In-Class Exercise 2

Sarah, Nicolette, Matt

Rhetorical Affordances of Blogs:
Good things:
- The ability to embed visual and audio media as well as hyperlinks.  Gives the chance for the blogger to give cross-references and explain them.
- More pathos due to the blog being more personal.
- Catalogue of everything they've written which aids in the memory aspect of rhetoric.
- Blogging gives the ability to edit, and perfect what you say without the chance for live errors that come with public speaking.
- Never concrete - you can keep evolving and editing a post if a mistake is found.
- Flexible context

Problems:- Lack of credibility with blogs.  Anybody can do it without credentials.  Lack of ethos with the author.
- Lack of understanding of how public blogs and the fact that what they write is permanent along with the controversy it might cause.
- People might not worry about form too much because "it's just a blog" and is more informal which can detract from credibility.
- Trusting audience too much to ignore or fix mistakes

Focusing on Audience
- Comments and polls allow a relationship with the reader that published newspaper articles or speeches can't give.
- Can focus on a charitable cause or give ad space for people with a common business interest with the blog.
- Can make certain posts private and limit it to certain readers.
- Get to focus more on author's personality through how they write.
- Someone can stylize your blog however you want to bring a reader in.
- There is not a set time frame in which a blog post must be read unlike the concrete timing of a daily newpaper or a speech.

Audience Interaction:
- Adding a forum component for readers to interact with each other.
- Live video chats or text chats
- Bloggers can share personal details about themselves in order for the reader to learn more about the author which can make it seem more personal.
- Polls, Contests
- Maintaining a back-and-forth with your reader (comments on redesigns, format changes, etc)
- Keeping a steady stream of content and not taking your audience for granted
- Don't alienate your audience by deviating too far from the niche of your content