What is Pop Culture?

Pop Culture can be described as whatever currently catches the masses' attention. That is, whatever is popular, or the going 'fad', within society at the present time. Because pop culture can be described as whatever is popular now, it is constantly changing. What was considered 'in' twenty or thirty years ago, most likely is not today, with the exception of the 80s, of course. With that said, it is interesting to see some fads, such as the 80s, circle back around. Five, ten years ago, many would have stuck their nose up at the idea of the 80s making a comeback but today, it is all around us, from multicolored leggings to MC Hammer pants to 'fanny packs' (eek!). Not saying all things 80s should have a second chance, but, the more and more upper class society, or those in the spot light, show an interest in something, the more popular it becomes among the masses until the next fad comes along and replaces it. I sometimes hate to admit it, depending on the current fad, but I like to keep up with the going trends, even if that means wearing the multicolored leggings; though, some things, such as the 'fanny pack', will never catch on with me.

With regard to the workplace, it is important to have an understanding of the going trends, especially nowadays, if companies want to remain competitive. With technology constantly evolving, so is pop culture and how companies market their business and/or do business with others. I work in the insurance industry and recently started a new job with a new company. As I was reading through all their corporate policies during my orientation, I came across a section for 'social media'. They know that it is important to keep their name in the forefront of their customers' minds and one of the best, and most cost effective, ways to do that is through popular social media sites (i.e. twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn). Because of this, they reserve a small part of your workday for networking. Another example of pop culture in my current business role is through researching prospective customers. In my current job, I am determining what commercial (business) customers I want to provide commercial insurance to, and one of the best tools out there to verify the validity of those prospective customers and their business operations is through social media sites, such as Facebook. Even employers looking to hire individuals can use Facebook as a part of their background check process to get an idea of that person's character. Twenty years ago, this would have been unheard of.

An example of a pop culture artifact would be the iPhone. Even though there are other smart phones on the market, I chose the iPhone specifically because, like Facebook, it has completely changed our world and continues to evolve daily. Heck, it even talks back to you now! Even though there are other smart phones on the market, the iPhone is the leader in this market and is a constant 'game changer' and trendsetter for the other cell phone manufacturers. With the iPhone, virtually everything anyone would need throughout their day is at their fingertips -- email (both personal and business), banking, social media sites, shopping, ebooks, music, a camera, and so much more. Nowadays, one would be hard-pressed to come across another person that does not have an iPhone, or some other type of smart phone for that matter.







Photos cited from:
http://www.google.com/imgres?client=firefox-a&sa=X&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&biw=1280&bih=669&tbm=isch&tbnid=6HZtmzuk2c5mhM:&imgrefurl=http://www.itpro.co.uk/mobile/20240/iphone-5s-iphone-5c-release-date-finally-arrives&docid=CIC76fXFFH5T0M&imgurl=http://static.itpro.co.uk/sites/itpro/files/styles/gallery_wide/public/new_iphone.jpg&w=940&h=627&ei=CY2BUtTwI7fh4APlz4CICg&zoom=1&ved=1t:3588,r:52,s:0,i:254&iact=rc&page=3&tbnh=183&tbnw=267&start=32&ndsp=21&tx=81&ty=117 

and 

http://www.google.com/imgres?start=257&client=firefox-a&sa=X&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&biw=1280&bih=669&tbm=isch&tbnid=CySU7XNJvslTSM:&imgrefurl=http://www.tech-gadget.co.in/2013/08/trade-in-program-official-for-iphone-starts-today.html&docid=s2gxUPtvpfLdpM&imgurl=http://www.tech-gadget.co.in/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/logo-works-with-iphone.jpg&w=1763&h=726&ei=VI2BUqDCCsel4APZ3oGwCQ&zoom=1&ved=1t:3588,r:58,s:200,i:178&iact=rc&page=14&tbnh=144&tbnw=350&ndsp=21&tx=273&ty=35