Multimedia discourse & rhetoric?

Did you know that JUST NOW I altered the way you read my message? Yup, just now, before you even read this far into it. Oh, too late, it can't be undone, that picture right above the text... you might have read it in one of a million ways but the fact is no matter what I write now it won't read the same as it may have a moment ago, before your eyes had scanned past the picture. It may have something to do with people always telling you a picture's worth 1000 words. Well, according to Kress VanLeeuwen I just gave up my "monomodality" - namely, the strict/classic way I should've presented text. To make things worse, I did it even before throwing the picture in the mix by posting on a blog, using a computer, within the frame of a browser window so my message is forever different than what it may've been had I done it using strict rules and a printing press... oh well...



YAY for multimodality! Now that I have video in the mix as well I wonder how much of my message got changed because of that tiny addition. I must warn you, this may really mess with your head, but umm... perhaps my message is merely a demonstration of how easily distortion can occur when great care is not taken in the composition of your message.

On the topic of discourse - I suppose I should describe what "discourse" means first. Well, according to our Kress VanLeeuwen

Discourses are socially constructed knowledges of (some aspect of) reality. By 'socially constructed' we mean that they have been developed in specific social contexts, and in ways which are appropriate to the social actors in these contexts...

or if you'd like a second opinion on what "discourse" means here's a Google definition for you. To give an example if you're here chances are you know what a blog is. If you looked at the video above you might've recognized YouTube from the "constructed knowledge" of the online crowds. YouTube meant absolutely NOTHING a few years ago. Here's another thing I should mention - according to this Kress VanLeeuwen guy I'm a Producer... I'll be right back, let me go add that to my resume...

Seriously, I suppose I'm producing this post by manipulating different kinds of media (text, hyper-text [links], image, video) so while the production cost is low the production value is hopefully somewhat higher. What a concept!

So I've given a fairly modern (and hopefully somewhat accurate) example of discourse but what about rhetoric?

Ethos, Pathos, Logos. Done!

Or, click here for a definition (or a few)

Well, that was easy!

*AHEM*

Alright alright, and just when you might've thought my seemingly random rant was over. I will borrow something from Wikipedia just because it's awfully easy to do so:

• ethos: how the character and credibility of a speaker influence an audience to consider him to be believable.
  • This could be any position in which the speaker--from being a college professor of the subject, to being an acquaintance of person who experienced the matter in question--knows about the topic.
  • For instance, when a magazine claims that, A MIT professor predicts that the robotic era is coming in 2050, the use of big name "MIT" (a world-renown college for advanced research in math, science, and technology) establishes the strong credibility.
• pathos: the use of emotional appeals to alter the audience's judgment.
  • This can be done through metaphor, amplification, storytelling, or presenting the topic in a way that evokes strong emotions in the audience.
• logos: the use of reasoning, either inductive or deductive, to construct an argument.
  • Logos appeals include appeals to statistics, math, logic, and objectivity. For instance, when advertisements claim that their product is 37% more effective than the competition, they are making a logical appeal.

And then I'll go on to point out some flaws with each.

• As far as ethos goes - credibility can be faked, there have been stories about people with fake degrees getting in way over their head and, in the worst case scenario of a supposed doctor who actually wasn't one but got some fake diploma for $50 online, death is the outcome (sadly of innocent people and not the person who used a fake diploma as a part of his rhetoric
• The use of emotion (or pathos) can lead to a great outcome but it can also have your audience turning on you if the wrong emotions are evoked. That combines with the next one...
• Logos - one's reasoning may be flawed to begin with for one reason or another. I am thinking of a case where a politician started attacking a certain group of people thinking that the things said would never become public. It was a mix of emotion and improperly built arguments combined with that politician's "credibility" [ethos] as such... Once the things said got out in public it was a rhetoric disaster of the n-th degreee

Lastly, here's a "word of the day" type of deal:

semiotics - theories regarding symbolism and how people glean meaning from words, sounds, and pictures.

As you may've guessed that's one of many definitions available via Google Definition so feel free to check out the rest but why do I bring this word up now? Remember that video a few paragraphs up? I knew that there must've been some reason I chose to embed it in this post... this may have very well been it! If you got this far you've successfuly reached the end of this post. Congratulations! And 'till next time... ;-)

What's a dream job to me? (in this post - people [with job descriptions] I look up to)

Patrick Combs - a motivational speaker for college students across America who's got a really amazing job - he shares great advice, gives his listeners something to laugh about in the process, but most importantly, he inspires people to take their risks and live life bold. Had I not encountered him I wonder if I would have ever taken any internships during my Undergrad studies. I wonder if I would have cared to talk to my professors outside of classes or made my academic life even half as exciting as it has been. I also doubt that I would have passed up the chance to get my Master's for free at my previous college and taken the financial risk of going to DePaul so I probably wouldn't be in this amazing New Media Studies program.

I love being on stage [loved doing IMPROV back in high school too] and I've toyed around with different ideas on how to share technology-knowledge with an audience, while taking advantage of every modern kind of media out there. One day I'd love to be presenting something exciting on stage and integrating the feedback my audience is providing on the "back channel" via twitter and other similar tools.

Back to Patrick and his job, here is his website: http://www.goodthink.com/ - He's written some books [there's a fine example of "old media"], he has services listed and all sorts of useful things as well as his own online store.

In a way, this makes me realize that ideally in the future I'll have my own company. I could work for certain companies at times but I love the idea of having the independence and ability to make a living any way I chose. I love the idea of being able to shift priorities [such as work and family] as the situation arises. That actually makes me think of my second person whom I look up to very much. He is also a part of a company that I would love to work for (or have one of my own much like it) at some point in my future.

Brian Solis - Well, let's start by getting his self-description from his blog page - "Solis blogs at PR2.0, bub.blicio.us, and regularly contributes PR & tech insight to industry publications. Solis is among the original thought leaders who paved the way for Social Media. He’s a co-founder of the Social Media Club, is an original member of the Media 2.0 Workgroup, and also contributes to the Social Media Collective." And then there's his company at http://www.future-works.com/ with some services listed that happen to match things I've been following (and creating) on the web purely because of personal interest. I've always thought it'd be amazing to work at a job where what I do is something I love doing even without being paid and I will just copy and paste some of the things his company offers to show you things I've loved exploring for many years now:

		New Media Relations - Internet, print, blogs, and broadcast
		Social Media - Podcasts, blogs, conversations, vlogs
		Missionary Marketing - Cultivate new markets
		Market Relations - Uncover market needs
		Press Releases - Provide relevant and impactful news
		Press Tours - Ignite relationships and intro solutions
		Product/Company Launches - Make a strategic splash and continue momentum
		Collateral Development - Incorporate messages
		Brand Creation and Resonance - Build lasting equity
		Content - Develop compelling and meaningful copy
		Whitepapers/MODs - Highlight solution and its value
		Marketing Aesthetics - Leverage design into text docs
		Positioning and Messaging - Build the platform

I hope this makes it at least somewhat apparent why I look up to Brian so much. His biography on the company website, describing the way he started to become who he is today really got me more so than anything else - I can draw so many parallels between things he's done and things I've done or am currently doing. I know it may seem cheesy, almost like I'm doing a commercial for these two guys above but that's not true, I've simply been greatly inspired by them both (and felt it more realistic to focus on them as opposed to another 2 guys I've been tracking, namely, Bill Gates & Steve Jobs). As pointed out in class, I need to converge on something sometime but for my first "job post" I simply felt like re-examining why it is that I am still so "all over the place" career-wise. I suppose I'll include at least one eye-catching job-listing from some job-seeking website.

New Media Communications Strategist - it sounds relevant enough to New Media Studies, right? The longer job description goes as follows:

The nation’s largest child advocacy association currently has an opening for a New Media Communications Strategist. This individual will assist with planning new media promotions of PTA campaigns, programs, events, and initiatives, ad placement, research, and stewardship. This position will assist with developing new market activities and participating in organic/viral organizational growth, as well as integrating and growing new media with existing capabilities in search, mobile, and social networking arenas.

This is a nice contrast from the 2 guys I wrote about above, it's something I'd love to get involved with that features some of my favorite new technologies. The next part is what kicks me to a rather rude awakening from my dream, I need to do a decent bit more before being seriously considered as a candidate:

Position requires a bachelor’s degree in a relevant field or equivalent experience. Minimum 2-3 years experience in online media placement and advertising is needed. Digital and new media experience is required. Experience in project management is needed and experience in new business development is desirable. Experience with third party ad servers is essential. Position requires exceptional communication skills, both verbal and written, along with excellent project management skills. Ability to be flexible and effectively manage multiple projects, tasks and deadlines is required. Solid understanding of social media, search and emerging media with proven ability to apply to organizational communications is required.

2-3 years in online media placement? I've done a great number of things online but even adding all the time from ALL my internships to date probably doesn't amount to that. I wonder if some of my personal projects could be counted, I mean I HAVE placed a ton of media online. Then there's this last bit to make things even more difficult:

ONLY resumes including salary requirements will be considered.

Like I know exactly what salary requirements a recently graduated student with a Bachelor's is supposed to have. I've looked around and I've asked around... One problem with asking people who are much more mature in their career today is that their starting salary would appear awfully low by today's standards (inflation, higher gas prices, etc etc...) So after the dreamy part I of my post here's the "reality hits" part II. I'll work something out for myself to jump-start that true post-college career path, I'm sure of it, I just wonder how long it'd take me to do it...and I hope it doesn't take too long!

McLuhan, Bolter & Grusin on Media & The Future

It seems that most often as I am barely starting to read something it instantly brings up examples of other things I've stumbled across the net. This was the case with every article I read today. First there was Todd Kappelman’s Overview: “Marshall McLuhan: ‘The Medium is the Message’" which just reminded me of a favorite topic I tend to enjoy philosophizing about - the downsides of innovation, or in other words the disadvantage of having technology constantly improve. I know this may come off sounding a bit odd from someone who's openly a computer geek of the n-th degree but I'm often caught saying: "Technology, gotta love hating it!" I can vividly remember the time when my family first moved to the States and I had ICQ to keep in touch with friends from Bulgaria. It was a wonderful way to stay connected but before I knew it it had also become my primary method of communicating with friends from my current village as well, including the kid next door. I thought to myself, how sad is it that I could just walk over and knock on his door and we could both enjoy the outdoors and instead we're sitting in our homes in front of the computer screen exchanging instant messages.

Marshall McLuhan’s Understanding Media, The Extensions of Man was interesting to read primarily because of the definition of hot & cold media and the "high" vs "low" definition content. Here I caught myself thinking of videogames recently relying too much on their "high definition" (and note I'm not just talking about the resolution they crank out, I'm referring to the visual richness they offer) and sacrificing on value, playability and so on in favor of providing "eye candy" ... It's easy for someone to get carried away and miss out important basics during the creation of something "hot."

Bolter & Grusin, Remediation (sorry, it's a PDF so no link) deals with the present and future of media using examples from the movie Stange Days. I can't help but feel that their comparison between old media & new media and how each plays off the other will become a thing of the past once ALL media gradually fuses. Mozilla Labs, the team that brought Firefox to the browser world has some amazing rendetions of what the future looks like in a series of concept videos. The project's called Aurora and if you have a bit of time to see how they merge things it'll probably demonstrate how computer usage in the future to access different kinds of media will no longer be as restricted as it has been. In fact on that same website they look at Ubiquity, tool that is already getting pretty smart at what people may wish to do with data presented on their screen. Seeing how this is my first post and I'm not quite sure how long of a rant I should put on the web I will cut things... for now... but rest assured, more media analysis with regards to past, present and future will appear here.