righteous!

Options, options, options.  This is the point in the series where I have to pick one meme and feed it to the internet trolls and pray that I become dank.  The next post will be step three of the becoming an internet meme series! Next time on Dragonball Z...just joking this is still the Wizard of Jah blog, peace out el hombres!

How to become an internet meme: Part Uno

Consumers are strange.  Their habits are measurable and predictable, but even through all of our research, they still find ways to surprise us.  This is why I am taking on the challenge of becoming an internet meme.  The internet meme is the hot track to instant popularity.  What is the reason internet memes gain so much traction so quickly?! The world may never know, but that is not my destiny.  The old grasshopper told me, the young grasshopper, that I must endure the trials of becoming an internet meme in order to fulfill my destiny.  I am the chosen one, I am the one that will save mighty Odin from the tyrannical clutches of a three headed T-rex that goes by the name Debra! Curse you Debra! (Wikihow, teach me your ways)

Why do memes become popular?

Who are these internet plebs that turn a smiling idiot into a meme overnight? Why do people jump the meme wagon so quickly? Why is Hillary still not confirmed as being a lizard space pirate in human skin?  Well we are going to answer the first two.

Memes gain popularity so quickly because it is a rapid influx of information.  This has a strong correlation to the attention span of the average internet user.  The average attention span is approximately 8 seconds (FAT FACTS BRUH).  So let's just assess that the average person does not have the attention span to watch a lengthy video or short article, so why not memes?! Yes that is a meme reference to a Zoidberg level, I am so dank.

Another aspect about memes that make them so popular are their level of relevance, share-ability,  and story telling aspect.  Memes are pop culture references on occasion, this makes them easy to inform a large aspect of the population with a short picture and type.  The share-ability as well on the internet allows the memes to spread like wildfire.  A typical starting point for the memes are 4Chan, Reddit, and Tumblr.  Now that we know why memes are dragging your 12 year old cousin Tony down into the depths of subreddits, let's begin the process of  step 1.

Step 1: Have an Idea

Wikihow says to have an idea is the first step in becoming a meme.  Well my idea is to spread my face to furthest corners of the internet.  If that means personifying Edward Snowden and exposing the truth of who I am, then so be it; the Wizard of Jah has no time for the petty games.  I must achieve my dreams and establish myself within the ranks of internet memes alongside Bad Luck Brian, and even newcomer  hot shot Kenneth Rodriguez Bone (his middle name isn't Rodriguez but it sounds good).  So let us figure out what The Wizard has in mind as a potential meme idea.  First and foremost I could establish a meme on a funny picture that I have taken.  This is the most simple route, the picture must be relatable but also odd enough to the point that others will laugh at it. I have pictures of this magnitude.

Another route to take is to gain public eye somewhere, and attempt to be put on the news.  An outlandish stunt of this magnitude was pulled by an anonymous man by the name of Fred.  Yes anonymous Fred appeared on live television, and pronounced multiple profanities.  This boosted Fred into internet stardom, becoming a loved meme overnight.  So should I pull a public stunt in an attempt to gain internet stardom, and become the dank meme-lord of the internet? Probably not, I am trying to have a career after college.

After more research into the dankness of the memes, I have gained powerful insight into how to properly execute a meme.  Now this comes straight from the source of knowyourmeme.com.  A user Wheatley posted comment within a thread saying these are the most important materials for a meme to become dank, "You need one internet, Impact font, a vague grasp on pop culture, a few magnets, seven hours of sunshine, and seventeen hours of 4chan." (Dank meme guide list)  So I have the materials, the factual and theoretical backing, and the means to achieve my destiny.  Meme fame here I come.

The Wizard's Favorite Brands

Welcome to the 14th annual Wizard of Jah Brand Off, here we see brands compete head to head to win over the heart of this random internet blog poster. This is truly a battle for champions, as I am sure you all remember the finals from last years event! This year we have some newcomers and classics from all around!

The criteria that I will be basing the points system off of is as such.  There is no points, this is just a blog post about different brands and how they market themselves to different consumers.  Get lit.

Red Bull
This energy drink company is so much more these days.  They have created a brand that exudes excitement.  Many of people have drank their drinks but they are steadily on the rise even as people slowly start to not consume their beverages.  Red Bull is a sponsor to so many various athletes and sports that they are basically associated with any form of extreme or counter-culture activity.  A huge aspect of Red Bull's continued growth is their addition of Red Bull Media House.  This sector of Red Bull is largely a content creator, it drives site traffic and engages consumers.  Even to the point that when I am doing 18 hour drives in a single day, I choose the Red Bull over the Rockstar because the Red Bull is on my mind.  This process of brand creation has solidified themselves as more than just a brand for energy drink companies.



Patagonia
Patagucci for all the plebs out there.  Recently Patagonia has made waves as these outdoor retailers become more and more fashion based.  Companies like North Face, Columbia, Patagonia, are all making gear and apparel that is style and functional.  The reason I am support of the Patagonia brand is their continued efforts for decreasing environmental impacts.  Patagonia promotes many programs that encourage the recycling of gear, and the lengthening of the life of gear.  The Worn Wear content on their site stresses extending the life of that gear, instead of just purchasing new and throwing away the old (Patagucci).  This is super cool in my opinion; in this day and age too many people have adopted the throw away culture.  Why throw away something that can still function real nicely with a nice duct tape patch? Besides, it makes you look more core anyways!

Another environmentally friendly progress Patagonia has made is the manufacturing of their wetsuits with Yulex Guayule Rubber.  It is super cool to read about it and I wont dive much further but read about it here (Yulex more like shmulex).  Ultimately I just want to highlight Patagonia as a brand that continues efforts to environmental causes and for that reason I will continue to support them.

HG Skis
This fairly new ski company coming out of Vermont has continued to surprise me.  This company stands by their product more so than any other company out there in my opinion.

“HG Skis is the east coast’s premier up and coming ski company. We represent the core scene that is the true east coast. Our skis and products are developed from skiers like you, for you.” (TRUUUUUUU)

These guys are out there building stacks of skis in a garage, why? Because they believe in what they are doing.  They know what they wanted and went out to build it.  They stand behind their product so much that they offer insane warranty programs as a ski company. They offer a warranty for structural break downs of the ski, including edge and sidewall cracks. Now if you have ever skied a season of straight park skiing, you know this will happen.  But HG stands behind their ski so much that they know structural breakdowns won't happen.  A brand that trusts so much in their product must have a strong sense of their brand image.  This is a brand I back completely.  HG skis out here for the real ones.

Brands continue to distinguish themselves in various ways, and I think it is vital for the way consumers will perceive you as a brand.  So when the time comes, find your niche, and develop your brand and your business to further create a bond between the consumer and your brand.