I believe that popular culture is what is typical in the culture of people. Sometimes divided by individuals, families, groups, states, countries, and nations. Even though there can be many interpretations of what is current in popular culture there is most likely things that people can agree on. For example in the beginning of the technology era everyone would have thought that the computer was a sign of popular culture then. When the first airplane was flying, when the first television was invented, when movies where the most glamorous thing that happened. To me popular culture is what ever the people of the world is experiencing.
Understanding what people think, feel, want, and how they live can help relate to them in a much better way. As employees, managers, or customers a business person needs to be able to objectively, and subjectively know what other people may be seeing, or thinking about. Also understanding the whys, when s and how's of multiple people is able to be achieved through popular culture research.
I chose a cartoon with a seemingly respectful person asking for a news paper. The librarian replies that the news paper would be found in the fiction section. I found this to be a "play" off of the current since that the public feels that they can no longer trust the news reports. There has been so many times that stories have been falsified, bias stories are a typical format, and to find out the real facts one has to have actually been there.