Books Bygone

Monday, July 2, 2012

DriveMississippi Dot Org

The other day I asked, "What the heck is DriveMississippi Dot Org?" 

Actually, that's not exactly what I asked because the question was below the fold and I allow myself the occasional cuss word below the fold. Curiosity finally got the better of me and I discovered that DriveMississippi Dot Org is indeed a site on the World Wide Web-- and a strange one at that. Just so you know I'm not making this up, here are two screen shots (because I couldn't fit the whole page on my screen) of DriveMississippi Dot Org as seen on my browser.

Top
Bottom
Click to make bigger.

Let's start at the top and see if we can figure this out. Note first that there are no tabs on the site. (There are in my browser, but not the site.) Next to the DriveMississippi logo there are two links: Contact & Contribute. Contact opens up my email program with the address "info@... ." [I don't like putting actual addresses for anything on the blog.] LOL. Clicking Contribute does the same.

The top features three 30 second commercials. These commercials ran over & over & over during the Miss Mississippi Pageant. They are feel-good scenes of feel-good scenes that involve car interiors and homes. At the end a female announcer-- who does not have a Southern accent!-- says some pablum. For example:
Our roads keep us connected. We believe that's something worth investing in. Learn more or get involved at DriveMississippi Dot Org.
What does that even mean? It sounds like something I might hear on NPR if I were forced to listen to NPR. 

"Our roads keep up connected." Well, okay! The cat is on the mat. 

"We believe... ." Who is this "we?" (HINT: "We" are not going to find out at DriveMississippi Dot Org.)

"something worth investing in," ... ... Whoa! It's starting to make sense. I was going to be snarky and comment that "we" do invest in our roads. "We" call it paying taxes. BUT THEN I remembered that "we" are in the small group that actually does pay taxes of all sorts. So DriveMississippi Dot Org is targeting folks who use roads to stay connected but who pay no taxes but wish to make a contribution to DriveMississippi Dot Org. There you have it. 

Moving on... .

The bottom says
Better roads lead to a better Mississippi.
They connect us to each other. And keep commerce and job opportunities flowing through our state. That's why Drive Mississippi is working on your behalf to promote the development of better, safer roads—and the benefits they bring:

More safety.
Even routine improvements, such as traffic signals, wider lanes, and better guardrails, make accidents much less likely.

More savings.
Roads that are well designed and maintained reduce congestion, decrease fuel consumption and lower vehicle maintenance costs.

More growth.
A good road system makes our state more appealing to major employers, which helps grow our economy for generations to come.
Can't you just here her non-Southern voice?
Help
Contribute
Follow on Facebook (coming soon)
Download print ad campaign
But please do not try to Learn More at DriveMississippi Dot Org.

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