Making Multimedia Arguments

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Though you have likely been active in new media platforms for quite some time — browsing Web sites, checking Facebook, sending text messages, following “Texas Humor” on Twitter — you may not have thought of these activities as rhetorical. But they certainly can be, especially those that might have classroom or extracurricular connections. Here we discuss just a few such situations. In other chapters in this section, we talk in more detail about visual rhetoric (often a component in new media) and oral presentations, which now almost always have a digital component.

Web Sites

It’s likely you have already created Web sites for a class or for an organization to which you belong. In planning any Web site, pay careful attention to your rhetorical situation (see Chapter 1) — the purpose of your site, its intended audience, and the overall impression that you want to make. To get started, you may want to study several sites that you admire, looking for effective design ideas or ways of organizing navigation and information. Creating a map or storyboard for your site will help you to think through the links from page to page.

Experienced Web designers such as Robin Williams cite several important principles for Web-based presentations. The first of these is contrast, which is achieved through the use of color, icons, boldface, and so on; contrast helps guide readers through the site (see also Chapter 14). The second principle, proximity, calls on you to keep together the parts of a page that are closely related, again for ease of reading. Repetition means using a consistent design throughout the site for the elements (such as headings and links) that help readers move smoothly through the environment. Finally, designers concentrate on an overall impression or mood for the site, which means that the colors and visuals on the pages should help to create that impression rather than challenge or undermine it.

Here are some additional tips that may help you design your site:

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Videos

When is a video the best medium for delivering a message? Given the ease with which competent digital films can be produced, the answer is certainly more often than ever before. You will see videos routinely now, for example, on college and university sites, showcasing distinguished students and faculty or explaining programs. It is an effective way to enhance the ethos of a group or institution. Videos can also document public events or show how to do practical things such as registering to vote or navigating an unfamiliar campus. So whenever a video fits well with the purpose of the message, consider creating one.

You can, of course, shoot a video with your smartphone. But more sophisticated software might be needed to edit your film and get it ready for prime time: iMovie, Movie Maker, Blender (for animation) or Animoto, Camtasia, and Soundslides (for combining media such as digital video, photos, music, and text).

Wikis

To make working on group projects easier, many classes use wikis, which are Web-based sites that enable writers to collaborate in the creation of a single project or database. The most famous group effort of this kind is, of course, Wikipedia, but software such as DokuWiki, MediaWiki, or Tiki Wiki helps people to manage similar, if less ambitious, efforts of their own, whether it be exploring questions raised in academic courses or examining and supporting needs within a community. Wiki projects can be argumentative in themselves, or they might furnish raw data and evidence for subsequent projects.

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If asked to participate in a wiki, you should, naturally, learn how to use the assigned software and follow course or project guidelines for entering and documenting the material you contribute. Just as you will expect your colleagues to use reliable sources or make accurate observations, they will depend on you to do your part in shaping the project. Within the wiki, participants will be able to draw upon each other’s strengths and, ideally, to compensate for any weaknesses. So take your responsibilities seriously.

Blogs

Perhaps no Web texts have been more instrumental in advancing political, social, and cultural issues than blogs, which are now too numerous to count. Blogs open an ideal space for building interactive communities, engaging in arguments, and giving voice to views and opinions of ordinary citizens. Today, just about all major news media, including the most prestigious newspapers and journals, feature the functionality of blogs or sponsor blogs themselves as part of their electronic versions.

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Like everything else, blogs have downsides: they are idiosyncratic, can be self-indulgent and egoistic, and can distort issues by spreading misinformation very quickly. If you’re a fan of blogs, be sure to read carefully, remembering that information on blogs hasn’t been critically reviewed in the way that traditional print sources edit their stories. But also remember that blogs have reported many instances of the mainstream news sources failing to live up to their own standards.

Activist blogs of all kinds get plenty of attention, and you can easily join in on the conversation there, sharing your arguments in the comments section. If you do blog yourself, or comment on others’ postings, remember to follow commonsense good manners: be respectful and think carefully about what you are saying and about the impression you want to leave with those who read you. Blogging software, in case you want to open shop yourself, includes Blogger, Tumblr, and WordPress.

Social Media

You likely know a great deal already about the strengths and weaknesses of social media such as Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Pinterest, or whatever platforms you use — especially their remarkable ability to absorb big chunks of time.

But do consider how these media may be influencing your political and cultural views, and pay attention to how arguments there are made, supported, and connected. Think about how people with similar views come together in social media and perhaps what role these platforms now play in shaping current social and political activism. What audience roles have you assumed, what causes do you follow or champion, what ethos have you fashioned for yourself in these environments?

Then consider opportunities for using these platforms in your academic work. Social media provide tools for connecting with experts in a field, collaborating on projects with classmates, or sharing your insights with people around the world. Twitter will keep you up-to-date on news and events in almost every field and discipline. And platforms like Facebook or Kickstarter can help you find people who share your ideas and are even willing to support them financially. Social media offer potent (if occasionally risky) tools for expanding all the worlds you live in — including the academic one.

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