A recent study found people with higher religiosity (strong religious feelings or beliefs) are more trusting of things they can’t see, which leads to greater trust in and positive evaluations of companies using artificial intelligence. While prior research has found that higher religiosity consumers are often resistant to change and hesitant to adopt new technology, …
Religious Trust in the Unseen Translates to Trust in AI Read More »
I wish I had known about Situational Crisis Communication Theory sooner. When I served as the communications director for a Jewish nonprofit a while back, crisis communication was straightforward. If a person, a synagogue, or the state of Israel was in crisis, our messaging would bolster the victim and denounce the perpetrator. Incidents could include …
My coworkers and I devised a comical and long-running fantasy communication scenario. I can’t believe someone created a theory (SCT) that explains it. Developed by communication theorist Ernest Bormann, Symbolic Convergence Theory (SCT) explains how the sharing of narratives or fantasies can create and sustain a group consciousness. Instead of deep diving into theory particulars …
Symbolic Convergence Theory and Fantasy Rock Bands Read More »
One of my SUNY Oswego graduate school professors revealed something to me last semester about her undergrad communications students. Most, apparently, possessed a general dislike of communications research. According to my professor, a number of them chose to study communications because it wasn’t math. They were word-oriented and number-averse. Unfortunately, you can’t successfully conduct or …
I’ve been wondering how my writing skills stack up against those of generative AI. So I’m giving myself and ChatGPT a short writing assignment. Let’s see how we compare. Here’s the writing prompt I came up with: Why do some people like to watch sports, while some people dislike watching sports? This came to mind …
Emotion, Persuasion, and Public Service Announcements PSAs aim to persuade viewers to support a cause. To be successful, they should rely on inducing emotion as a means to persuasion. The Ad Council has been crafting memorable and persuasive public service announcements (PSAs) for over 80 years. They launched President Kennedy’s Peace Corps program in 1960 …
Emotion, Persuasion, and Public Service Announcements Read More »
Six seconds. Seven words. I’ve created advertising campaigns for digital, print, and some out-of-home media (supermarket and doctor’s office TV networks). I never had the opportunity to work on billboard advertising. However, billboards are my favorite type of ad, due to the six second rule, which dictates a seven-word text maximum. “Less is more! Remember …
I love the sun. I especially love being warmed by the sun outdoors. Alas, it’s hard to see my laptop display when I sit in the sun. So for this graduate school assignment, I’m sitting at my desk indoors, writing a post about the sunny photo above. It shows two bicycles and two people—possibly campers …
Building Climate-Friendly Websites It takes an alarming amount of energy to power the world’s websites. Here are some ways site owners can cut back on internet pollution. The internet—including data centers, user devices, and telecommunications networks—uses an immense amount of electricity. In fact, the internet consumes about the same amount of energy as the entire …
Does WordPress Help or Hinder Self-Expression Online? While many view WordPress as an adaptable and creative tool, one researcher views WordPress as a technology that constrains self-expression, thus fostering internet homogenization. In WordPress: A Content Management System to Democratize Publishing, Jordi Cabot tells us that there’s a lot to like about WordPress—the most popular content …
Does WordPress Help or Hinder Self Expression Online? Read More »