Some thought this day would never come...

I finally did it.
              I caved.
                    I got a phone.

It's kind of a big deal, for me. According to my friends I have 'officially reached an entirely new level of cool' and am 'almost a real person now!' I'm not sure I believe either of those comments, especially the latter, but it certainly is different having my own phone. I've had it for less than 72 hours, and it's already become a major means of communication for me. The first couple of days, though, I would completely forget I had it within even 10 minutes of using it - that is, until an abrupt ring or vibration would politely remind me. 
When people ask me how it is finally having a phone, I usually respond with 'convenient.' By that, I don't mean to imply that I don't enjoy having a phone. In fact it's just the opposite because of the ways in which it makes life quite a bit easier - for both me and my family/friends. It is quite strange though, the oxymoronic feeling of freedom and captivation. I no longer have to rely on my friends and their phones to get ahold of people (or be reached by people, as the case may be). I can now contact people without being near my computer or home phone. It's rather fantastic. But at the same time I can hardly put it down. I'll keep checking and re-checking it even when I know I have no unread messages. I'll drop everything at a moment's ...(hang on a second)...notice to check a text. I wouldn't say I feel entirely dependent on it, but I would say I'm developing a sense of attachment.  In class we talked about how some people feel alienated by technology while others see it as an extension of themselves. It's still weird to think of my phone as a part of me, as familiar and normal, but I'm sure I'll get used to the idea.

Project Tour

We talked a lot about identity during the second unit; the relevance and importance of having an online presence and how that takes shape. I found this section to be one of the most fascinating, and, therefore, it's not too surprising that the rhetorical situation I found for my project fit within that realm. You may recall from some of my blog posts, that finding a topic for this project was a bit of a struggle for me. I had some ideas about what media I might want to use, but I didn't have an exigence to propel my ideas forward. So in an effort to brainstorm, I went back through the previous units. With a little inspiration from some classmates, I decided to make identity the focus of my project.

I wanted to help my sister establish and develop an online identity through the means of a blog. I chose this particular medium because it would suit her semi-scatterbrained personality. She wouldn't be forced to categorize, label, or box the different areas of her life, but could allow it all to flow together naturally in a way that others could share in. The rhetorical situation here is not so much the presence of a problem so much as an absence of..well, her. Bitzer said that, “In short, rhetoric is a mode of altering reality... by the creation of discourse which changes reality through the mediation of thought and action” (4). Through the blog, she will be capable of changing reality through sculpting another side of her identity.

To examine the rhetorical situation further, we will take a look at content, audience, purpose and context. “Because communication is what binds us together and helps build...our communities, you are responsible for finding communicative purposes that respond to what is needed around you, that contribute usefully to the networks in which we all live” (Wysocki, 35).I already stated that the purpose of the project was to give my sister an opportunity to expand her online identity, and in doing so she would be helping build upon, or contributing to, an already existing community. The blog is a way for her to share her daily thoughts and activities with others, get feedback, connect with others of similar interests, and perhaps learn more about herself in the process.

As for content, I spent a lot of time on the visual format of the blog. This is the first thing that the audience will take in. The audience, in this case, would be anyone who follows the blog, allowing for a context that is undefined in breadth and nature because it is an ongoing discourse that each audience member comes across under varying circumstances. However, regardless of the individual circumstances, it was still important that the blog was visually inviting and that it be reflective of my sister. The color scheme I chose was one she was particularly fond of and it was rather warm and tranquil. Then there was the title – another prominent feature. The alliteration of “Everyday Effervescence” may have been a bit of a personal preference on my part, but my sister was on board with it. 'Effervescence' means “vivacity and enthusiasm” (Oxford Online Dictionary). It's to help reflect the way in which my sister finds joy in the little, everyday things, in simplicity and creativity.

The whole process, from brainstorming to my design plan to production, was full of unexpected changes and shifts. When I began this assignment, I certainly didn't expect it to end up where it has. However, the experience in manufacturing a digital media artifact and what that requires, all under a topic I was interested in exploring (identity), made this a personally beneficial and – I may say – enjoyable endeavor.

Peer Feedback

Sarah

Major Argument: Vocal Achord is an exciting and fun musical group.

Strengths: The logos presented a very clear message and helped portray a sense of liveliness. The musical symbols and references as well as the name of the group itself let the audience know what the group is about. The lettering as well as the orientation of some of the symbols helped present the group as fun-loving and exciting.

Things to Develop: Color will definitely help make the logo more eye-catching as well as help the words to stand out from the background and be more legible.


Charlie

Major Argument: Club Indigo is a neat place to learn about various cultures, experience community, and have a good time through food, entertainment, and social interaction.

Strengths: The presentation was able to stand on its own. It presented a clear message and was very informative. The text stood out well from the background and was easy to read. I definitely think that the pictures, when added, will help draw in the audience even more.

Things to Develop: Some of the slides had too much information on them and were hard to get through before the slide changed. One thing I noticed is that you say, "Why should I go?" on one slide. But then say, "Hope to see you soon!" on another. It might help if you changed the former to the second person 'you' instead of 'I' for consistency's sake.


James

Major Argument: Online piracy is a prevalent and serious problem.

Strengths: Statistics and numbers are visually represented well and help to make the message clear. The color contrast helps important information to stand out. Graphics help keep the audience engaged.

Things to Develop: This may just be a personal preference, but if you could lighten the background a bit it might make the black text easier to read. 


Cassandra

Major Argument: Greek life offers a lot of leadership opportunities.

Strengths: The presentation is informative and specific. The choice of medium is good because the movement it allows helps give a sense of energy and excitement to the presentation. Color contrast helped the text to stand out.

Things to Develop: There were a few instances where the text was hard to read because of the size and because there were too many colors going on at once. Try slowing it down ever so slightly to make sure the audience has time to read everything. I may have missed it if you already did this, but changing the orientation of the presentation (i.e. rotating or flipping it) might make it more dynamic and attention-grabbing.

Design Plan

Statement of Purpose: To provide my sister with a webspace for displaying, advertising, and, to an extent, documenting her variety of handmade crafts and projects. My sister is not, to my knowledge, looking to start up a business, however, this sharing of her creative outlets may eventually encourage her to do so; or it may just continue to be something she enjoys sharing with those around her.

Audience: Anyone interested in following my sister's work, particularly those who share similar interests or would like to purchase her work or commission her to make something.

Overall Strategies/Arrangement/Medium: I've decided to create a blog for my sister to accomplish this. I hope for it to be a rather visual blog that may even include tutorials and step-by-step instructions accompanied by a plethora of images. I like the blog because of the timeline setup, which will allow both my sister and her audience to see how her ideas and work have progressed and developed.

Here we go...

After much deliberation and topic-hopping, I have finally figured out how I want to go about this assignment...

For those who don't know me, I have a sister - well 4 in fact, but my only older sister is the only one relevant to this assignment. She's a much more creative and crafty person than I am. She crochets a LOT, especially hats, but also scarves and blankets. She's been doing this for about 2 years now. More recently she has been a bit obsessed with buttons. At first she began attaching them to the hats she was making, but then began making these very cute elastic bracelets and headbands that are simply covered in them. So those are the biggest things she's into making right now. She's given a lot of them away as gifts, and people will often ask if they can buy them from her or commission her to make specific items. So when this assignment came up and I was looking for a rhetorical situation, I proposed that I create some kind of webspace for her to advertise her work or just enjoy showing it off and letting people know more about who she is and what she enjoys.

This brings me to the choice of medium. I settled on helping her create a blog for a few reasons. First of all, with the way she hops around between varying types of projects and how they can evolve into other ones, I think a blog would be a good format. This way you can see how her work has progressed and changed in a timeline fashion. Secondly, she has never blogged before, and I feel like she would not only learn from the experience, but thoroughly enjoy it and take advantage of it as well. It's also a very laid back, accessible, easy atmosphere for both her and potential followers/customers, who would be the intended audience.

Wysocki-Lynch Chapter 3

Chapter 3 of Wysocki and Lynch was all about further development of the purpose statement. I was a little discouraged when they stated right up front (on page 58) that it would be best to go through this chapter with a project in mind – because I had very little idea about my topic when I picked this up last night. However, I decided to plow through it anyway and hope that I could recall any useful information when I was actually working on my project.

There were two things in particular that I found rather interesting in this chapter. One was the idea that by presenting an argument you are, in fact, “designing futures” (p 60). The other is seeing arguing as a social activity, because you are trying to affect people’s experiences, attitudes, and/or opinions. We can see that these two views of argument directly relate to one another. “If we think of argument and communication as being about designing futures, then what argument can achieve is to give people ideas about what the future could be if their attitudes or beliefs were to shift somewhat” (p 60). Seeing argument in this light is mildly inspiring, but it also is a reminder to think carefully about what you choose to say and how you choose to say it.

The next portion of the chapter is all about composition and thinking. The authors encourage you to set aside time just to think about your argument and how you plan on developing and presenting it (Haven’t done that sufficiently either…it’s like these authors know me). They again come back to purpose, audience, and context. It’s important to make sure that everything you implement is working toward the overall goal. They remind you to consider your audience: their attitudes, priorities, and your relationship/experiences with them. Maintaining good standing with your audience is essential to an effective argument.  …So yeah, some of this was definitely review, but was still helpful in thinking about forming a more complex purpose statement.

Wysocki-Lynch Reading

This piece was considerably easier to get through than I was anticipating when I initially looked at the 59 page PDF. I think that was partly because there was a lot of review involved, at least for me personally. Wysocki and Lynch address 7 things to consider/develop between the stages of choosing and producing your argument.

1. Sense of Purpose: What are you trying to accomplish or achieve? Will it be worth the time to your audience?
2. Audience: Know them! You need to know what they will expect, how they will respond, and what will resonate with them, in order to communicate as clearly as possible.
3. Context: The time and/or location of your argument may call for different levels of formality or different media. The context will help determine what is appropriate and what will be effective.
4. Statement of Purpose (not to be confused with number 1): After taking into consideration your purpose, audience, and context, you can more concisely define or explain what exactly you want to do and why. This will perhaps be more helpful to you than anyone.
5. Strategies: What kinds of arguments are you going to use? Think about what is important to your audience. What are there concerns or presuppositions? Always be looking for different angles to work from.
6. Medium: How are you going to present your argument? Is it going to be spoken, visual, animated? Again, purpose, audience, and context need to be considered. Which mediums are appropriate? Which are more accessible and resonant with your audience? You also have to know what your limits are in terms of skills/competence, time, money, etc. Don't choose a project that you can't finish or that you can't do well.
7. Arrangement: Think about all the pieces of your project. Try mapping things out in different ways to produce a more powerful argument. You'll run into things that don't work, for sure, but this will help you better communicate with your audience. Consider how different arrangements add or detract from your message.

I really enjoyed the practicality of this piece, especially going into our third assignment. While some of it may seem obvious, it's a good reminder to always be considering, in particular, your purpose, audience, and context. You can have a fantastic mix of strategies, beautifully arranged and portrayed through an exciting medium...but if you have neglected your audience or forgotten the context, your purpose will likely find itself stopped cold in its tracks.