Pitching an Idea: Preliminary Research for Multimodal Project

      When advertising an opinion about a particular topic in a digital space there are various ways writers can design a multimodal project to convey their opinion. After one chooses to express their point of view on a particular topic or belief to a public digital audience, there is a likely chance that they will get varying amounts of support or backlash for choosing to express their beliefs. However, I believe that showing negativity towards an idea is not the best way to show how one believes that they are wrong. When Internet users choose to continually express negativity towards another users persona, they engage in and fuel a growing dilemma of cyberbullying. Some ways that social media platforms, such as Facebook and Instagram, express their arguments about cyberbullying is by including hashtags memes that relate to common conversations and groups that aim to prevent cyberbullying. Users argue that people will continue to stay silent on social media from the cyber abuse they receive and participate in movements to spread awareness of cyber bullying. The intended/primary audience would be the general online public and the primary claim would be to make people more aware of the statistics and effects that cyberbullying can have on Internet users. This argument is extremely important to make, especially RIGHT NOW because there are people who experience cyber bullying everyday and are afraid to talk about it or seek help. By making people more aware of this growing issue, it will make people more aware of the effects of cyberbullying and inspire them to help those experiencing cyber bullying and encourage them to put an end to it.

      Some key points that I would make to support my argument about how we should put an end to cyber bullying are the statistics gathered about how many people encounter cyber bullying and the consequences that come with it, some ways people are making efforts to prevent cyber bullying, and how the reader can make steps to end cyberbullying. I would use statistics from credible online researchers as well as powerful stories from users who have experienced cyber bullying to make the audience feel sympathetic and guilty that there are people who go through this. I believe that this will achieve my goal at making my audience more aware of the prevalence of cyberbullying on the Internet, while also explaining efforts that are being made to end cyber bullying and how readers can participate in these movements. I feel that the best way to accomplish this would be either through a moving video or poster that can convey statistics and personal quotes/stories from users that show the growing troubles encountered by cyber bullying, while also conveying to readers that there is hope to stand up to cyberbullying and end the harm and fear that it inflicts on Internet users.

Finding an Agreement and Reaching Out to Your Audience

In today’s day in age, it can be troublesome to develop an agreement between two different viewpoints. A lot of us struggle with actually listening to differing opinions because we automatically feel threatened by an opposing opinion. This is present today in topics ranging from Internet posts to actual political matters. Since we have a hard time listening to different viewpoints, we have to come up with alternative ways of discussing our beliefs with people of opposing viewpoints. There are countless examples of authors who try to elaborate on what they feel are the best ways to convey a particular opinion. Joe Moxley, Jim Corder, and Rebecca Solnit offer different ways to communicate a message to a particular audience. The differing approaches provide a great awareness to the variety of creative approaches to articulate a message and embody a particular uniqueness.

Joe Moxley- “Rogerian Argument:”

Joe Moxley opens the article about our beliefs and arguments being fueled by faith, emotion, and logic. Our beliefs are influenced by different experiences and cultural views that play a role in defining how we think. He also states how we naturally feel threatened by someone with an opposing viewpoint so we have to come up with creative ways to negotiate our differences. This provides a transition into “Rogerian Argument;” this allows people of different viewpoints to find a common ground. Moxley states that when it comes to Rogerian Argument the goal is, “not for you to win and for your opponent to lose, a scenario that more often results in both parties losing. Instead, you explore ways that will allow both you and your audience to win” (2010). When a writer applies Rogerian strategy then they consider three techniques; these include conveying to the reader that they are understood, delineating the area where writer believes the position is valid, and inducing the reader to believe that they share common moral qualities. This supports Moxley’s claim that if we want to attempt to persuade an opposing viewpoint, then we should try to find common morals and brainstorm ideas that both parties would benefit.

Jim Corder- “Argument as Emergence, Rhetoric as Love:”

Jim Corder emphasizes the overall idea that we are all authors and that our life is a narrative in his article “Argument as Emergence, Rhetoric as Love.” Corder considers everyday life a narrative. He also states that since we are all our own narratives, we can sometimes collide with other narratives with different ideas; this creates an argument. We also have the power to choose what goes into our narratives, which also establishes our argument. Since we believe in different arguments, we are likely to react in different ways. Corder concludes that we have to learn to appreciate each other’s narratives and that we should change the way we talk and conceive our arguments. However, when it comes to discussing beliefs with another narrative, Corder also adds that disputers can learn to incorporate elements rhetoric to make their argument more persuasive. Rhetoric can help when discussing arguments because, as Corder quotes, “rhetoric is love, and it must speak a commodious language, creating a world full of space and time that will hold our diversities” (31). This enforces the concept that when we use elements of rhetoric, we show sympathy and that we are interested in coming up with a resolution to a problem.

Rebecca Sonlit- “Preaching to The Choir:”

In Rebecca Sonlit’s article entitled “Preaching to The Choir,” the author opens her article by talking about her encounters with people of differing opinions when she was on vacation. This experience made the author more aware of the vast opinions that may differ from our own. Sonlit clarifies the definition of preaching to the choir as, “hectoring your listeners with arguments they already agree with, and it’s a common sin of radicals, the tendency to denounce others as a way of announcing one’s own virtue” (1). This means that we typically tend to express our opinions with people who already agree with us and that if we express our opinions with other’s differing opinions, we are considered radicals. However, Sonlit feels that we waste our time engaging with people who already agree with us and should spend our time trying to discuss issues with our enemies and try to persuade them on a particular view of come to an agreement. We also have to keep in mind that disagreement does not mean to tear down a rival, but rather we should test and strengthen our proposals. Sonlit concludes that if we dismiss the value of talking to people with other opinions then we fail to fully utilize the power of conversation.

Conclusion:

I do agree with the overall message that a lot of these articles are conveying to readers. They make us aware that we will encounter people with opinions different from our own. Instead of radically arguing with them to try and change their point of view we should calmly engage in a conversation and attempt to persuade or come to a common agreement. I agree with Joe Moxley when he talks about finding a common ground through Rogerian argument. I think that this argument style would effectively convey opinions and offer a unique way of persuasion. I also feel that Jim Corder effectively elaborates how our lives are a narrative and that when we clash with people from other narratives we are likely to get involved with arguments. I agree that articulating an argument with elements of rhetoric would be the best way to effectively persuade an audience. After reading Sonlit’s article, I do agree that we should utilize the power of conversation with our enemies to come to a mutual agreement, however I feel that discussing ideas with people who agree with us because they can also have opinions on how we need to compromise with others about a particular issue. I think that the best approaches to conveying a message to an audience is including elements of rhetoric to persuade them, while also discussing the importance of the ideas from opposing opinions as well. If I am going to talk about the effects of negativity being presented to Internet users, these approaches could be very useful when finding a common ground between differing opinions.

Works Cited:

Corder, J. W. (1985). Argument as Emergence, Rhetoric as Love. Rhetoric Review, 4(1), 16-32.

Moxley, W. B. (n.d.). Joe Moxley. Retrieved October 25 2017, from https://writingcommons.org/index.php/open-text/genres/academic-writing/arguments/318-rogerian-argument

Solnit, R., Hallman, J. C., Rab, L., Starr, A., Maharidge, D., & Kroll-Zaidi, R. (n.d.). Preaching to The Choir. Retrieved October 25, 2017, from https://harpers.org/archive/2017/11/preaching-to-the-choir/4/

Rhetorical Ecology on Apple Product Commercials

When it comes to advertising new technological products to attract consumers into buying the “latest technological advancement,” Apple definitely has several tricks up their sleeve when it comes to advertising and marketing. When forming advertisements, whether it is a poster or a commercial, Apple definitely realizes that there are several factors that are intertwined to the success in sales for their products. One of the biggest things that they analyze when thinking of the best ways to advertise their product are the behavioral patterns of their consumers. They try to pay attention to popular trends and interests with each of their products and look out what outside factors could possibly influence them into buying new devices. Once they determine the factors that might pull consumers into buying their products, they then try to figure out the best ways to present their products by analyzing the structures of their posters or commercials or how additional text highlights some of the products key features.

When rhetorically analyzing a YouTube video by user Greg Vasta, whom compiles what he thinks are the best examples of Apple commercials, he considers the different people who go into the creation of the Apple commercials. Vasta chooses the commercial that he considered to be the best work from the production designers, graphic artists, and representatives from the Apple company. All of these factors affect the people who view the commercials whom have  vast opinions of people who like, or dislike, their products. Vasta’s video could also garner various groups of people, from consumers with different opinions about the technology to representatives from Apple.

Apple also takes note of what environment they plan on showcasing their advertisements. This can include if they wish to showcase them on TV, YouTube, or posters/billboards that can be seen by pedestrians. In this particular case, Greg Vasta constructed this video on YouTube and he compiled his opinionated ideas about the best Apple commercials. He also took note of the different events being the announcement of new releases of Apple technologies. The factors of Beings, Environment, and Event can go hand in hand when determining Apple’s marketing techniques to appeal to consumers.

Greg Vasta also takes note on the various factors that go into the designing of effective advertisements. When it comes to designing the perfect Apple commercial, Vasta made his decision on the videos that had the best structure, text, and noted the possible dispositions. When structuring a commercial, Apple makes sure that the product is displayed to make it appeal to consumers. They will often use bright colors in their commercials and extravagantly showcased the newest features of the technology. The commercial will often use text to contrast from the images to highlight features.

The text that can be seen on several social media platforms can also showcase the newest Apple releases and highlight new features. There are also various comments seen on Greg Vasta’s video page. The various opinions display discourse in Apple products and if they really develop the best technology. These comments vary from saying Apple is the best to comments who retort those perspectives and highlight their own negative experiences with Apple products. This highlights one particular disposition when it comes to discussing the commercials, but there can also be several dispositions about the content of Vasta’s video.

Vasta compiles the best commercials from Apple in his opinion, however, there are some comments that say that there were commercials that there were commercials that other users thought were the best that were not displayed in the video. This exemplifies that there can be other dispositions on the commercials presented in the video besides the agreement or disagreement between users about Apple products.

Social media discourse can have a great influence in how Apple chooses to market their products because they pay attention to the various dispositions. They use these varying opinions to come up with the best ways to appeal to consumers. They do this by either highlighting new features in Apple products that cannot be done with other devices. Apple also pays attention to what commercials people say are their favorites and why they are their favorites. By doing so, they compile their commercials to have similar characteristics to attract old customers, while also coming up with new ways to display their product to attract new consumers. All of these factors play a role in how Apple makes money from their marketing choices. While the discourse in the Apple community allows them to take note of changes to be made to their products to increase consumption.

Advancements in Apple and the Social Media Discourse With It

Technology has become a prevalent role in our society and has become an increased topic of discussion. In my previous project entitled, “Technological Colonization Among Society: A Brief Rhetorical Analysis of a Multimodal Public Artifact,” I discuss this topic with a specific example of a YouTuber saying a spoken word poem about how our world is becoming overruled by technology. He elaborates on how we have become enslaved by our devices and how they are limiting our face to face interactions with other people. Despite all of these warnings from media sources on technology’s affect on us, we still continue to succumb to the power of technology. But, what are some reasons we keep getting pulled into the convenience and awe that technology brings? One primary reason is that there are so many industries that keep promoting the new technology or apps that they create to add convenience. One of these industries that is rising in popularity for creating countless devices and apps is Apple Inc. Apple, as well as other industries, tends to promote their new devices or apps through various social media.

Technology is becoming overbearing in our personal lives and this supported this idea through a rhetorical analysis of the YouTube Video “Look Up” by Gary Turk (can be found in my previous project “Technological Colonization Among Society: A Brief Rhetorical Analysis of a Multimodal Public Artifact”). I plan on taking a different route by analyzing how popular industries, such as Apple keep drawing us into buying and using the new technology that they create. I started to look for examples of how Apple advertised their new products on different social media platforms, such as Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram. I have an example picture from Instagram for an ad for the iPhone 8, as well as some commercials that I have found from Facebook and Youtube.

There is a great deal of controversy that comes through the release of these new products. There are many who praise the new features that come with new Apple products as well as feelings of annoyance with another new Apple product and the never-ending praise that they get. Analyzing comments on different social media posts so far have provide a new way of analyzing the social media discourse in Apple. Looking at the ads on YouTube from Apple have the comments disabled, but the way the video is presented advertises the products make us want to have the latest advances in technology. There are also Youtube videos created by users that are a compilation of commercials for Apple allow me to view comments and get different perspectives on Apple products. The two commercials that I have found advertise the newest iPhone 8 and iPhone X and are great way to analyze pathos, or what makes consumers drawn to the product being advertised.

I have so far, I have only found articles that are negative portrayals of Apple. The two articles are from the Los Angeles Times and Business Insider. The Business Insider Article highlights how there really is no change in the new technological models that Apple creates. While the Los Angeles Times article discusses customers’ discontent with Apple due to programs and features not working appropriately. These articles would be a great way to compare and contrast different opinions on the success of Apple and their products.

I feel that analyzing social media discourse in Apple is a great supporting factor to analyzing how technology has become a key factor in our society. It is a great way to analyze how and why we are psychologically dependent on technology and how people with different perspectives share their opinions by commenting on videos or posts. I feel that there are various examples of posts and videos on social media that can provide supporting evidence for my topic. I feel that the information that I have compiled so far provide me with great information to start to analyze Apple Inc and the social media discourse that comes with the revelation of new technologies.

Screen shots obtained from:

Comments from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLzxaJ4jR3w

https://www.instagram.com/p/BaHb7adF_UD/?taken-by=nicibersinger

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-mh-apple-users-really-hate-apple-software-20160208-column.html

http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-iphone-slowdown-planned-obsolescence-2017-10?utm_content=buffer173da&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer-tiuk&r=UK&IR=T