I was thinking about what we discussed in the last class in regards to identity mechanisms and generators. It was pointed out that we are in a state of identity crisis today due to an over saturation of referential systems and points of reference. There are so many micro networks, groups and systems from which to draw that what results is an identity due to linkages. I found this explanation to be similar to the manner in which major corporations strategize their expansion or how they target their market. There is a trend in marketing and corporate growth to gain power by association or by merging with multiple corporations to create a super brand. This is in many ways is similar to how we gain our identity, as it seems that through linkages we generate a power structure. Pepsi sponsors Britney Spears who appears in the latest Warner Bros movie, which premiered at Silvercity theatres, which sells Pepsi products. Power of association is at work here. I think our identity grows in a way that is both natural and constructed. I think it is arguable that our constructed identity perhaps prevails. Lifestyle creation and branding is becoming more and more popular. I think we are attracted by the total identity facsimile created by lifestyle branding being that we pull from only one family of identity and take our cues from there. Presently I work for Club Monaco and it has become more and more evident to me how they are not only a brand but they are trying to create a lifestyle/culture. If you are a male and subscribe to the Club Monaco identity you wear our staple Charlie Dress Pant with the white Jagger B, your home is furnished with products from Caban (sister company), you listen to the prescribed Club Monaco CD’s and you tuck your ipod into the leather stitched ipod sleeve. We seem to gain our identity through purchasing power, which is another identity mechanism. The products we associate with link our person to their brand identity and vice versa.