Digital Demands: Are you up for the challenge?
Designed by Freepik
Digital Speed Slowed Down by Historic Habits
In this new wild and wonderful age of digital technology, changes and updates go a mile a millisecond, making it hard to keep up. Making a blog stand out in this huge blogosphere requires an extra commitment. One reassurance of this possibility is that even though brand new and ever-evolving digital writing still has a standard that relies upon classical principles introduced thousands of years ago by Greek philosopher Aristotle. He taught ethos, pathos, and logos as pillars of any good argument. Digital writing, though versatile in its application to many circumstances, still adheres to these concepts in the quality standard of its presentation, openness to connection, and information.
These standards may continue to evolve with the Internet as it reaches new heights (and depths) but the backbone stays strong. This is so crucial as information flows faster than ever before. Some finer details get lost when the flow of information is so rapid. Thus, online writers must not simply upload or transcribe but completely, effectively, and ethically translate materials to the online world. Crucial information like copyright protections and deeper analyses must be protected through these individual contributions via blogs and other means of publishing communications.
The ever-increasing speed of information obligates us to embrace the goodwill foundations of the Internet by collaborating within the space. Writers must move away from self-sufficiency by not insisting on a post having only their words and instead including any direct influence from others by tagging, commenting, linking, following, resharing, and more. This credit-creating process first asks that writers already be engaged in the Internet’s discourse with reference and context to join the conversation to contribute positively. From there writers can reciprocate the solid input and contributions they have received back into the blogosphere, widening the network of people and web of information.
How do we make authentic connections and make the time online count?
This task is easier typed than done! This asks a lot of both you and me. It expects us to ask questions to promote dialogue with readers or evidence of active community membership. Some of the most fun examples I have seen lately are on TikTok, where creators and viewers alike have innovated how information is shared and collaborated on through reposts and recorded responses to others. Another example is cooking blogs or New York Times opinion column comment sections influencing the conversation. Conversely, these interactions can threaten the image and conversational direction when they turn negative or redirect the focus elsewhere to an unwanted subject. I think of posts where comments are off automatically being condemned as a red flag for the poster not being up to engaging authentically in the conversation.
These methods and examples substantiate the common traits of blog posts’ connection to Aristotle’s tenets of persuasion. To practice ethos, digital writers must blog within a polished space with a webpage or profile that further elaborates, enhances, or extends the topics addressed in the post. They can do this with relevant imagery or data that is effectively incorporated into the visual layout of the blog text. The pathos of digital writing in spaces like this one places immense pressure on the writer to present authentic yet common experiences with fun or satisfying writing tactics like a witty and insightful conclusion or a comical twist in the post content. These measures are needed for readers to have a full story that they can connect to more personally. To utilize logos in the blog, writers need tactfully employed, credible evidence that supports a clear position expressed with the writer’s distinct voice.
When the Reader Becomes the Writer
Understanding that this digital era asks more of contributors and viewers, more than the basic effort will be needed to engage in the information universe. Readers and writers alike need one another to create more meaning, otherwise each voice will echo endlessly in the echo chamber of the sounding board that the Internet could be.
The question remains, what will compel someone to reply to a random person’s ideas? What makes someone feel safe enough to engage authentically with anonymous individuals online? How does it make you feel when corporations engage in these informal mediums but close or limit comments? What makes online connections feel fulfilling or add to your real-life existence?
#coauthorship #digitalliteracy #likefollowandcomment #socialmedia #camehereforthecomments #checkscommentsfirst #authentic #x #twitter #digitalmedia #visualrhetoric #visualliteracy
References:
Adlington, R. & Feez, S. (2019). Reading, writing, and co-authorship in blogs. The Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, 42(1), 5-16. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF3652022
Create great designs, faster. Freepik. (11 Jul 2024). https://www.freepik.com/
Gottsegen, Will. [@lil_smush]. 2024, July 16. $250 per article. digital media really *is* the great equalizer. [Tweet]. X. https://x.com/lil_smush/status/1813267698622591127?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1813267698622591127%7Ctwgr%5E295e6bff53bf0cd2d22cff84537c0394a0472a44%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fpublish.twitter.com%2F%3Furl%3Dhttps%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2Flil_smush%2Fstatus%2F1813267698622591127
Rheingold, H. (2012). Net smart: How to thrive online. The MIT Press.
Seely, S., Xu, K., & Chen, M., (2022). Read the Room! Navigating Social Contexts and Written Texts. In Driscoll, D.L., Heise, M., Stewart, M.K., & Vetter, M. (Eds.), Writing spaces: Reading on writing. (pp 188-399). Parlor Press. https://canvas.odu.edu/courses/149053/files/35175200?warp=1.
Tucker, V., (2024). Web Rhetoric, Authorship, and Digital Writing. [Powerpoint Presentation].
Comments
Post a Comment