A Prime Example

My mom thoroughly enjoys listening to podcasts.  She plays them while she works out, goes on walks, drives, and every where in between.  At first I thought they were interesting as well.  This was until an package from Amazon arrived at our house the other day.  It was a book entitled .  My mom is far from an alcoholic-she hardly drinks.  Yet this podcast had somehow convinced her to purchase a book written for an audience of alcoholics.  What had this podcast done?

She now follows these podcasters on social media, subscribes to their podcasts, and refers to them in conversation.  What she doesn't realize is that this podcast is almost entirely an add.  The individual speaking on the podcast is there to advertise their life, their novel, and their social media.  This podcast, and podcasts like it are advertisement that make you crave certain things for your life.  My mom would have never bought this book if the podcaster had not attached a meaning system to it. Once their is a meaning system introduced that surrounds the book, my mom felt drawn to it. This is an example of how social media can develop a meaning system and act as an ad.