Assignment 1-2: iPods and Pop Culture

While attempting to define popular culture, I realized something; it is not easily defined.  Pop culture artifacts are extremely organic in nature and change frequently.  They include everything from iPods and televisions to songs and movies.  I have always thought of pop culture as something defined and lived by people who reside in the O.C., New York, or the pages of US Weekly and live in trendy lofts filled with expensive, uncomfortable furniture and small, designer dogs and/or children.  I now know that pop culture runs deeper than that and is all-encompassing.  I eat, drink, drive, listen to, watch, and consume pop culture on a daily basis without even realizing it.  It's  not for the elite - that's high culture, and it's not for counter or folk culture; it's for everyday people like you and I.  

I work for a company that supplies refractory material to the steel and iron industry and am therefore exposed to many forms of pop culture throughout any given day.  I work on a computer, talk on the phone, and send/receive emails frequently.  Since I work in supply chain management, I also go to lunches and dinners with vendors and speak with a wide array of people every day.  This makes my understanding of and relation to pop culture imperative to my success in the business world, now and in the future.  My understanding of pop culture and ability to make small talk with random people allows relationships to be fostered quickly, thereby opening the lines of communication for business discussions.  Pop culture knowledge and awareness can also assist me in the future if I am in a management position and need to relate to an employee.  

I think the iPod by Apple, Inc. is a great example of a pop culture artifact.  It changed the landscape of digital music as well as the music industry as a whole, and the iPod itself continues to evolve rapidly.  It has allowed people to take their music with them anywhere and now holds movies and tv shows!  Prior to the iPod, we had to carry around a Walkman and the only way to achieve the jukebox capabilities of the iPod was to make a mix-tape from the radio or hope you had a friend who had one of those fancy dual-cassette recorders.  I think the iPod IS pop culture.  It inflences people to buy due to its popularity, and has initiated a massive shift in the way people buy and enjoy music.