Small nervous breakdown, but it'll be ok!

[stefbug]

^ That is me trying to be positive. It isn't easy.

My dissertation is driving me up the wall. I'm doing Digital Arts and Technology, so it's got to concern both social/cultural and technological topics, and it's got to tie in with my final project.

Well, my final project is going to be a barcode scanner for food products that will show if they contain any allegens like wheat/gluten. It's programmed by the user for their specific problem (like celiac or peanut allergy) and even if the user doesn't know that something contains wheat because it's fucking obscure the database will and will flag the product as not safe.

I'm going to focus on the marketing and social networking side of things to fulfil my cultural quota, and the actual scanner fulfils the tech side. I do not want to change this project.

However, coming up with a dissertation has been next to impossible. It isn't helped that my dissertation lecturer has a major thing about dealing with females (since she is one and as such feels fucking threatened by anyone else with XX chromosomes). It also doesn't help that she hates technology (yes, she actually said this to us. On a tech course...)

So my original idea was to look at how modern tech had changed contemporary healthcare, including the cultural shifts. You'd think that would be ok, deals with all the areas and ties into my project. Nope. She hated it. Didn't think it was cultural enough. Pretty much tore it to pieces in front of the rest of the group.

So I've had to come up with another direction, one that still ties into my project and that I can find research for. I've managed to come up with this: How has marketing for technology changed over the past fifty years, what sort of consumer culture has this change fostered and how will it change in the future?

I've had a hell of a time reseaching it but, after a 1/2 hour crying fit and still in the belief that I'm going to fail my final year and it would be easier to quit now, I think I've got a good basis to go on. The only thing I need to find is some case study worth examples of marketing for specific technologies. But since I've got one hell of a headache now, I'm going to leave that until tomorrow.

It also doesn't help that I've got no motivation to do any of the work. I'm essentially 6 weeks behind because I just can't make myself do any of the tutorials or keep up to date with the work. Despite the fact I said I was going to manage my time and keep on top of the work I find myself doing it at the last minute because I just can't make myself work. This lack of motivation is worrying me, and I think part of it is because I got out of the habit of studying during my work placement.

Sorry for the venting. I needed to get this out. Uni is doing my head in.

I'm going to go and kill things for a while I think. Ah BioShock my old friend.

And doughnuts. om nom nom

Comments

[nobarking.livejournal.com]

I think that's a BRILLIANT project and know a handful of people who would buy one if such a thing existed. Hell, if I saw it on Dragon's Den (a Canadian marketing show, where people show their new products and patents to some wealthy business "Dragons" and convince them to purchase a share of the business) I'll bet it would be a huge hit. Huh, I wonder if that website has any helpful source material for you ( http://www.cbc.ca/dragonsden/ ).

For cultural aspects of marketing re: technology's marketing changes recently, if I see my brother I can ask him if he knows of any online or available resources, as he's a marketing major. If I don't see him I'll email him, but he doesn't check his email all that often.

I'm racking my brain for things that might somehow help. If there's anything I can do to help, please let me know -- I was recently a case study for a couple of friends doing their dissertations on how the internet has affected gays and gay culture, but I've only ever sold computers (in regards to technology), and the company's marketing strategy... sucked. Cell phones is mostly marketing (as they're all the bloody same), maybe you know someone who sells them?

*hugs*

[stefflebug.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the vote of confidence and the offers of help. I'd definitely be interested in what your brother has to say, and since this doesn't have to be in until April 08 that gives him more time to check his email.

I might well use you for my market research, since I need some people without allergies etc (which I'm assuiming you don't?) to answer.

We've got Dragon's Den over here as well, and you could be right. May be I should apply if I can get my prototype built properly.

I'm mostly developing this for selfish reasons. I was diagnosed (unofficially) as celiac last June and it's been a pain trying to cut out/avoid wheat/gluten when the packaging can be so damn obtuse. It's only really recently (as in, in the last 6 months) that packaging has started to be labled anywhere near properly, in Britain at least. It's very wearying having to read every single food package, and then have to try and work out exactly what is safe and what isn't. A scanner would make my life 100x easier. It would also help children, who may not be able to read the packaging properly or understand it clearly. /waffle.

Thank you again *hugs*

btw, can we have your address so that we can send you a care package? Kyalesyin and I promise we're not internet stalkers, honest o_0