Maura

Blog post 1

By: Maura Tini

What does digital rhetoric mean?

“The term “digital rhetoric” is perhaps most simply defined as the application of rhetorical theory (as analytic method or heuristic for production) to digital texts and performances.”(Eyman)

Important terms: rhetoric, digital, and text:

Rhetoric– “rhetoric is both the practice of persuasive communication and a formal art of studying such communication”. (Eyman)

This term is important to writers because it is a certain way to know how to communicate to the audience in a persuasive way. Writers should know certain ways to connect with their audiences, I think that is very important as a writer.

Digital– In general usage, “digital” is roughly synonymous with “electronic” or “computerized” and is often used in opposition to its antonym, “analog.”(Eyman)

This term is important because writers online are writing digitally and should know that. As I am blogging I know that I am currently writing digitally.

Text- while discussing rhetoric, text means “text can be thought as the container for arguments or persuasive discourse, but that tradition is also usually associated with printed texts.” (Eyman)

This is also important because the writers should know that any text can be digital or printed, they can be either or. It does not need to have any boundaries while writing. The writer can write both digital and printed to connect to their audience if they find it more effective, or they can pick only if they think that is the best way to connect to their audience.

Practice Blog

Whats next?

My First Blog Post

Be yourself; Everyone else is already taken.
— Oscar Wilde.

This is the first post on my new blog. I’m just getting this new blog going, so stay tuned for more. Subscribe below to get notified when I post new updates.

Introduce Yourself (Example Post)

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
Because it will help you focus you own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
What topics do you think you’ll write about?
Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.