Recent Articles

Adobe Creative Cloud Petition
Activism Derek Schoffstall Activism Derek Schoffstall

Adobe Creative Cloud Petition

I recently created a petition on change.org hoping to bring a collective voice to the consumers who are upset with the recent changes Adobe has proposed (and now implemented) to the pricing structure of their products.

Development of Adobe Creative Suite 7, and all plans of future creative suites have been discontinued. The only option going forward will be the Creative Cloud (CC) subscription model.

Adobe is making their already expensive products even more expensive in the long run. Adobe is robbing small business, freelancers, and the average consumer. They do not seem to understand that every company is a not multi-national, multi-billion dollar corporation that has an infinite amount of resources.

In the end it comes down to this: all of Adobe’s consumers will not be able to make such a large payment every month on the CC subscription model. In the short term, the subscription model looks to be okay, but over time the only entity that is benefiting from this is Adobe. The (no longer) current model: paying a one time fee for infinite access is a much better business model and is better for the consumer.

Let’s make a difference and stand up to Adobe and let them know our stance. We want our voices heard.

Read More
Beauty Culture
Experiences Derek Schoffstall Experiences Derek Schoffstall

Beauty Culture

The following is an excerpt from a conversation that I overheard while getting a haircut the other day:

Little Girl: I love my Barbie! I bring her everywhere I go.

Hair Dresser: Do you like her blond hair?

Little Girl: I guess so.

Hair Dresser: You are never too old to want to be like Barbie. Every little girl should want to grow up to be and look like her.

The hairdresser’s name is Kate. She is 34 and has two kids of her own. It was difficult to listen to the rest of the conversation because I started to think about America’s beauty culture, and its implications on our society. To be candid, I immediately thought: How can a parent hold such an unhealthy belief and probably instill the same values in her own children? It was obvious that Kate believed what she told the girl, not exclusively from her words, but it was also clear from her towering heels, the superfluous amount of makeup on her face, and her noticeably fake bleach-blond hair. This woman physically reflected her own words. At least she was consistent.

Read More

Disclaimer

The ideas and thoughts expressed in these posts do not reflect the beliefs of any organization or individual, except my own. Ironically enough, however, these posts may not even reflect how I currently think or feel. I have grown and changed over the years - and rather than delete or edit old content I have decided to leave my posts as I originally wrote them to preserve their authenticity.